Coconut Milk DIPA - I have clues, but need help

[Crispyvelo]

Okay, so I recently tasted Fieldworks "Coconut Milk IPA" and it kinda changed my life. I'm always trying new beers (sours, brett beers, IPAs, beers from different countries) and rarely do I think about a beer long after I drink it. But I've been dreaming about this beer for WEEKS since having a pint at my local bottle shop were is was briefly on tap. The aroma was tropical and hoppy, but also toasty with coconut. On the palate it retained a bitter, standard IPA profile, but the coconut and hops played perfectly together.

What I need from you - I have some 'clues' about how to make this recipe, but I need your expertise to hone it in and make a firm game plan. In return, I'll document the brew process and tasting notes to see what we come up with.

Description of the beer online
"Made with 100 pounds of hand toasted coconut and heaps of milk sugar, Coconut Milk DIPA delivers with an upfront assault of fresh coconut and tropical hops. Milk Sugar (lactose) provides a velvety mouth feel that carries the huge coconut aromas and flavors from beginning to end, and helps them marry quite well with big tangerine, mandarin orange, guava, and grapefruit notes provided by the massive dry hopping. An assertive bitterness helps cut through the milk-laden body and toasty malt characters to keep Coconut Milk DIPA crushable even at 8.6% ABV."


65 IBU
8.6% ABV

Learned from Tweets with brewery:

• we toast coconut in our convection oven and add milk sugar
• coconut is only added to secondary, nothing to the mash or boil
• hops used are Mandarina, Citra, Galaxy

What I DON'T know

• grain bill
• hop schedule
• which hops were used in the boil and which were used for dry hopping
• mash temps (it tasted pretty dry...so I imagine they mash low)
• when to add lactose and how much to use
• how much toasted coconut to add and when to add it

Can you all help me? What would you do given this information? Recipe suggestions? Similar experiences with coconut IPAs that use lactose? I've never used lactose before...so I don't know when to add it and how much to use... Please help!

EDIT:

Sorry for the delay! Here is the recipe I used for my second batch, slightly adjusted from round 1.

Fermentables:
14lb 2-row
.6lb Crystal 40L
.6lb Carapils
.75lb white sugar

Hops:
60min - 1oz Columbus
30min - .5oz Columbus
5min- .5oz Simcoe
5min - .5oz Mosaic
0min - 1oz Citra
10 days dry hop - 1.5oz Galaxy
10 days dry hop - 1.5oz Mosaic
10 days dry hop - .5oz Citra
5 days dry hop - .5oz Mosaic
5 days dry hop - .5oz Simcoe

Other ingredients:
15min - 8oz Lactose sugar
10 days dry hop - 2lb Toasted coconut (make sure you buy plain coconut, no sugar added. Toast it yourself on a cookie sheet @300F for about 30min, stirring it around a few times so it browns evenly. Also, the first time I bought whole coconuts and took the meat out and diced it up. Tons of work. The second time I bought shredded coconut from Whole Foods, but I did have some problems with a stuck siphon when I was transferring to the bottling bucket. Next time I'll look for coconut flakes instead of shredded in the bulk bin section at Whole Foods.)

Us-05 yeast
Mash a bit high (154F) to keep some residual sugar after fermentation is complete.

That's it's! I'm NOT a 'sweet' beer fan at all. Usually I brew very dry beers that end up with FG around 1.006. But this beer ends up around 1.012 but it just provides body, not sweetness. Also, the coconut is totally present, but not overwhelming. Everyone who has tried this brew loves it.

Let me me know if you like it!!

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I can't comment on everything but I've had very very good results dry hopping kegs with 8-12oz flaked coconut.

 

[Crispyvelo]

Thanks for the tip @keywestbrewing!

 

[Ruckusz28]

Check out my blog post in my signature about the milkshake IPA i just made. I'd imagine it was something similar but instead of fruit, tossing in coconut.

In the forthcoming weeks i'm going to do a sessionable ipa with mango and coconut using a stupid amount of citra. I've used up to 5oz citra in my 2.5 gallon batches with no noticable guava flavors coming through, but I'll give it hell for you. Stay tuned.

 

[hopstupid]

Here is a podcast with their head brewer. Might help

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/session-fieldwork-brewing-company/

 

[btbnl]

With a s'mores donut at Fieldwork.
Breakfast of champions.

 

[farfromrice]

I can't really add any advice except for the milk sugar, been doing a lot of research into it and I like the idea of adding it to the last 15 min of the boil. Here is an article about a Milk stout but towards the end they talk about milk sugar. http://byo.com/hops/item/1155-milk-stout-it-does-a-body-good. I will be very interested in this brew if we can lock down a good clone!

 

[noslenwerd]

Sorry to bump this.. but any luck?

Curious what you came up with

 

[zgja2]

following

 

[Crispyvelo]

OMG - I've got this dialed and of my 20+ beers I've brewed, this is my favorite by a mile! I'll post the recipe after I put my kids to bed this evening. Stay tuned....(I just drank one...soooo good!

 

[zgja2]

That's what i wanted to hear! Cant wait for the details. This sounds amazing.

 

[noslenwerd]

OMG - I've got this dialed and of my 20+ beers I've brewed, this is my favorite by a mile! I'll post the recipe after I put my kids to bed this evening. Stay tuned....(I just drank one...soooo good!

great to hear!!! I am brewing a 2.5g NEIPA that I am going to "milkshakify" this week (that is the scientific term lol). Going to split half the batch with mangos, and the other half with coconut (inspired by your post).

Would be curious to hear how you incorporated the coconut, and how much.

Cheers!

 

[Crispyvelo]

Sorry for the delay! Here is the recipe I used for my second batch, slightly adjusted from round 1.

Fermentables:
14lb 2-row
.6lb Crystal 40L
.6lb Carapils
.75lb white sugar

Hops:
60min - 1oz Columbus
30min - .5oz Columbus
5min- .5oz Simcoe
5min - .5oz Mosaic
0min - 1oz Citra
10 days dry hop - 1.5oz Galaxy
10 days dry hop - 1.5oz Mosaic
10 days dry hop - .5oz Citra
5 days dry hop - .5oz Mosaic
5 days dry hop - .5oz Simcoe

Other ingredients:
15min - 8oz Lactose sugar
10 days dry hop - 2lb Toasted coconut (make sure you buy plain coconut, no sugar added. Toast it yourself on a cookie sheet @300F for about 30min, stirring it around a few times so it browns evenly. Also, the first time I bought whole coconuts and took the meat out and diced it up. Tons of work. The second time I bought shredded coconut from Whole Foods, but I did have some problems with a stuck siphon when I was transferring to the bottling bucket. Next time I'll look for coconut flakes instead of shredded in the bulk bin section at Whole Foods.)

Us-05 yeast
Mash a bit high (154F) to keep some residual sugar after fermentation is complete.

That's it's! I'm NOT a 'sweet' beer fan at all. Usually I brew very dry beers that end up with FG around 1.006. But this beer ends up around 1.012 but it just provides body, not sweetness. Also, the coconut is totally present, but not overwhelming. Everyone who has tried this brew loves it.

Let me me know if you like it!!

 

[Calaeb]

This sounds crazy! I want to try it lol

 

[noslenwerd]

Sorry for the delay! Here is the recipe I used for my second batch, slightly adjusted from round 1.

Fermentables:
14lb 2-row
.6lb Crystal 40L
.6lb Carapils
.75lb white sugar

Hops:
60min - 1oz Columbus
30min - .5oz Columbus
5min- .5oz Simcoe
5min - .5oz Mosaic
0min - 1oz Citra
10 days dry hop - 1.5oz Galaxy
10 days dry hop - 1.5oz Mosaic
10 days dry hop - .5oz Citra
5 days dry hop - .5oz Mosaic
5 days dry hop - .5oz Simcoe

Other ingredients:
15min - 8oz Lactose sugar
10 days dry hop - 2lb Toasted coconut (make sure you buy plain coconut, no sugar added. Toast it yourself on a cookie sheet @300F for about 30min, stirring it around a few times so it browns evenly. Also, the first time I bought whole coconuts and took the meat out and diced it up. Tons of work. The second time I bought shredded coconut from Whole Foods, but I did have some problems with a stuck siphon when I was transferring to the bottling bucket. Next time I'll look for coconut flakes instead of shredded in the bulk bin section at Whole Foods.)

Us-05 yeast
Mash a bit high (154F) to keep some residual sugar after fermentation is complete.

That's it's! I'm NOT a 'sweet' beer fan at all. Usually I brew very dry beers that end up with FG around 1.006. But this beer ends up around 1.012 but it just provides body, not sweetness. Also, the coconut is totally present, but not overwhelming. Everyone who has tried this brew loves it.

Let me me know if you like it!!

Awesome... A couple follow up questions:

- How did you sanitize the coconut?
- Did you put the coconut in a hop bag? Or directly into the fermenter?
- This is a 5gallon batch I assume?
- I assume you put the coconut in after primary fermentation?
- If you did a round three, would you add more or less coconut? ie: Do you think you hit the sweet spot for the amount you already added?

 

[Crispyvelo]

Awesome... A couple follow up questions:

- How did you sanitize the coconut?
- Did you put the coconut in a hop bag? Or directly into the fermenter?
- This is a 5gallon batch I assume?
- I assume you put the coconut in after primary fermentation?
- If you did a round three, would you add more or less coconut? ie: Do you think you hit the sweet spot for the amount you already added?

I did not sanitize the coconut. I figured the roasting process took care of any bacteria. It literally went from the oven into the brew bucket.

Coconut went directly in the bucket, without a bag. It might be worth trying to use a bag so you can keep it contained when you're transferring to the bottling bucket, but it's not necessary.

Yes, it's a 5 gallon batch - BUT, be warned, you lose a LOT of volume when you add 2lbs of shredded coconut. I think I netted about 4G when it was all said and done.

Yes, coconut was added after primary fermentation is complete, about 5 days.

For my 3rd batch, I'll be adding 2lb of coconut again...I really think it was perfect. I'll look for bulk unsweetened coconut flakes (bigger than shreds, but will save time compared to harvesting coconuts by hand).

Let me know if you have any other questions at all! I'll open one tonight and post a picture/video review.

 

[jmark]

Can you post some of the recipe stats like efficiency, OG/FG, IBUs and SRM? Much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[zbeth02]

60 minute boil?
I'm thinking of doing it for one of my 3 gallon batches. Not sure of how much coconut I should use. Ill research it. Sounds great!

 

[btbnl]

14lb 2-row
.6lb Crystal 40L
.6lb Carapils
.75lb white sugar
...
15min - 8oz Lactose sugar
...
US-05 yeast/mash a bit high (154F)
...
this beer ends up around 1.012

At 75% efficiency this looks like an OG of 1.095.
With a FG of 1.012 that's 92% attenuation and ~11% ABV.

The real deal is 8.6% ABV, though I can't find the O/FG offhand.

What am I missing?

----------------------

Update: if I change from 5G to 6G in the fermentor I get a much more reasonable 1.079/1.012/90%/8.8%

 

[Crispyvelo]

My first batch (71% efficiency) OG was 1.077, FG was 1.013, ~8.4% ABV. My second batch (64% efficiency) OG was 1.071, FG was 1.01 ~8.1%ABV. I recommend aiming for that range (8-8.5% ABV) for it to taste balanced. Adjust according to your efficiency.

 

[Crispyvelo]

 

[Enemygod]

Awesome, thanks for the video review of your beer. This is most likely going to be the next beer I brew. Now that you've tried the beer, is there anything you would add or change to the recipe you posted? Would you add more dry hops or anything like that?

I was also thinking about putting 1lb of coconut in the mash as well.

 

[tjm02c]

I've been wanting to try this out for a little bit, so thanks for posting this info! I'm still an extract brewer and was thinking doing 8.5lbs pale DME and steeping 0.5lbs flaked oats. Think that will be a decent "grain" bill to try and replicate this? Was also considering substituting 0.5-1.0 lbs of DME with table sugar to try and keep the FG from finishing too high. Not sure if that's a good plan or not tho

 

[Crispyvelo]

Awesome, thanks for the video review of your beer. This is most likely going to be the next beer I brew. Now that you've tried the beer, is there anything you would add or change to the recipe you posted? Would you add more dry hops or anything like that?

I was also thinking about putting 1lb of coconut in the mash as well.

I won't be changing a thing for my next batch. I'll be interested in how the results come out if you add some coconut to the mash. Even if you don't do that, you'll get plenty of coconut flavor and aroma from secondary.

 

[Enemygod]

One more thing. I was taking a second look at that grain bill and wondering if you think it could use any flaked oats or does the carapils cover the body and mouth feel you were wanting?

 

[Crispyvelo]

I've been wanting to try this out for a little bit, so thanks for posting this info! I'm still an extract brewer and was thinking doing 8.5lbs pale DME and steeping 0.5lbs flaked oats. Think that will be a decent "grain" bill to try and replicate this? Was also considering substituting 0.5-1.0 lbs of DME with table sugar to try and keep the FG from finishing too high. Not sure if that's a good plan or not tho

I think your approach is solid. I'd be afraid to weigh in too much on the extract brewing because I haven't done it that way in quite a while. In theory though, I think that will work fine.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Man, I love Fieldwork (only gotten to go once) and this has me salivating.

Please, please, please can I have a partial mash recipe?

 

[noslenwerd]

Hey Crispy,

I am adding my coconut to my fermenter today (7oz on 1.5 gallons). About 7 days post adding to fermenter.

Wondering if you only kegged? I am reading that carbing can be an issue with coconut beer in bottles. I suppose because of the oils extracted?

Any ideas on that?

 

[Crispyvelo]

Hey Crispy,

I am adding my coconut to my fermenter today (7oz on 1.5 gallons). About 7 days post adding to fermenter.

Wondering if you only kegged? I am reading that carbing can be an issue with coconut beer in bottles. I suppose because of the oils extracted?

Any ideas on that?

Hey Noslenwerd,

I bottled both batches and did not have any issues with carbonation. My one bit of advice (which may seem obvious), is to make sure you know exactly how much beer you have in your bottling bucket before you calculate how much priming sugar to use. I usually add my priming sugar to my bottling bucket before I transfer the beer in, so that it gets mixed up when I move the beer over. The coconut shreds seemed to absorb a lot while it sat in secondary, so I didn't yield quite as much as I expected, resulting in a little too much sugar-to-beer than I would have preferred. Still came out damn good!

 

[Crispyvelo]

Hey Crispy,

I am adding my coconut to my fermenter today (7oz on 1.5 gallons). About 7 days post adding to fermenter.

Wondering if you only kegged? I am reading that carbing can be an issue with coconut beer in bottles. I suppose because of the oils extracted?

Any ideas on that?

Any updates? How's it smelling? Have you drawn a sample to taste? We need an update!

-Chris

 

[noslenwerd]

Any updates? How's it smelling? Have you drawn a sample to taste? We need an update!

-Chris

Hey Chris! Thanks for all the info thus far.

I am actually leaving for mexico tomorrow morning. Going to do a small second dry hop when I get back Sunday, cold crash for 24 hours Wed, and bottle Thursday.

I will report back!

 

[Enemygod]

I'll be brewing mine this weekend. I am going to add 1lb of coconut to the mash. The 2lb will still go in secondary. I have changed the recipe slightly because the total hops you have for each type end in .5, so I've rounded that out.

Really looking forward to this!

 

[Crispyvelo]

Sounds like a plan. Can't wait to hear how it turns out for both of you!

 

[Crispyvelo]

I just sent a sample to a beer buddy up in OR. his review on Instagram:

 

[Bradyevenson]

"The second time I bought shredded coconut from Whole Foods, but I did have some problems with a stuck siphon when I was transferring to the bottling bucket. "

I read on a different coconut thread about someone using a mesh hop bag to cover their siphon to avoid this issue. Seemed like a smart idea.

 

[Enemygod]

Brewed this over the weekend. I eBIAB and totally miscalculated my total water by just over 1 gallon, so my abv / efficiency is way off, which is a bummer. Should still come out pretty tasty though. I added about 10oz of untoasted coconut to the mash. I still plan on adding 2lb of toasted to secondary.

 

[Crispyvelo]

Brewed this over the weekend. I eBIAB and totally miscalculated my total water by just over 1 gallon, so my abv / efficiency is way off, which is a bummer. Should still come out pretty tasty though. I added about 10oz of untoasted coconut to the mash. I still plan on adding 2lb of toasted to secondary.

Keep us posted - I bet it will come out great!

 

[noslenwerd]

Quick update on mine!

Finished at about 7.2% ABV. Used 7 oz of coconut (the pre-packaged whole pieces from whole foods) for a bit over a gallon of beer in the fermenter. Ended up with 9 bottles. You weren't lying about the coconut sucking up the beer Crispy! It smelled absolutely incredible though!

Should be ready to drink this weekend. I will report back

 

[anteater8]

[YOUTUBE]xkGC3SdNDgg[/YOUTUBE]

Props for posting this video, its really helpful to get an idea of what the finished product is like. The recipe you posted isn't what I would have expected for the style, but now I'm convinced and this is going to make its way into my pipeline.

 

[Nomofett]

I read the article about lactose posted earlier and it said that 5% is a nuance. But I see that this recipe is well under 5%
Is it more noticeable because it's not a stout like the examples in the article?