Coffee Addition to a Stout

[Bazman]

For my next brew was putting down 2 can Coopers Stout & Coopers Dark Ale, with Fuggles for Christmas drinking.


Have enjoyed the coffee aromas of Murphy's Irish Stout and was wondering if anyone has added coffee in some way to a stout? Was aiming more for subtle aroma and sweetness rather than coffee bitterness.

Could perhaps use the one of those Coffee T-bags like a dry hop tea bag into fermentor? Chuck in an Espresso maybe?

Also was going to prime with dark soft brown sugar and was wondering if it will give less carbonation than castor, don't really mind stout less carbonated obviously just curious.

Cheers.

[rotten]

On the carb issue, I personally have carbed with drops, white sugar when desperate, raw sugar and now castor sugar. Can't tell any difference in carbonation from my own brews, someone else may be different though.
With the coffee have only tried it in ales to date, 1 tsp too much unless left to mature for an eternity, 1/2 tsp about right for me in 750ml. Not tried in stout yet, but mines like a big espresso already due to roast barley, don't need any more.
Cheers

[Bazman]

Cheers Rotten,

Have a small amount of lactose leftover somewhere. Would it be sickly to add 100g to the wort to give a very-very subtle cafe-latte flavour?

Again, I'm after an variation on an Irish style stout to remind me of Christmas back in Ireland. Thanks again in advance

[drsmurto]

Coffee flavour/aroma in irish stouts doesn't come from coffee, it comes from the use of roasted barley which is in the tin of coopers stout already. If you want to add more you can as it can be steeped.

Lactose, while called milk sugar will not produce a creamy flavour, its a sugar that is non fermentable so it leaves a residual sweetness in your beer. It is used in sweet stouts sometimes called cream stouts.

Irish stouts are not sweet, they are served using a nitrogen/CO2 gas blend which produces the 'Guinness' effect when poured.

Enjoyed many a pint of Murphys stout when i was last in the southern parts of Ireland (Cork, Waterford etc) and its a a very nice drop. I preferred it to Guinness although that could have been the company at the time.

My current stout on tap has good coffee notes and a great creamy head - i used flaked oats instead of flaked barley.

[Bazman]

That looks sensational Doc! I'm guessing that head is from a keg and not bottled?
Looks like a pint of beamish.

That would go good with a mince pie

[drsmurto]

Yes, from keg and nice and low carbonation.

Will be using a pint of it later in the week for a beef and stout stew, plus a few pints for the cook!

[mikey]

i used flaked oats instead of flaked barley.

Does the flaked oats provide the whiter colour of the head?

I've made a lot of the Coopers Best Extra Stout recipe which I really like but the head is a brown. I would love a white head on it.

[drsmurto]

The head is actually a tan colour, not brown as such but definitely not white.

The flash on the camera has made it look white. Not sure how to get a white head on a stout a la guinness. They roast their own barley and if i was to hazard a guess i would suspect they may even steep it separately and add it back to adjust the colour in liquid form. The flavour of a guinness doesn't seem to match the reported 10% roasted barley figures i have seen quoted.

Flaked oats add a silkiness to stouts that flaked barley doesn't quite match. Different but both good.

[mikey]

The head is actually a tan colour, not brown as such but definitely not white.

The flash on the camera has made it look white. Not sure how to get a white head on a stout a la guinness. They roast their own barley and if i was to hazard a guess i would suspect they may even steep it separately and add it back to adjust the colour in liquid form. The flavour of a guinness doesn't seem to match the reported 10% roasted barley figures i have seen quoted.

Flaked oats add a silkiness to stouts that flaked barley doesn't quite match. Different but both good.

Thanks for that. I've wondered how they get a white head on a Tooheys Old for some time now. If anybody knows please let the cat out of the bag.

[drsmurto]

The head is actually a tan colour, not brown as such but definitely not white.

The flash on the camera has made it look white. Not sure how to get a white head on a stout a la guinness. They roast their own barley and if i was to hazard a guess i would suspect they may even steep it separately and add it back to adjust the colour in liquid form. The flavour of a guinness doesn't seem to match the reported 10% roasted barley figures i have seen quoted.

Flaked oats add a silkiness to stouts that flaked barley doesn't quite match. Different but both good.

Thanks for that. I've wondered how they get a white head on a Tooheys Old for some time now. If anybody knows please let the cat out of the bag.

Tooheys old is not a stout, its more of a brown porter/dark ale. I have no problem getting a nice white head on a brown porter.

[mikey]

The head is actually a tan colour, not brown as such but definitely not white.

The flash on the camera has made it look white. Not sure how to get a white head on a stout a la guinness. They roast their own barley and if i was to hazard a guess i would suspect they may even steep it separately and add it back to adjust the colour in liquid form. The flavour of a guinness doesn't seem to match the reported 10% roasted barley figures i have seen quoted.

Flaked oats add a silkiness to stouts that flaked barley doesn't quite match. Different but both good.

Thanks for that. I've wondered how they get a white head on a Tooheys Old for some time now. If anybody knows please let the cat out of the bag.

Tooheys old is not a stout, its more of a brown porter/dark ale. I have no problem getting a nice white head on a brown porter.

I knew it wasn't a stout but still getting that white head...