Coffee Stout Recipe
Recipe information
Make Coffee Stout in just 510h . Get the full recipe with step-by-step instructions at pekinthechef.com.
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Ingredients
Grain Bill
Hops & Boil Additions
Yeast & Water Treatments
Coffee & Adjuncts
Packaging
Grain Bill
1. Mill and Dose
Mill or have the malts crushed to a normal crush (not flour). Combine the crushed Maris Otter, flaked oats (no crushing), roasted barley, chocolate malt, crystal, and black patent in a clean bucket. Ensure the flaked oats are evenly mixed with the crushed grains to avoid dough balls during mash.
Hops & Boil Additions
2. Prepare Hops
Measure hops as listed. Set up hop additions to the boil: 25 g bittering at 60 minutes, 20 g flavor at 15 minutes remaining, 20 g aroma at 5 minutes remaining. Have the Whirlfloc tablet/Irish moss ready to add with 10 minutes left. Have lactose measured and ready to add with 10 minutes left (if using).
Yeast & Water Treatments
3. Prepare Mash Water and Adjust
Heat approximately 15 liters of the brewing water to a strike temperature that will give a mash temperature of 66°C (150°F) once grain is added (typically strike water around 72-75°C depending on your system). Dissolve gypsum (5 g) and calcium chloride (3 g) into the strike water. Add 2 ml lactic acid slowly while monitoring mash pH aiming for mash pH ≈ 5.2–5.4 at mash temperature. Stir well.
4. Mash In
Add the combined grain bill to the strike water and stir to eliminate dry pockets. Hold the mash at 66°C (150°F) for 60 minutes for an even, moderately fermentable profile that preserves body for the stout. Stir or recirculate gently after 10–15 minutes to stabilize temperature and ensure uniform conversion.
5. Mash Out
Raise mash temperature to 75–77°C (167–170°F) for 10 minutes (mash out) to improve wort flow and stop enzyme activity. Begin heating sparge water: about 10–12 liters at ~75°C.
6. Lauter & Sparge
Recirculate until wort runs clear then drain wort to the boil kettle. Sparge the grains with the hot water to collect roughly 25 liters of pre-boil wort (target depends on system loss; aim to collect ~24–26 L). Avoid compaction of the grain bed; keep the runoff slow and steady.
7. Boil
Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. Start a 60-minute timed boil once vigorous. Add hops according to schedule: 25 g bittering at 60 minutes, 20 g flavor at 15 minutes left, 20 g aroma at 5 minutes left. Add the Whirlfloc tablet/Irish moss with 10 minutes left and the lactose (250 g) also with 10 minutes left so it dissolves and sanitizes in the hot wort. Watch for boil-overs at the start of the boil.
Coffee & Adjuncts
8. Whirlpool and Chill
At the end of the 60-minute boil, turn off heat and create a gentle whirlpool for 10–15 minutes to help trub settle to the center. Chill the wort quickly to ~20°C using an immersion chiller, counterflow, or plate chiller. Transfer chilled wort to the sanitized fermenter, leaving most trub behind. Top up with treated brewing water as necessary to reach ~19–20 liters in the fermenter (accounting for trub and absorption losses).
9. Prepare Cold-Brew Coffee
While the wort ferments, make a cold-brew coffee concentrate: combine 350 g coarsely ground dark roast coffee with 3 liters of cold, filtered water in a clean container. Stir, cover, and steep at room temperature or refrigerated for 12–18 hours, then filter through a fine mesh and/or coffee filter to remove grounds. This yields a coffee concentrate that will be added later. Keep it refrigerated and covered until ready to blend.
Fermentation
10. Oxygenation and Pitching Yeast
Measure the wort temperature; if at 18–22°C, oxygenate the wort (1–2 minutes with pure oxygen or vigorous shaking/splashing for 60–90 seconds). Sprinkle or rehydrate and pitch the 11 g dry ale yeast according to manufacturer instructions. Seal fermenter and affix an airlock.
11. Primary Fermentation
Ferment at 18–20°C for 7–10 days until vigorous fermentation subsides and gravity has dropped substantially. Monitor gravity — expect attenuation typical of English ale yeast. Keep the fermenter in a stable temperature environment to avoid off-flavors.
12. Conditioning
After primary fermentation slows (usually 7–10 days), optionally cold-crash to 4–8°C for 24–48 hours to help clarify. Rack or transfer to a secondary/bright tank if desired for further conditioning or to reduce trub. Total conditioning time can be 3–7 more days before blending coffee.
Coffee & Adjuncts
13. Blend Coffee with Beer
When the beer is at desired clarity and fermentation is complete (stable final gravity), add cold-brew coffee concentrate to taste. Start by adding 250 ml of the cold brew to a 19 L batch, mix gently, taste after 24 hours, and increase in 100–200 ml increments up to a maximum of roughly 1.0 liter depending on desired coffee intensity. For this recipe a typical final addition is 300–600 ml for a pronounced but balanced coffee character. Sanitize any tools and add coffee slowly while stirring gently to avoid oxidation.
Packaging
14. Kegging
After coffee addition and any final conditioning (1–3 days to marry flavors), transfer the beer to a sanitized Cornelius keg. Minimize oxygen pickup by purging the keg with CO2 before filling. Seal and carbonate via CO2: target 1.8–2.2 volumes CO2 (typical for stouts) by applying 12–15 psi at ~4°C for 3–5 days or force-carb at higher psi for faster results. Check carbonation and adjust to preference.
15. Serving
Chill the keg to serving temperature (6–10°C is common for stouts on tap). Serve through your tap system at appropriate pressure (12–14 psi for typical draft setups at short lines) to achieve a smooth pour with a fine head. Taste and adjust future brew/coffee additions based on results.
16. Notes & Troubleshooting
If coffee is too sharp or acidic, reduce the amount of cold-brewed addition or use a darker roast next time. If beer lacks body, increase flaked oats or lactose in future batches. Keep detailed notes of coffee quantity and flavor extraction time so you can reproduce the optimal balance.
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