# Coffe Balloon Wine



## Johntodd (Jun 9, 2013)

*Coffee Balloon Wine*

So I used Jack Keller's recipe:

½ lb freshly ground coffee
2½ lbs dark brown sugar
1½ tsp citric acid
¼ tsp tannin
7½ pts water
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Sauterne wine yeast 

I only had Montrachet yeast. I pitched this morning and it is furious in there! I have it under a balloon because I couldn't find the other airlock. 

Only making a 1/2 gallon in an old vodak bottle. Modified the recipe accordingly.

So it says to fit an airlock right away. I've always open-topped with a towel for the first week on my wines. Why the difference?

One thing I do know: people complain about coffee wine being very bitter. As an amateur chef, I think I know why. Most of the recipes over-extract the coffee grounds. You must boil the sugar water, toss in the grounds, and remove from heat. Only let it steep about 4 minutes max. Any more than that and much more bitter compounds are extracted. 

I look forward to the "wakeful buzz" this will provide in about 3 months.


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## seth8530 (Jun 9, 2013)

Interesting idea about not soaking the coffee beans for too long!


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## BernardSmith (Jun 9, 2013)

I made a similar batch of coffee wine to which I added chocolate and some coconut water and then pitched the yeast. I fermented it dry and have not back sweetened it. The cocomocha wine has been bulk aging for some months but I was not pleased with the result. The coffee flavor is too bold but I am hoping that the chocolate and coconut will come more to the front over the next few months.


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## Johntodd (Jun 10, 2013)

seth8530 said:


> Interesting idea about not soaking the coffee beans for too long!



Coffee can be counter intuitive, sometimes.

Some people say they don't like strong coffee. What they usually mean is they don't like bitter coffee. So, naturally, they use less coffee grounds. That makes logical sense, but doesn't actually work.

See, less coffee grounds in the same amount of water makes for over-extraction. They should use considerably more grounds so each little bit is "less extracted". Then they can dilute with water in the cup if they want it weaker.

Likewise, with the wine, one should use 1.5 times the amount of grounds and steep only for 4 minutes. This lets in plenty of coffee flavor, but keeps the bitters at bay. A certain amount of bitter and acid is essential in coffee, but too much is too much, just like any other wine.

It depends on the recipe, of course. I can't imagine that every coffee wine recipe on the internet is wrong. Just look at the extraction time. Over 4 minutes is usually asking for trouble. That's the tip-off, right there.

Hope this helps!
-Johntodd


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## saramc (Jun 11, 2013)

Cold extraction for coffee works quite well, but you also need to consider the acidity of the coffee you are using as the levels do vary regardless if using heat or cold extraction.


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## Johntodd (Jun 11, 2013)

Silly question: I have a pH meter I use for my garden. Can it be used to test wine?


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## jensmith (Jul 12, 2013)

I've wondered the same thing. I have gotten so far as to find my garden ph meter, saw it had rust spots on the probe. I have yet to clean off the rust. If I ever do I was going to take a reading with it and compare to the wine paper test strips. Maybe even my fish tank ph test strips as well. They are the most accurent. I'll post results if/when I get around to it.


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## jensmith (Jul 22, 2013)

jensmith said:


> I've wondered the same thing. I have gotten so far as to find my garden ph meter, saw it had rust spots on the probe. I have yet to clean off the rust. If I ever do I was going to take a reading with it and compare to the wine paper test strips. Maybe even my fish tank ph test strips as well. They are the most accurent. I'll post results if/when I get around to it.



My garden ph meter does not work. Anyway I try it. The batterie is even good and in the correct way. So I guess there will be no testing it with wine! The fist tank test strips worked the best. My wine test strips only do the PH in even numbers. No odd numbers or fractions. Almost ussless!! Guess that is why I don't bother testing for PH.....


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## Downwards (Jul 23, 2013)

Yep, one of the main reasons for over-extraction is often the water temperature is too high. It really depends on the coffee maker though, a well designed coffee maker is balancing its temperature with the amount of contact with the grounds. 

I agree with Saramc- best coffee I've had is cold extracted. Check out the toddy coffee maker or you can do it yourself with a French Press. 

Coffee wine sounds interesting!


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