Adjunct
Coffee
Whole or ground coffee added cold or post-fermentation, contributing espresso aroma without extra bitterness.
How the coffee is added changes the beer more than which coffee is used. Hot-brewed coffee added to finished beer brings acidity and can turn thin and papery within weeks; cold extraction gives a rounder, less acidic character that keeps better; whole beans steeped in the fermenter fall somewhere between.
Coffee and dark malt share the same aromatic family, so the two reinforce each other rather than sitting side by side. That is why a coffee stout tastes more of coffee than the quantity would suggest, and why the same addition in a pale beer tastes oddly disconnected.
What it is for
Coffee or cocoa. Shares an aromatic family with dark malt, so it reinforces what the grist already does rather than adding something separate.
- Adds espresso character to dark beer
Whether it ferments
| Fermentable | No — brewing yeast cannot take it, so whatever goes in stays in. It contributes flavour, and where it is a sugar, sweetness and body that survive into the glass. |
|---|
Cold extraction is generally preferred: hot extraction pulls harsh tannins, and coffee aroma fades within weeks, so coffee beers are notably time-sensitive.
What it contributes
The contribution of the ingredient, not the profile of a finished beer. How much of it reaches the glass depends on quantity, timing and what else is in the recipe.
Styles it defines
Styles where this is characteristic rather than optional. Plenty of other beers use it — these are the ones that would not be themselves without it.