Coconut Brown Ale - help me design it

I'm thinking my next beer might be a Coconut Brown Ale. I've never brewed with coconut before. I've read that you need to use quite a lot to get a good flavor. The only other coconut beer I've heard of is Kona's porter, which I've never had. I won't have a primary free for a couple of weeks so I've got time to tweak this recipe - or just change my mind and make something else

Here's what I have so far (it's partly based on stuff I have on hand):

COCONUT BROWN ALE Extract w/steeping grains
6lbs XL LME
8oz pale chocolate malt
4oz crystal 60
1oz EKG (60 min)
2lbs shredded toasted coconut (boil 20 min)
1LB shredded toasted coconut (7 days 2ndary)
Wyeast 1028

Any suggestions?

You will get more coconut flavor if you toast it 1st.
I do a Toasted coconut porter and I use 4 bags of shredded coconut, toasted in the oven just until it starts to turn brown. Added to secondary. Its great!

Yeah, toasting is the plan. And all in the 2ndary, you say? Most of the recipes I saw put half or more in the boil. How big are the bags of coconut you're using?

Are you using unsweetened Coconut ? I can only find the sweetened stuff.

I think a typical bag is 13 or 14 oz. I put 1 bag of sweetened in my 5 gallon coconut porter for about 2 weeks and got no flavor.

devilishprune said:

I think a typical bag is 13 or 14 oz. I put 1 bag of sweetened in my 5 gallon coconut porter for about 2 weeks and got no flavor.

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Did the sweetened Coconut start a secondary fermentation ?
Was it toasted?

Yes, I toasted mine for a little while. I didn't have a pan large enough for it all, so a couple pieces were burnt, but I didn't include those.

It did start a small bit of fermentation, mainly it just looked disgustingly like it had developed some sort of pellicle. It will all float on top for a while, and develop some nasty crud covered bubbles. Do not worry about this.

My plan is to use fresh coconut, shredded and toasted, which is easier to get around here than unsweetened, unpreserved pre-shredded coconut. How much meat is in a fresh coconut anyway?

Does 2lbs in the boil + 1lb in secondary sound like enough?

so is there any consensus on sweetened or unsweetened? Im making a toasted coconut porter in three weeks and my local grocery stores only have the sweetened stuff. Should I order unsweetened from the interwebs?

From what I have gathered, if you want to dry hop it in the secondary you want unsweetened or it will ferment. If you put it in the primary it shouldn't mater.

I am now toasting the meat from 3 coconuts and I'd say it's 2-3 pounds.

FYI 3 toasted Coconuts in a grain bag weigh 14.7 oz.

Thanks! So I guess I'm going to need a crapload of coconuts!

I know I'm really late checking in on this thread, but what if you used coconut water instead of coconut milk? flavor without the oils maybe? that plus toasted unsweetened coconut in the secondary may do the trick.

exotica59 said:

I know I'm really late checking in on this thread, but what if you used coconut water instead of coconut milk? flavor without the oils maybe? that plus toasted unsweetened coconut in the secondary may do the trick.

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Try extract! The flavor will last longer (I think)

I thought this thread was dead, but apparently it's a zombie!
I brewed this beer two months ago and have been drinking it for a couple of weeks.

A friend made a chocolate coconut porter. The first taste is great, but it starts tasting like candy pretty quickly. I wanted something more subtle - something that still tastes like beer.

So I brewed up a partial mash nut brown ale recipe of mine, adding the shredded toasted meat of one coconut to the full 60 minute boil. I did not add any coconut at flame out or as a dryhop. My intention was it's a nut brown with just a little bit of coconut in there. And that's exactly what I got! It tastes good. The coconut is in the background. If you don't know there's coconut in there you might not even recognize it, maybe just think there's a little something different about this beer.

Thanks everyone for your tips and advice!

COCONUT BROWN ALE (Partial Mash)
4lbs Light LME
4oz molasses
2½lbs 2-row
8oz crystal 60
8oz victory malt
1 coconut, meat shredded and toasted (60 min)
0.5oz EKG (60 min)
0.5oz EKG (20 min)
0.5oz EKG (2 min)
Mash grains at 154F for 60 minutes.
Add LME and molasses as late additions at 15 minutes boil time remaining.

I just jumped to this thread from another post. 2 lbs in the secondary worked great. I toasted the coconut golden brown and used unsweetened coconut. I'm drinking one now, It has a nice subtle aftertaste of coconut. Can still taste the flavors from the porter, Roasted Chocolate. I left the coconut in the secondary for a week and a half.

The beer I am trying to recreate is very light gold in color. All I know for sure from the brewery is that they used fresh coconut that they toasted themselves and that they used coconut water. Can't figure out if they used the water in the boil-or if it was added later on or both.
so I guess I want a very light bodied ale as a base.
what do you think of this recipe that I found on he site.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/wow-now-thats-light-beer-167718/
basically it's 3lbs. Multons hopped light DME
Multons Rice syrup solids
should make for a very light base I think. Just wondering when to add the coconut water....

exotica59 said:

The beer I am trying to recreate is very light gold in color. All I know for sure from the brewery is that they used fresh coconut that they toasted themselves and that they used coconut water. Can't figure out if they used the water in the boil-or if it was added later on or both.
so I guess I want a very light bodied ale as a base.
what do you think of this recipe that I found on he site.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/wow-now-thats-light-beer-167718/
basically it's 3lbs. Multons hopped light DME
Multons Rice syrup solids
should make for a very light base I think. Just wondering when to add the coconut water....

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Are you referencing the coconut beer Two Brother's had? Just ask one of the brewers, they have always been very candid when I ask questions about their receipes. The only thing they won't share is what their house yeast(s) are.

I just had that one too. I thought it would make a great summer beer - my personal taste would be to cut back on the coconut slightly. If you get the recipe, please post it.

In two weeks i plan to brew my version of the two brother pahoehoe coconut beer. Have you got a recipe from them yet? I tried emailing them twice and have not heard back from them so i am trying my own. I am trying a cream ale base with some lactose, coconut water, and toasted coconut.

I've made the Kona Koko Brown clone several times and always had great results with toasting 1 lb in the oven and constantly flipping them so they get an even golden brown color and then adding them to the last 15 min of my boil and then leaving the coconut in the primary and then racking off when going into the secondary. Maybe bumping the amount up to 2 lbs would be better for a porter though. Most people that have tried my coconut brown can't tell what they're tasting until I tell them it's coconut and then they're like "THAT'S WHAT IT IS!".

Can i get a recipe link for the kona koko brown? that is my favorite and its out fo season right now...

I added #1 of toasted coconut to a brown ale in secondary for a week, HUGE coconut aroma. If I did it again I might go to #.75 or #.5

I agree. 2#s is over kill. I got great coconut flavor with less.