Coconut Porter

After trying Maui's Coconut porter, listening to the podcast on Basic Brewing about it and reading previous Coconut Porter/Stout threads I think I want to try my own. Here's my recipe from BeerSmith:


Brew Type: Partial Mash
Batch Size: 5.00 gal


2 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row)
12 oz Oats (Flaked & Toasted)
10 oz Black Patent Malt
8 oz Crystal 40L
8 oz Crystal 60L

I'll mash the above at 155 F for 30 min and sparge with 1 gal of water
then I'll add water to bring my kettle up to 4 gal and start the boil.

2 oz Fuggles @ 60 min
4 oz Coconut (Shredded) @ 30 min
8 oz Homemade Carmelized Sugar @ 10 min
5 lbs Amber DME @ 10 min
.5 oz Fuggles @ 0 min
Pitch with WYEAST English Ale yeast

In secondary:
2 lb Coconut (Shredded & Toasted)
1 Vanilla bean

Est. OG: 1.070 SG
Est. FG: 1.018 SG
Est. ABV: 6.8%


I'm thinking that the oats will help with head retension, since the oils in the Coconut seems to cause a problem with that. I am concerned that the Pale malt in my partial mash won't have enough diastic power to convert the oats, and I'm not sure how to calculate how much Pale I'd need... I threw in the caramel because it should go well with the Coconut and toasted tastes I've got going on and to lighten the body which I'm guessing is going to be quite thick anyway.

I've been doing mostly PM recipes, and kit beers, so coming up with my own is new to me. So I'm not sure if this recipe makes much sense...

Any suggestions or feedback? Thanks!

Sorry, read it wrong.

Here's a slightly similar recipe that I've just bottled... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/pirate-ale-56705/

At bottling it still tasted a little sour to me...I used the prescribed amount of confectioners coconut so hopefully it'll balance out. My only advice is maybe watch how many days you let the beer ferment in the primary on the coconut, and maybe reconsider having any in the secondary. Not sure what, if any, effect boiling the coconut in there will have...mostly you just see fruits added at flame off or in the primary/secondary.

Sounds like a tasty brew to me either way though, the addition of the vanilla should go good with the coconut flavor.

2 lbs of pale malt seems light?

I don't see how you can get to an OG of 1.070

@IXVolt

Did you see the 5 lbs Amber DME? I didn't list that up with the grain bill. The DME along with the other ingredients should bring the OG up pretty high I think. I'm still not sure if I want to make this as strong as my recipe I have here, I might cut back on the DME. But my chief concern is with having enough pale malt in my partial mash to convert the starches in 3/4 lb of oats.

Mathematics said:

Here's a slightly similar recipe that I've just bottled... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/pirate-ale-56705/

At bottling it still tasted a little sour to me...I used the prescribed amount of confectioners coconut so hopefully it'll balance out. My only advice is maybe watch how many days you let the beer ferment in the primary on the coconut, and maybe reconsider having any in the secondary. Not sure what, if any, effect boiling the coconut in there will have...mostly you just see fruits added at flame off or in the primary/secondary.

Sounds like a tasty brew to me either way though, the addition of the vanilla should go good with the coconut flavor.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure either. I got the idea of boiling it from what Maui Brewing does, as they put some in the boil. How's the coconut taste in yours? And also, can you taste the rum? I first thought about doing the 2 lbs toasted coconut in the secondary and making a coconut extract with a fifth of Bacardi 151 and shredded coconut and then pouring that into my bottling bucket. But I don't want to overdo the coconut taste, plus that raises the cost considerably.

I noticed the Pirate Ale uses dark dme.
I decided to go with Amber DME over Dark DME, because I'm thinking the dark might be too flavorful and overpower the coconut. I don't want it to be overly roasty. Do the flavor's blend well in yours?

Aah, I missed the DME. Also if you use the coconut extract would that still affect the head retention?

IXVolt said:

Aah, I missed the DME. Also if you use the coconut extract would that still affect the head retention?

Click to expand...

Not sure, but my guess is that it wouldn't.

rayen99 said:

I'm not sure either. I got the idea of boiling it from what Maui Brewing does, as they put some in the boil. How's the coconut taste in yours? And also, can you taste the rum? I first thought about doing the 2 lbs toasted coconut in the secondary and making a coconut extract with a fifth of Bacardi 151 and shredded coconut and then pouring that into my bottling bucket. But I don't want to overdo the coconut taste, plus that raises the cost considerably.

I noticed the Pirate Ale uses dark dme.
I decided to go with Amber DME over Dark DME, because I'm thinking the dark might be too flavorful and overpower the coconut. I don't want it to be overly roasty. Do the flavor's blend well in yours?

Click to expand...

I taste-tested a small 12oz-er last night (7 days in bottle)...still has alot of twang to it, and the coconut is VERY pronounced. The rum is just barely noticeable (which I like). Not that great last night, but hopefully it'll mellow out with time.

Any word on how these have come out? Im sizing up my fall/winter homebrew schedule and definetly wanted to try out a toasted coconut porter...

I am doing one too. I did a similar recipe without the coconut just to make sure I had a good porter. Now I am ready to do the coconut porter but I am wondering what a good substitute for Fuggles would be. I think I have Amarillo, Centennial, Halertau, Columbus, Magnum and Symcoe. I'm not sure which would be best for porter. I only used 2 oz. Fuggles last time in a 5 gallon batch.

rayen99 said:

I'm not sure either. I got the idea of boiling it from what Maui Brewing does, as they put some in the boil. How's the coconut taste in yours? And also, can you taste the rum? I first thought about doing the 2 lbs toasted coconut in the secondary and making a coconut extract with a fifth of Bacardi 151 and shredded coconut and then pouring that into my bottling bucket. But I don't want to overdo the coconut taste, plus that raises the cost considerably.

Click to expand...

I am wondering on what results people have had with there coocnut porter recipes.
as after just getting back from Maui and having there coconut porter i would like to try and make some for my self.

After Listening to the podcast it was my understanding that Maui brewery used some in the mash, some in a hop back and then some in the serving tanks. not any in the boil. he also said that for a 20 beer barrel batch they used 200 Llbs of shredded coconut toasted which roughly works out to be just over 1.5 # for 5 gallons

so I am thinking maybe a good robust porter recipe with the addition of .5# toasted coconut in the mash Tun and then 1# in the secondary

my first AG batch was a coconut stout, and the coconut DOMINATES. I made a 3 gallon batch and if brewed again I would add some oats and cut back on the amount of coconut used.

For 3 gallons:
7lbs 2 row
.5lb black patent
.25lb chocolate
.25 roasted barley
1lb 3oz toasted coconut

mashed at 152*F for one hour, then sparged with 170*F water to collect ~3.5 gallons total going into the boil.

60min .75oz Saaz @6.8%AA
30min .5oz Perle @7.7%AA
5min .5lb Coconut

I used 3 whole coconuts, went at them with the business end of a hammer, then tossed the meat into a blender and toasted it in the oven until the outsides were browned.

The mouthfeel came out to be pretty thin and the head retention is non-existant...I'm figuring that this was from the coconut oil. Adding oats and cutting back on the amount of coconut would probably be a good way to go with this beer.

I recently made a coconut porter too. I bottled it about....HEY! Three weeks ago today. After I get home from work I will taste a bottle. Anyway, I have only tasted one partial bottle after about 1 week. The coconut flavor was pretty much non existent at that point and it was over-carbonated.

I'll post the recipe below, but be easy because it was one of my first brews. I went pretty overboard on the caramel and chocolate malts. But, I love a sweet beer so it might be great for me. It also has the potential to counteract any sourness that the coconut might impart, as indicated by one of the posters above.

I'll update this tonight when I get home to let you know how it was.



BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Basement Cat Porter
Brewer: David
Asst Brewer:
Style: Robust Porter
TYPE: Extract
Taste: (NA)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.30 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 34.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: - %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6 lbs DME Dark Traditional (Briess) (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 74.99 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 12.51 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 12.50 %
1.00 oz Williamette [3.40 %] (60 min) Hops 12.6 IBU
0.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 12.5 IBU
0.25 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (0 min) (AroHops -
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 0.0 days) Misc
1 Pkgs Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand #-) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: None
Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
----------------------------
Steep grains as desired (30-60 minutes)


Notes:
------
Added 6 g of baking soda to steeping water. Steeped in 2 gallons of water
Added 14 oz of lightly toasted, sweetened, shredded coconut to fermenter. Left for 8 days.
Primed with 3.75 oz of light brown sugar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some things to note about adding coconut to beer:
1. It looks disgustingly like some kind of infection when it starts to ferment. Something like a white layer with crusty bubbles and chunks.

2. There will be a disturbing thick layer of oil on the top of your beer after the sugars have been leached from the coconut. I don't have the capabilities to cold crash, but since coconut oil is a saturated fat and solid at slightly cooler than room temperatures, putting it in the fridge for a few days SHOULD allow you to rack from underneath the layer of oil.

3. All that coconut in the fermenter WILL clog up your siphon. I had to suck on the end of the hose and stick it back in the bottling bucket to get it going again, and even that BARELY worked. In the future I would wrap the racking cane in some sort of mesh bag to counteract all the coconut sediment. I ended up losing about 1 gallon to all of the coconut shreds.

3.A. I would recommend priming with less sugar than you think that you will need. The reason for this is that I calculated my priming sugar for 5 gallons at 2.0 volumes. I ended up with about 3.8 gallons; as a result I have a porter that is carbonated at 2.6 volumes or so. It might be worth it to undershoot, since you will lose some beer to the coconut. This is especially true if you pour in your priming sugar first and then siphon your beer into the bucket.

In mine I don't bother putting coconut in the boil. Just toasted shredded coconut in secondary and it comes out with a strong, creamy coconut flavor and aroma. I use 10oz for a 5 gallon batch.

snowveil said:

the head retention is non-existant...I'm figuring that this was from the coconut oil.

Click to expand...

I thought that might happen.

Good to see you went ahead with it though, nice to see results. I still like the idea of a Coconut Porter.

Okay, so I just drank the first one a minute ago. The beer is ridiculously carbonated. I could only pour half of a bottle into a pint glass because the head filled it the rest of the way. No issues with head retention.

The reason for that might be because there is also no coconut flavor in this porter, sort of a disappointment. I would recommend anyone in the future to leave it on the coconut for longer or use a larger amount.

So I am in the process of making this beer. Here is the recipe:

Partial Mash:
2 lb Pale malt
1.25 lb Chocolate malt
0.5 lb Crystal 80
0.5 lb Flaked oats
6 lb NB gold LME
Hops:
0.33 oz Columbus 60min
0.33 oz Chinook 60min
0.33 oz Nugget 60min
0.6 oz Palisade 10min

And I am using 14 oz. of toasted sweetened coconut.

Used a packet of Nottingham and Windsor. It has been fermenting for 4 weeks. Should I just throw the coconut in the primary or rack into a secondary and how long should I leave the coconut in contact with the beer? I am also going to throw in a couple of cinnamon sticks to make it a cocomon porter.