When to add coconut...

I'm going for a recipe based off of the "Oatmeal Cookie Brown Ale" from Radical Brewing. I'm looking to give it just a hint of coconut, but after reading up on many ventures with coconut in brewing, it seems a bit harder than expected to get that added flavor. I was thinking about roasting a pound or two of shredded coconut in the oven and throwing it all in to the secondary. What do you guys think? Should I maybe try adding coconut milk instead? What experiences have the rest of you had with it?

Coconut milk has a good amount of oils in it that would make me hesitant to use. I'm just guessing, but the shredded seems like it might be better.

The brewpub nearby makes a fantastic coconut stout every summer. It's based off of their normal milk stout recipe, but with less roasted barley and more chocolate barley. They put unsweetened coconut flakes in their serving tanks. The flavor comes from the oils, which mix with the beer when chilled in the tanks. They use flaked oats to counteract what the oils would do to head retention. But I have no idea how much. That'll be the biggest problem.

I've read in some places where people use coconut milk instead of coconut.

I;m sure you have seen my posts on the Coconut Cream Stout I did, but I added toasted and untoasted shredded coconut (unsweetened) to the secondary along with coconut milk from a can. I added about 4# coconut plus 4 cans per 5 gallons IIRC and it has a nice but not overpowering flavor, mostly because it is a pretty roasty stout. Left it all in there for abotu 3-4 weeks IIRC...been a while. The beer never poured with any head at all because of the oils, but it was yummy-licious. I have another 5-gallon keg sitting in my basement waiting for the right moment.

"When to add coconut..."

....right after you put da lime in it.

ColoradoXJ13 said:

I;m sure you have seen my posts on the Coconut Cream Stout I did, but I added toasted and untoasted shredded coconut (unsweetened) to the secondary along with coconut milk from a can. I added about 4# coconut plus 4 cans per 5 gallons IIRC and it has a nice but not overpowering flavor, mostly because it is a pretty roasty stout. Left it all in there for abotu 3-4 weeks IIRC...been a while. The beer never poured with any head at all because of the oils, but it was yummy-licious. I have another 5-gallon keg sitting in my basement waiting for the right moment.

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I was actually thinking about sending you a message before I created the topic, but I figured I'd just create the topic instead! I'm wondering if there can be a happy medium to create a balance between a minor amount of head and using enough coconut to give some flavor. I don't think I'll add quite that much coconut, but I'm wondering how much coconut will contribute a slight, delicate flavor to complement the oatmeal nutty-ness of the brown ale. I'm taking a typical brown ale recipe (Mosher's from Radical Brewing), and trying his "Oatmeal Cookie Ale" version of it, which substitutes oatmeal and brown sugar for some malt. I don't want an overwhelming amount of coconut though, basically worried I will have a dessert beer, one that many will only want one of at a time due to the sweetness. The IBU isn't going to be very high either (around 26), so the strong flavor wouldn't complement the flavor as well as it would a stout...I think. I'm still new to all of this..

Maybe go with about half of what I did. Here is the recipe of what I did from the original creator.
http://aircrafter.org/boggs/homebrew/recipes/2006.10.29-Coconut_Cream_Stout.xml

i Just finished a coconut stout and the primary fermentation was active but there was no yeast/ fermentation cap in the bucket. I hoped it wouldn't happen but chemistry is chemistry... grease kills foam. My guess is like I read above that the oil from the coconut killed the surface tension. Hopefully the beer will still be drinkable even though there will be no foam.

i'm in the middle of trying my first coconut porter...

8.2 lbs Dark Malt Extract
Steeping grains: 18 oz Chocolate Malt, 16 oz Caramel Malt 80L
1 oz Northern Brewer Pellets (bittering hops)
1 oz Perle Pellets (aroma hops)
8 oz Equal Exchange organic cocoa
Wyeast 1272 AM Ale II Activator yeast

I've had it in primary for a week, and i'll rack onto 28 oz of toasted coconut flakes next sunday. looking forward to seeing how it works out, but like everyone else has said, i'm a little worried about how the lack of head will impact the overall experience of the beer.

I just did a Maui Brewing Coconut Porter clone that turned out pretty well. I did 12 of ounces of toasted coconut flakes for nine days in the secondary. I used Bob's Red Mill unsweetened coconut flakes toasted in a skillet. Turned out pretty close although head retention is fair. I kegged it and the coconut really comes through when you pull a glass.

cowperc said:

i'm in the middle of trying my first coconut porter...

8.2 lbs Dark Malt Extract
Steeping grains: 18 oz Chocolate Malt, 16 oz Caramel Malt 80L
1 oz Northern Brewer Pellets (bittering hops)
1 oz Perle Pellets (aroma hops)
8 oz Equal Exchange organic cocoa
Wyeast 1272 AM Ale II Activator yeast

I've had it in primary for a week, and i'll rack onto 28 oz of toasted coconut flakes next sunday. looking forward to seeing how it works out, but like everyone else has said, i'm a little worried about how the lack of head will impact the overall experience of the beer.

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For the record, this turned out to be a GREAT batch

I ended up using 21 oz instead of 28 oz. the coconut is definitely there, but not overpowering -- and i'm pleasantly surprised that it's got a decent amount of head

So has anyone done this successfully, tried a coconut tea that i scraped the fat and oil off of and got no flavor, i did this to avoid the issue with head retention...I brew in 5 gallon batchs, would really appreciate any new info on when to add, how much, and how to prepare...normally i do one week in the primary, one to two weeks in the secondary before bottling...

BrewMcGoo said:

So has anyone done this successfully, tried a coconut tea that i scraped the fat and oil off of and got no flavor, i did this to avoid the issue with head retention...I brew in 5 gallon batchs, would really appreciate any new info on when to add, how much, and how to prepare...normally i do one week in the primary, one to two weeks in the secondary before bottling...

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see my post right above yours. just finished the last two bottles this past weekend -- the whole batch turned out great. i actually came in 4th place with this beer in my group (22 beers) as part of the first contest i've ever entered. the head was NEVER an issue.

Would adding some dextrin help? I am about to start a coconut brown ale as well. I am also worried about head retention. I was wondering if adding about half a pound of dextrin would help?

I brewed a coconut brown ale 2 days ago. I roasted 14oz of shredded coconut then put into the boil for 60 minutes. It is currently fermenting like crazy. i also added maltodextrin to try and help with head retention. I will repost when bottled and carbed about how the head is.

Mine has been bottled for 2 weeks. I used a pound of toasted sweetened coconut in the secondary for about 2 weeks. I didn't use any dextrin, and the head retention is okay, not outstanding but okay. As for the coconut taste, it has a subtle coconut flavor and a coconut and toasty nose. The brown ale itself came out a little darker than i hoped. Over all though its a pretty good beer.I am pretty happy with it.

So here is my update on bottling day. There was still a lot of shaved coconut in the beer so I filtered it out and took a taste. Very slight coconut and I'm kinda hoping the hops die down a little during carbonation and it will be exactly what I was trying for.

1 week after bottling pretty thick head and a little lacing tastes like a spot on brown ale with a touch of coconut. Wish there was a little more coconut flavor. But an amazing beer!!!

Anyone ever try coconut milk powder in the boil?

Made a coconut coffee porter. Added coconut flavored coffee beans to primary (coarsely ground) and cold pressed some more in secondary. Turned out great....

Adding coconut at flameout....how much flavour aroma would that impart at a reasonably high addition

Add toasted coconut at whirlpool

Then "drynut" with toasted coconut

curtisj said:

Adding coconut at flameout....how much flavour aroma would that impart at a reasonably high addition

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I added a good bit (~1 lb) of coconut with about 10 minutes remaining. A bunch of that ended up in my primary (clogged up the transfer, got annoyed and said screw it as I dumped it all in the primary). When I sampled, it was fairly strong. I then added about 2 lbs toasted to the secondary. It's kegged and carbed now and tasting quite strong of coconut. The toasting added a very light vanilla/bourbony undertone.

Hopefully that helps?

Just bottled a coconut stout yesterday and the sample out of the secondary tasted pretty good. We started with an Irish Stout kit from Midwest, then added 12 oz of unsweetened toasted coconut flakes to a nylon bag in the secondary. We let it go almost a month with the coconut, so the taste is rather pronounced, but not overly so. It'll make a great desert beer or something to use to make a beer float.

Good thread.

I'll be adding 16oz of toasted coconut to my imperial stout when I rack it to a secondary. Plan is to let it sit for 2weeks then time for bottles. Sadly enough I think it will sit and not be touched for a few months but I'll post up the outcome and recipe then.

Ok so my imperial coconut stout was in primary for 2 weeks then racked to secondary and I added french oak chips as well as real toasted coconut. (I peeled, cut and toasted myself)

It's been in the secondary for 2 weeks and the gravity was at 1.046. After speaking to the brewmaster at the local micro brew he said, get another smack pack of the same wyeast, toss it in and let it sit as this should bring the abv up to where it needs to be. 5.75% abv is not what I want.

My question is how long should I let it sit with the coconut, oak chips and fresh addition of yeast? I"m thinking 2 weeks then start checking gravity but not sure if letting it sit too long will make it start to get off flavors from the coconut??

Help...