Coffee Wine

[FTC Wines]

This recipe is adapted from Jack Kellers. makes 1 gal.
1/2 lb. Eight O' Clock French Vanilla coffee
2 1/2 lbs. dark brown sugar, to SG 1.090
1 1/2 tsp. citric acid
1/3 tsp. tannin
7 1/2 pints water
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
yeast [used ec118, what I had on hand]
Bring water to boil, stir in sugar, when dissolved stir in coffee, wait for it to boil. Remove from heat & allow to cool. Strain grounds, pouring liquid into fermentor, add other ingredients & cover with cloth. As fermentation passes vigorous add air lock. Rack 2/3 times 2-3 mos. apart. Stabilize & Back sweeten to taste. I like mine fairly sweet, great at night with desert. You can kick up the ABV by adding more brown sugar during fermentation. Top off carboy with left over morning coffee.

 

[keena]

It wouldn't be a problem if I actually made coffee in the coffee machine, then added sugar after would it? I just feel like that would be easier than straining coffee grounds

 

[btom2004]

Put coffee in a bag, stocking or something to brew it in a pot. This way you get the strong coffee flavor you want. Coffee machine dose not get all the coffee out of the grinds.

 

[keena]

Won't coffee grinds go through a strainer bag?

 

[FTC Wines]

I agree with btom, a coffee machine will not give you a strong enough coffee for the "must". I poured the coffee & grounds thru a paint straining bag to remove most of the grounds. The rest will settle out & be taken care by racking. Roy

 

[keena]

Ok cool, I'll do that one I get to this wine! Thanks guys

 

[spunk]

So anyone out there tell me about their coffee wines. I just love coffee. Dark beers with coffee. Thanks.

 

[joeswine]

Expresso cello

try this...........................

 

[BernardSmith]

My coffee wine is still aging after about 2 years. It was disappointingly harsh after 12 months but is now getting into its stride...There are some strong acids in coffee that need time to have their edges filed... I love coffee but boiling coffee will add to the bitterness. I think you might want to boil the water and the sugar and then allow it to cool closer to the temperature at which you make coffee which is about 205 F (boiling water = 212F) -. Then there is the extraction time: I think you want to remove the grains from the water after about three or four minutes - assuming that you have allowed the ground beans contact with the water... In short, I cannot speak to the recipe you provide, Roy, but IMO, you want to make a wine from the coffee you would drink if you did not add the sugar or the yeast...
Not sure that coffee wine needs additional acidity... I think it may depend on the quality of the bean and the roasting process... but good coffee, I think, has both a good deal of acids (some quite strong - so relatively high TA and low pH ) and I think a fair amount of tannins... But I could be totally wrong... The brand of coffee in your recipe sounds as if the poor quality of the coffee itself is hidden in the added flavors... I would look for my favorite coffee bean and use that to make the wine... Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer chance.

 

[spunk]

I would agree with not boiling coffee. I bought a french press for christmas i let it cool to around 200 before i use the water. It steeps for 4 minutes if it was a large french press i bet that would work perfect.

 

[spunk]

Another question when coffee wine is done does anyone add like some kinda creamer to a glass do you think the two would mix?

 

[FTC Wines]

I've added Kahula & Bailey's, the creams don't mix as well, but it worked for us.

 

[BernardSmith]

I cannot say whether cream would add anything. I drink my coffee black and unsweetened and I think the coffee wine tastes like a wine and not so much like brewed coffee. Very different mouthfeel.

 

[spunk]

I like strong coffee but with all the fixing. I like heavy cream instead of half and half. I really interested if I would like the wine. I want to try. though I see you can buy it but I'm sure it's different than home brew.called wine in a can I think. Anything like the coffee with all kinda fillers I'm not interested.

 

[astewart51]

What does the final wine actually taste and look like? I would like to try this if worth the wait.

Thanks,
Al