Balancing Secondary Flavors

[fourfivesix]

Hey guys,

I have a 5 gallon porter that is finished in primary and I'm ready to rack to secondary. It's going to be a coconut coffee porter similar to Last Snow by Funky Buddha, one of my local breweries. I have about 2 lbs of unsweetened coconuts flakes and shavings, and I want to know if anyone has a tip for how to get the best coconut flavor into the beer?

I was also wondering what a good balance of coffee, coconut and cacao nibs would be. As of right now I'm going to make a tincture with 2oz of toasted nibs in vodka with a little bit of vanilla extract to round out the flavor, then add to taste before kegging. For the coffee, I was planning to do about 8oz of cold brew coffee, and put in two cups before kegging.

TIA

 

[m00ps]

IME youll need 4oz whole bean or lightly cracked coffee beans, 4oz cacao nibs, and +3lbs of toasted coconut to get appreciable flavor from each in a 5gal porter

 

[fourfivesix]

Thanks for the tip. I'll go buy some more coconut today to up my weight. Did you toast your coconut and just dump it in the carboy with beer racked on top or did you use a hop bag?

I may leave the cacao nibs at 2oz + some vanilla extract in the tincture because it's a very subtle part of this beer imo

 

[m00ps]

I toasted it in the oven till it was slightly browned, turning it now and then at 350F. Then put it into a sealed ziploc while waiting to add it. This sanitized it more or less. Just get it in the bag before it cools. I used a big sanitized hop bag for the coconut. Took 2 large bags

For the nibs and vanilla (i use beans). I good quick and safe method is to put them in some water and boil them for 1-2-min to sanitize them. Also pulls out a lot fot eh flavor. Then let this cool and add it in

 

[fourfivesix]

Sweet. Thanks again! I assume you just put the lightly cracked coffee beans directly into secondary as well?

 

[m00ps]

yeah I do it like a dry hop. I use beans from a freshly opened sealed bag and dont worry about sanitizing them. But ive found this gives a better and longer lasting coffee character than flameout or cold steep additions