HOMEBREW Digest #6023 Mon 27 May 2013
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
RE: RE: Coffee in an RIS ("\\-s@roadrunner.com")
Maple Syrup ("Lyle C. Brown")
Coffee in a RIS (Sandy C)
Re: Got maple syrup, what should I brew? (jeff)
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Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 17:50:04 -0400
From: "\\-s at roadrunner.com" <"\\-s"@roadrunner.com>
Subject: RE: RE: Coffee in an RIS
Kevin says ....
> I haven't tried the french press or cold steeping methods, but I love how
> my stouts turn out when adding coarsely cracked light roast beans to the
> secondary. I placed 3rd in NHC regionals last year with this method. I
> used 3 ounces of Ethiopian roast in a secondary for about 1.5-2 days, then
> chill it down to drop the grounds to the bottom of the carboy and rack off
> the top. Just be careful not to get lazy and leave them in there more than
> 2.5-3 days.
>
> Kevin
I've been a little lax on my HBD contributions as other forms of
insanity take their toll .... but coffee & beer is too good to pass up.
I've been roasting my own coffee for many years now, and it's an
interesting process that unveils a lot about the flavors. The FDA in
recent years has been none-too-happy about excessively caffeinated
alcoholic beverages, but who can argue that coffee flavors and aromas
don't belong in a stout, and who imagines the sad drones at FDA are
gajin to judge in matters of taste ?
Several factors apply. Coffee and specifically caffeine is bitter in
the sense of a sharp piquant bitterness, vaguely similar to hops
bitterness. Coffee also contains varietal flavors - the nuttiness of
Columbian or the deep complex wine-like flavors of Ethiopian or Yemeni.
Coffee that is roast too slowly and at too low a temperature takes on a
flavor profile that coffee roasters sometimes call 'baked beans', which
retains none of the varietal or bitter aspects and never achieves the
char aspect of high-roast coffee. Simple & cocoa-like (McDonalds coffee).
Deeply roast coffee (like Charbux) has a deep and abiding chary flavor
that is quintessential in stouts. But as coffee is more deeply roasted
the brilliant wine & nut-like varietal flavors are lost, the caffeine
bitterness is lost, acidity drops and only the char flavor remains.
When extracting coffee flavor it's important to understand that
over-extraction causes massive flavor damage (just like over-extracting
a lauter) including coarse bitterness and woody flavors. So too-fine
grind and too much extraction time is the enemy.
I can't say anything specific to RIS & coffee, except that you should
use the freshest beans available for best flavor, that a mix of
under-roast (like Dunkin'Donuts) and heavily roast beans could give you
a nice control factor. The heavily roast beans have a lot of oil exudate
that may impact beer head. Uncrushed beans in a cheesecloth or net
might extract well. I'm partial to Ethiopian Harar in the cup, but in a
beer I imagine the S.American coffee's nutty flavors would work very well.
-S
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Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 21:58:22 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Lyle C. Brown" <beerking1 at verizon.net>
Subject: Maple Syrup
Maple syrup goes very well in brown ales and bocks, IMHO, but if you have
access to a good quantity of good maple syrup, you should really consider
making an Acer, that is, a mead made with maple syrup. Don't use any water,
just honey and syrup.
Try a ratio of about 2 qts maple syrup to 2-2.5# honey.
Lyle C. Brown
Beerking1 at verizon.net
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Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 20:47:19 -0400
From: Sandy C <scockerham at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Coffee in a RIS
The digest ate my reply from a day or too ago so this is less timely, but
here it is anyway...
> Steve,
>
> I prefer to steep the coffee directly in the beer so as to not dilute the
> flavor of the beer. My preference is to do a *very* coarse crush of the
> coffee and hang it in the beer in a small grain bag. After 2-3 days, start
> tasting it and when it seems too much, pull the bag. Others add directly
to
> the carboy or keg and then rack the beer away by having cheesecloth or the
> like on the racking cane or having earlier put it on the keg dip tube.
Too
> long of an extract and I think it gets too harsh. YMMV.
>
> I roast coffee at our shop, BJava Coffee/Bee Coffee Roasters, in
> Indianapolis ( and at home ). I recommend brewers use a lighter or medium
> roast coffee for beers. Brewers know how to put roast character into beer,
> they don't need that from the coffee. (Certainly, if your RIS or other
stout
> was lacking some roast character per the style, adding a roastier coffee
> could give it some of what it lacks.)
>
> Not all coffee tastes good cold. If you have one you like that makes good
> toddy or iced coffee you are more likely to make a good match. Experiment
> with your coffee before committing your beer!
>
> Coffee, like big hop aroma and flavor, is a transitory aroma and flavor
and
> will fade. If you plan to age the RIS longer in the secondary, I
recommend
> you wait until closer to the end.
>
> I've judged coffee beers in competition where it was obvious that the
brewer
> crafted a good beer but then ruined it with stale and/or really poor
quality
> coffee. Why would a brewer buy first rate malt, hops, yeast and treat
their water
> to match the style and then finish it all off by adding crappy coffee? (As
a
> home roaster I doubt you would do this but other brewers have taken the
tact
> that the coffee source or freshness doesn't matter. It does. )
>
> I recommend 1-1.5 oz. coffee per gallon of beer. If you want a subtle
note
> go on the low end, or pull when it gets where you want. My commercial
> brewers tend to use about a pound per barrel for a prominent note.
>
> As for a coffee IPA, my local brewpub in my neighborhood, Black Acre
> Brewing, has done one several times with great success. Once with a
natural
> prep Brazilian coffee and once with a natural prep Ethiopian coffee.
>
> Now, back to my cup of coffee. :-)
> Sandy Cockerham
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Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 08:49:27 -0400
From: jeff <climbzen at pa.net>
Subject: Re: Got maple syrup, what should I brew?
On 5/26/2013 12:12 AM, David Hammack wrote:
> Any ideas for styles that maple syrup goes well with and can really
> complement the flavor? Any suggestions on the grade of syrup
> (assuming I have a choice) to use for the best flavor and best way to add
> it?
*********************
well the first thing that comes to my mind is cider. one of my favorite
commercial ciders uses maple syrup and ferments with a belgian yeast. it
is spectacular and something i plan on trying this fall. another thing i
have wanted to make (but won't help you right now) is a braggot using
fresh sap as brewing liquor. as to beers that would shine with maple i
would think any thing really malty would work great, a maple porter is
wonderful. i think even in a pale ale it would be really cool and
different if you kept the bitterness low. now that i'm sitting here
thinking about it a maple barleywine sounds outstanding. the only thing
i have used it in though is the porter so the rest are just ideas.
i don't know what grade would be best for brewing, but i would assume
that the higher the grade, the better the flavor. i used grade a dark
amber but that was only because that was all that i had available. as to
adding it like honey i feel it is best to added after primary is
finished or damn near finished.
peace
jeff
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #6023, 05/27/13
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