Chocolate Coffee Porter

This beer had been on my mind for a long time. Having had a delicious coffee porter at Cycle Brewing earlier this year and of course Founders breakfast stout, I knew I needed to make one myself. I threw a recipe together one night after work, but was concerned that the pale chocolate malt I had was too old to use. It will be two years old in June. That necessitated a few quick tests. I steeped the grains in hot water and tasted it. It seemed ok so I went with it.

The beer fermented quickly, but I was not able to package it since all of my kegs were full. After nearly four weeks, though, on January 4, I had an empty keg and it was ready to keg. I ground five ounces of Heroes Coffee espresso. I added that along with five ounces Askinosie cacao nibs to a paint bag. Incidentally, it had a few small holes. I also used three stainless steel spoons to weight it down. After siphoning the beer to the keg, I placed the bag in the beer. It floated. I had to remove it, open the bag, and add more spoons. Six were enough to make it sink.



From there, I waited. Of course, curiosity got the better of me the next day and the following days. I had to try it. Very coffee forward. No chocolate. A touch sweet and viscous. Cloudy, with bits of ground coffee. And flat. I waited some more, hoping it would carbonate quickly. Eventually I turned the gas to 30 psi and it was still not carbonating. But I left the gas on.

Finally, on Friday, the carbonation was at a drinkable level. Somehow, however, the beer quickly switched from flat to overcarbonated. I turned the gas all the way off in hopes that it would settle down, but it's still really foamy. The coffee seems to have faded slightly, it tastes drier, and the chocolate seems to be more pronounced. It's not too dry, however. And roasty.



If I made this beer again, I might try adding more coffee. I also wouldn't grind it as much. Too much grinding made the coffee very fine, allowing it to escape through the paint bag's tiny mesh holes. I'd also make sure I was using a paint bag with no holes. This leads to some small coffee particles ending up in the beer. Which, it occurs to me, may create nucleation points and hence a foamy beer.

Couldn't I just add the coffee and nibs to the fermenter? Sure. I like the keg method because I avoid the possibility of infection. I've taken to not opening the fermenter until I'm ready to keg the beer. I just wait two weeks and it's ready to go. I haven't had any issues with under attenuation. This all just makes me feel like there is a lot of room for innovation in homebrewing. Plastic fermenters, siphoning... There has to be a better way. And a better way to dry hop, too. For now I dry hop in the keg, which works well, but, again, there has to be a better way.

All that said, overall, this beer is pretty solid and measures up to what I had hoped for. With a few tweaks, it can be even better.

Final gravity: 1.018-20.

https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/chocolate-coffee-porter-8a16e6

Update 1/18/16:

This beer definitely needs a few tweaks. Quite a few flecks of coffee bean continue to make it into the beer, distracting from an otherwise attractive appearance and probably contributing to a very foamy pour, and killing the head. Other than that, seems to taste pretty good.

Tasting Experimental Grapefruit IPA

It's been winter for awhile, but hasn't felt like it. So I feared that my plan to put a few kegs out in my garage was a failure, all for naught. But January came and we're finally starting to see some cooler temperatures, including a few flurries yesterday and today.

I brewed this beer in mid November and kegged it three or four weeks ago. It's taken awhile to get carbonated. I have three other kegs to drink from, though, so I wasn't in a rush to get to it. It's finally in a drinkable state, and has cleared up nicely.

I've been brewing over two years, and have made something like 40 batches. So I feel like my technique is, while not perfect, fairly solid. I brew good beers without off flavors. So the only thing I can attribute this beer's odd flavor to is the hops. It's sort of skunky. I never left the beer in sunlight. It's in a dark keg. I cover my fermenters with towels to block out light. But it's reminiscent of skunk; it doesn't taste solely of skunk. Maybe that's just how this hop is. Sort of like equinox hops, which some describe as tasting like green pepper. I expected this to be like grapefruit, but instead it's fruity with a hint of skunkiness. At the same time, it's a unique flavor, sort of like the equinox hop, and it's enjoyable. I still have some of these hops left, but not enough to brew a full batch.

Update 1/18/16:

It was 9 degrees this morning. A thought in my head: what if the kegs in the garage froze? Or at least the beer in the beer lines? I checked everything later. Pushed on the beer lines. Still liquid. Moved the kegs around, felt beer swishing inside. Safe.

Poured some of this beer. Still clear, despite likely stirring up some yeast. Let it sit for awhile. Came back. Pleasant, fruity aroma. Taste is still of something in the realm of skunk, but not all the way there. I think it's onion. Despite all of the seemingly negative things I've written above, this is actually a pretty good-tasting beer.