Mexican Coffee

We all (well, maybe not all of us) brew a cup of coffee to get us going every morning, so why wouldn’t you brew beer with coffee? There are three major factors that affect what flavors you extract from your coffee: grind level, temperature, and contact time. With those factors in mind, it is best to add coffee to your beer one of two ways: you can either add brewed coffee to your beer or steep the coffee beans directly in your beer.

INGREDIENTS

• For 5 gallons (19 L)
• 9 lb. (4.08 kg) Vienna malt
• 2 lb. (907 g) Munich malt 10° L
• 0.5 lb. (226 g) Caravienne malt
• 0.5 lb. (226 g) flaked corn
• 1.5 oz. (35 g) Hallertau Hersbrucker whole hops, 4.5 % a.a. (60 min.)
• 1 oz. (28 g) Hallertau Hersbrucker whole hops, 4.5 % a.a. (30 min.)
• 0.5 lb. (226 g) light-roast Central American Coffee, such as Nicaragua
• Wyeast 2112 California Lager or WLP810 San Francisco Lager Yeast

SPECIFICATIONS
Original Gravity: 1.059
IBU: 37
Efficiency: 70%

DIRECTIONS
Mash at 152° F (67° C) for 45 minutes. Boil 60 minutes. Primary fermentation at 65° F (18° C). Add whole coffee beans to the secondary in a mesh bag and lager for four weeks.

Extract Version:
Substitute 7.7 lb. (3.5 kg) Munich LME for the Vienna and Munich malts. Increase Caravienne to 0.75 lb. (339 g), add 0.25 lb .(113 g) white sugar, and omit flaked corn. Steep the Caravienne in 155° F (68° C) water for 30 minutes, sparge, add malt extracts and sugar, bring to boil, then follow recipe as above.