Coffee mead--Brewed or beans

[Jack Grimshaw]

Does anyone have a recipe they like for a coffee mead.I've found a couple through Google.One called for brewed coffee,the other used ground beans.

Comments??

I think I'd like to make it a sweet mead.

Jack

[Baloo]

I guess it would be the same for beers? The best method is to "cold brew" the coffee in the fridge for 24 hrs. This way it cuts down on some of the more bitter qualities of the coffee that you probably don't want in your mead. I personally would add the coffee post fermentation. I would pull out a measured amount of mead (a cup, pint, quart etc.) , and add a measured amount of the coffee brew until I got the flavor I was looking for. Then all you have to do is multiply the amount to fit your batch size...then bottle.

[Ben Brewcat]

I'm with Baloo all the way. I've certainly had some great beers with brewed coffee just poured in, but with mead's delicacy and to avoind the oils concentrate is a great way to go. I had a doodad for making it but it's just a funnel with a filter plug. From memory I think I used to add 8 cups cold water to 1 lb coarse-ground beans, sit on the counter overnight, and filter through a cotton plug. This makes a lot of coffee (a tablespoon or to taste added to boiling water makes your morning cup) so reduce if you're only flavoring with it.

Alternatively and even easier is to use a tincture such as coffee liqueur, skip Kahlua (has cream) just straight coffee liqueur. Sanitary already, just add to taste.

I like these methods for the control you get over the amount of flavor. I find that flavored meads of any kind have a narrow window of balance, they're easy to over- or under-flavor.

[Jack Grimshaw]

Thanks for the input.Tincture it is!!