Coconut Flakes

[Yalc]

I just added 4 oz of coconut flaked to a 2 gal keg of an imperial porter.
I'm gonna try to post a photo of the bag, but it's my first attempt so.....
Anyone have experience with this product?View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1486513919.341626.jpg

 

[jekeane]

No experience with that product but in general it is best to use unsweetened raw coconut flakes from the baking aisle then toast them yourself.

I would look at the back of the package and see how they are sweetened. If it is with sugar or corn syrup you are going to get a bit of re-fermentaion. If it is with a sweetener like stevia then you will be adding unfermentable sugar sweetness to the beer.

To get a solid coconut flavor I used 18oz of unsweetened "Bob Mills" brand shredded coconut in 5.5 gallons. I toasted the coconut for 20-30 minutes @ 325° string once halfway through. It will go from toasted to burnt quickly so pay attention. I dump that straight in primary loose. It tends to form a cap and can be avoided pretty easily when racking. I do sanitize a hop sack and place it over my racking hose to catch any stay pieces just in case.

 

[Yalc]

Thanks for the info! This was a last minute thing to change up an older brew. I'll be sure to purge occasionally.

 

[TandemTails]

I've done a couple brews with coconut flakes. I agree with everything @jekeane says about toasting your own and watching out for the sweetened kind.

One thing to be careful of is coconut flakes are a mess. The oil / fat from the coconut permeates the beer and can result in a nasty "oil slick" at the top of your bottles if you are bottling. Also tiny chunks will make it through the auto-siphon and into your bottling bucket. After having these issues the first time I made my coconut stout, I decided to remove the bag of coconut flakes and cold crash for a few days and attempt to scrape off all the oil/fat that solidified at the top of my fermenter. This greatly reduced the amount of junk that moved on when I racked to my keg.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I don't use the sweetened but Ive used regular flaked to dry hop kegs. 8oz for a few days really nails it IIRC. Last time I did this on a stout along with 4oz cocoa nibs and it tasted like a FB Last Snow clone.

 

[Yalc]

Honestly, I didn't read closely an didn't realize they were sweet until I tried a handful (after they had been added) But thanks for the timing info. I will try it this weekend to see how it is coming along.

 

[Yalc]

I don't use the sweetened but Ive used regular flaked to dry hop kegs. 8oz for a few days really nails it IIRC. Last time I did this on a stout along with 4oz cocoa nibs and it tasted like a FB Last Snow clone.

After reading your post I decided to taste daily. Wow! Just pulled a sample after 24 hours and can already taste it. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Yalc]

Duplicate, sorry.

 

[Bradyevenson]

I once used coconut flakes in my secondary, 3lbs for 2.5gal beer. I think the coconut formed a cap and oxygen couldn't escape. The beer soured on me. So don't follow my mistakes, though it sounds like you're using a much safer and smaller amount.