Coconut Chai Brown Ale ?advice?

[jezebel]

We are going to attempt to make this beer using toasted coconut and chai spices. We will use a honey brown ale recipe as the base. I am wondering if anyone has made a coconut beer before. I'm not sure how much coconut to add to how much Chai spice. We (my husband and I) do not want a strong/predominant chai flavor. We want a nice even amount of coconut flavor to chai flavor. Any suggestions on the amount of each?

We had a coconut chai stout at RockBottom Brewery in Minneapolis that was to die for. Stout may be our next attempt but we are doing a brown ale first. The coconut and chai in this beer was the most amazing flavor and I could not stop drinking it.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Beermaker]

What is the recipie? Will you share it or pm me?

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[jezebel]

you bet.

Northern Brewer's Honey Brown Ale all grain kit:
6 gallon recipe
10 lb rahr 2-row pale
.25 pounds simpsons chocolate
.25 pounds belgian special b
.25 pounds belgian biscuit
.25 pounds briess special roast
2 pounds flaked oats (Not included in Northern Brewer's recipe, this is our addition)
1 ounce cluster (60 minutes)
1 pound honey (0 minutes)
yeast safbrew s-33

(this portion comes from a Hawaiian brewer)
*add fresh coconut meat to mash (about 1/2 pound)
*add the coconut water from 1 coconut to mash
*after fermentation add about 1 1/2 pounds toasted coconut chips

Sit for a couple of weeks or to taste.
(we then plan to split the batch to do 2 different recipes, one will have the chai spices.)

 

[Beermaker]

How much Chai? Do you use chai spices or tea bags? Add to 2ndary? How long.

 

[jezebel]

we added 2 coconuts to the mash along with the coconut water. Any day now we will be adding 1 1/2 pound toasted coconut chips.

After that sits, I'll add chai spices, not tea bags. I've been doing some research and looking at other blogs and books and it sounds like people prefer the spices over the tea blend. I don't want any added flavors like tea, so I'll probably just go to Penzey's Spices and find some good quality chai spices. I'll post back when it's all done.

 

[houge04]

How much of each spice did you use, and when?

 

[bigchristheman]

I think this sounds very tasty. You have to update when it's done!

 

[jezebel]

houge04: I have not added spices yet. Before I bottle it, I will add the spices, this is what I have read & heard others did. As far as which spices, I have a few recipes I am looking at. I will probably go by taste. I don't want it to overpower the coconut. I also will only use ground spices, no tea, I don't want it to be bitter. If the ground spices are too strong, I may do whole spices and let them sit, then strain before bottling.

Also, our local brewery who made a coconut chai stout said they used coconut MILK, not actual coconut meat. Bummer, I wish I known this before. We are going to try again with coconut milk if this batch doesn't turn out. The coconut meat is mild and so far we can't taste it in our beer. Going to let it sit a few more weeks I think. I'll post the results!

(our local brewery got awards for this beer. They made a smaller batch and it sold out fast. Not sure when they plan to make another but I have noticed 2 other local breweries giving coconut beers a try.)

 

[SD-SLIM]

Hello, I have brewed with both chai and coconut...but never together, my advice would be one pound of toasted coconut (if it's toasted well, you will have less of an oil floating)...as for the chai, it goes a long way so I usually add it to the end of the boil and only use .5 ounces....but experimenting is what makes this stuff great!

 

[jezebel]

Thank you SD-SLIM. I will try that next time. We did toast about 3 coconuts and added it to the dryhopping-secondary. I was originally mistaken, I am not adding chai spices when bottling. They will be steeped on the stove, like tea, into a strong tea, then strained and added to the mix before bottling.

I will try adding them at the end of the boil next time, I think. And use coconut milk.

We actually tried the coconut beer last night, to see if it was flavored well and ready for the chai spices. While I could not detect any coconut flavor, there was a bit of sweetness to the beer and a very good aftertaste, it wasn't very bitter. I was quite pleased with it even though there was no coconut flavor. We will probably give it another week or two, then add the spice "tea" and bottle.