Death by Coconut Clone

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Wow, now that stuff is strong! I checked their website, and they recommend starting at 0.20% in beer and adjust to taste. If my math is correct, that's 1.28 oz for a five gallon batch (128 oz * 5 gal * 0.002.) I'll definitely give them a try next time and forego the coconut and cacao nibs. Thanks. Ed

Yep! Definitely make sure to do the math right and buy the smallest bottle possible. I can promise you won't be disappointed. Their stuff is just great. I brewed 15 gallons of porter and kegged six 2.5 gallon batches each with a different flavor off there and they're all delicious. And I didn't have to screw with any real fruit or other stuff. Grocery store extracts are crap, but this stuff is the real deal.

 

[jeeppilot]

Diverting back a tad, I am getting ready to brew the recipe from the December BYO. I have entered the recipe exactly as is into Brewer's Friend and I'm struggling to get the OG and FG to come out. The magazine recipe states 1.067 OG and 1.017 FG. Brewer's Friend comes up with 1.078 OG and 1.014 FG for a 8.36% beer, not a 6.5% beer as the magazine states. I started at 65% efficiency, per their standardization too. Before some scaling for efficiency and batch size, I took out 2 lbs of base pale malt which give me a 1.068 and 1.013. Getting closer, but drier and still over 7.5%. I tried adding some lactose, but I'm having to add a bunch to get the FG up to 1.017. Any ideas?

 

[RedlegEd]

Diverting back a tad, I am getting ready to brew the recipe from the December BYO. I have entered the recipe exactly as is into Brewer's Friend and I'm struggling to get the OG and FG to come out. The magazine recipe states 1.067 OG and 1.017 FG. Brewer's Friend comes up with 1.078 OG and 1.014 FG for a 8.36% beer, not a 6.5% beer as the magazine states. I started at 65% efficiency, per their standardization too. Before some scaling for efficiency and batch size, I took out 2 lbs of base pale malt which give me a 1.068 and 1.013. Getting closer, but drier and still over 7.5%. I tried adding some lactose, but I'm having to add a bunch to get the FG up to 1.017. Any ideas?

Hi. I also use Brewer's Friend and would be happy to look it over if you shared your recipe (I'm also RedlegEd on BF as well.) BTW, which beer was it? Ed

 

[jeeppilot]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. It is the Death by Coconut recipe. I tried all sorts of changes like adding lactose and other crystal malts, raising the mash temp, etc. I tried the other recipe from the Reddit conversation with the head brewer. Same numbers. Turns out just changing the yeast from US-05 to S-04 English Ale hit the bullseye. Just a little less attenuation. Doesn't match the recipe but S-04 is still a pretty neutral, clean yeast from what I know? I'm going to try the recipe from Reddit first...

76% Pale 2-row
6% Dark Crystal 80L
4% Coffee Malt
4% Extra Dark Crystal 160+L
3.5% Midnight Wheat (recipe calls for Carafa II, but I have this I need to use up)
3.5% Chocolate
3% Munich 10L

Mash at 153F for an hour, 90 minute boil.
Ferment at 68F using S-04 instead of US-05.

In secondary, toasted coconut at 1.3 lbs per 5 gal, and still debating how much Cholaca to use.

 

[peoples22]

Use the coconut or chocolate coconut extracts off here, trust me:

http://www.apexflavors.com/Beverage-Industry/Craft-Brewing

The Mounds Bar chocolate coconut one tastes exactly like Death by Coconut.

This is the same company that DuClaw buys the extract to flavor Sweet Baby Jesus.

They are outstanding, I have used a few of them.

Don't waste your time with real coconut or any of that nonsense.

Thanks for the tip! Are you adding this extract after racking to secondary and does it need time to sit or is it basically instant flavor?

 

[peoples22]

Hi. I just kegged another batch last weekend. Although it's been chillin' in the fermentation chamber for about three weeks @35°F, it still needs to age and carbonate some more. A sample pulled last night was good and very promising. The main things I did different on this batch were:

1. Did not use any "real" coconut at all (it's a royal PITA to use) in either boil, fermentation, or kegging
2. Used a secondary and added 8 oz ground cacao nibs (1/2 toasted) soaked in ~12 oz Dark Rum plus 1 cup dark honey (to reactivate yeast to help scavenge oxygen introduced at racking). Let it sit for about 3-4 weeks @ 66°F.
3. Added about 18 ml of pure coconut extract (this stuff is strong) and 4 tsp of pure vanilla extract at kegging (next time I'll reduce coconut extract to ~14-15 ml if taste doesn't mellow out a little.)
4. Added 5 oz (by weight) of Maltodextrin dissolved in 1c. boiling water at kegging for mouth feel.

Like I said, this batch shows real promise, but like @woo_pig said above, you have to let it age a bit. I found the last batch really didn't hit it's stride until it was almost gone (about 4 months later.) Like they say, the last pint is often the best (see my last one below.) Hope this helps. Ed

didn't see your reply before my previous post,thanks for sharing. I'll give the extract a shot and see how it goes.

 

[jeeppilot]

Use the coconut or chocolate coconut extracts off here, trust me:

http://www.apexflavors.com/Beverage-Industry/Craft-Brewing

The Mounds Bar chocolate coconut one tastes exactly like Death by Coconut.

This is the same company that DuClaw buys the extract to flavor Sweet Baby Jesus.

They are outstanding, I have used a few of them.

Don't waste your time with real coconut or any of that nonsense.

Just got my Coconut and Chocolate extracts today! I’ll report back when I know more. [emoji482]

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Just got my Coconut and Chocolate extracts today! I’ll report back when I know more. [emoji482]

Good luck! The chocolate coconut one is really great. Make sure to take the %'s they recommend seriously. It's easy to over do it. Can't wait to hear what you think of it!

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Thanks for the tip! Are you adding this extract after racking to secondary and does it need time to sit or is it basically instant flavor?

I add at kegging and it's basically instant flavor. No need for aging or anything like that.

I just add the measured amount in my keg and rack right on top of it. Then once I've sealed the keg and purged the oxygen I just shake it up and bunch and it's mixed nicely.

 

[peoples22]

I add at kegging and it's basically instant flavor. No need for aging or anything like that.

I just add the measured amount in my keg and rack right on top of it. Then once I've sealed the keg and purged the oxygen I just shake it up and bunch and it's mixed nicely.

I'm about to keg my batch today and want to have a double check on the usage amounts -

.10% for porter/stout beers per label
5 gal * .10% = .005 gal
.005 gal = 0.64 oz

Does that amount seem along the same lines as your experience?

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

I'm about to keg my batch today and want to have a double check on the usage amounts -

.10% for porter/stout beers per label
5 gal * .10% = .005 gal
.005 gal = 0.64 oz

Does that amount seem along the same lines as your experience?

Yep then convert that to tsp. Then once it's kegged and mixed up, you can taste and see where you need to go from there.

 

[jdauria]

Just an FYI on this beer, BYO magazine recently had a cover article on Oskar Blue's beers and had a recipe for Death by Coconut. I loaded the recipe into BeerSmith. See the attached file.

 

[RedlegEd]

@jdauria . Thanks, but I didn't see any quantities/descriptions for the coconut (toasted, roasted, ?) or cacao (nibs, raw, roasted, ?) Was that missing in the original recipe? Ed

 

[jdauria]

@jdauria . Thanks, but I didn't see any quantities/descriptions for the coconut (toasted, roasted, ?) or cacao (nibs, raw, roasted, ?) Was that missing in the original recipe? Ed

Sorry Ed! Weird that it did not come through as it's in my recipe in Beersmith. The coconut is 1.3 lbs, toasted, added to secondary for 4-7 days. The BYO recipe uses no nibs, instead it uses the Cholaca pure liquid cacao in secondary. I will have to double check the magazine to see if they use unsweetened, original or sweetened. Also I have 750 ml as the amount, or 25.36 ounces, let me check that too and I will get back to you.

 

[jdauria]

So i stand corrected, looking at the 12/17 BYO, it just says dry coconut, nothing about toasted, AFTER fermentation and after clarifying the beer by dropping to 32F. Bag the coconut and hold beer at 32F for a week.

As for the Cholaca liquid cacao, it is 750 mL, added same time as the coconut.

 

[RedlegEd]

Hi. Thanks for the clarification. Have you tried brewing that recipe yet? Like I said in my earlier post #28, I changed mine up and didn't use any "real" coconut for batch #2. It came out really good, and for batch #3, I'll go with the Apex Coconut chocolate extract and skip both the coconut and Cacao nibs additions. This beer is truly a dessert type beer, with a definite Mounds Bar "in your face" profile. I really enjoy one of these later in the evening, but I doubt I could drink more than one pint. Ed

 

[jdauria]

Hi. Thanks for the clarification. Have you tried brewing that recipe yet?

I have not, but it's been on my to do list! I have another coconut porter I make that is great, though it's been a few years since I have brewed it. It's NoDa's (Charlotte NC) Coco Loco Porter. I tried their beer at a beer fest in Boston years back and tried to recreate it and emailed the owner a question and he was kind enough to send me his original home brew recipe, though he asked that I did not share on any forums (so check your private messages or conversations as they are called now!).

 

[peoples22]

Did this recipe and took Maple's advice and used the Apex flavoring and it turned out awesome! I did a side by side with DBC and my impression was mine had more of a roasty/coffee after taste compared to DBC but still very good.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Did this recipe and took Maple's advice and used the Apex flavoring and it turned out awesome! I did a side by side with DBC and my impression was mine had more of a roasty/coffee after taste compared to DBC but still very good.

Awesome to hear! Great looking pint too.

 

[eustacesk]

So i just ordered the extracts from apex, but i didn't order the chocolate-coconut. I ordered chocolate and coconut separately. Should i use the full amount recommended for each one?? Or maybe start out with less chocolate? Never used extracts so a lil unsure

 

[jeeppilot]

So i just ordered the extracts from apex, but i didn't order the chocolate-coconut. I ordered chocolate and coconut separately. Should i use the full amount recommended for each one?? Or maybe start out with less chocolate? Never used extracts so a lil unsure

In my experience, I would start out with less coconut, if anything. The coconut is very pungent while chocolate blends in with the porter flavors a little more. I brew 3 gal batches of this and if:

.10% is the starting amount, so .001*5 gal =
.005 gal = .64 oz = 19 ml.

AND

3/5 = .6; so .6*19 ml = 11.4 ml for a 3 gal batch.

I personally use 10 ml of coconut and 10 ml of chocolate. My grain bill has some noticeable chocolate already in it. My first batch I used 12 ml of coconut on my first batch and it seemed to almost have an astringent finish that was not present in the base porter. I think 10 yields a very nice, quite coconut forward beer. Besides, you can ALWAYS add more, but can’t take it out. [emoji482]

 

[eustacesk]

In my experience, I would start out with less coconut, if anything. The coconut is very pungent while chocolate blends in with the porter flavors a little more. I brew 3 gal batches of this and if:

.10% is the starting amount, so .001*5 gal =
.005 gal = .64 oz = 19 ml.

AND

3/5 = .6; so .6*19 ml = 11.4 ml for a 3 gal batch.

I personally use 10 ml of coconut and 10 ml of chocolate. My grain bill has some noticeable chocolate already in it. My first batch I used 12 ml of coconut on my first batch and it seemed to almost have an astringent finish that was not present in the base porter. I think 10 yields a very nice, quite coconut forward beer. Besides, you can ALWAYS add more, but can’t take it out. [emoji482][/QUOTE

Great! Thanks for the help!

 

[RyPA]

For those that have used apex flavorings, which version of coconut did you use? I tried the toasted coconut version and get absolutely no coconut smell or flavor and the beer is just so so over all. I may have used too much, probably the higher side of their recommended volume.

Debating not going with shredded coconut and either using coconut flavored vodka, or trying Apex again. Either much less, or a different flavor, maybe regular coconut.

This is going in an oatmeal stout.

Thanks

 

[BongoYodeler]

For those that have used apex flavorings, which version of coconut did you use? I tried the toasted coconut version and get absolutely no coconut smell or flavor and the beer is just so so over all. I may have used too much, probably the higher side of their recommended volume.

Debating not going with shredded coconut and either using coconut flavored vodka, or trying Apex again. Either much less, or a different flavor, maybe regular coconut.

This is going in an oatmeal stout.

Thanks

Back in November 2019 I used the Apex/Silver Cloud Toasted Coconut flavoring in a Left Hand Milk Stout clone found on this site. It was extremely delicious, and one of the better beers I've brewed, (the recipe is excellent). I did a blind tasting with my version, Firestone Walker Coconut Merlin, and Maui Coconut Hiwa Porter. While I was able to correctly identify each one I remember mine holding up quite well against the other two commercial beers. Per my notes I used 2 1/2 TBS of the flavoring, and while it seemed a bit much at first, it rounded out very nicely after a couple weeks, and over the life of the keg.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/left-hand-milk-stout-clone.139820/post-8738355

 

[RyPA]

I tried adding small amounts to water at a time and tasting it and I cannot get a good taste out of this stuff. Maybe a bad batch?

I may end up going with real coconut -- possibly added to my mash, and a ton (2-3 lbs) in the secondary. Going to toast and dab with paper towels to get rid of oils.

Also adding cacao nibs and vanilla beans.

I've seen some people that have added malibu/coconut vodka to their beer, but I really don't want to do this. I can't see it coming out good/non-chemical tasting.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I tried adding small amounts to water at a time and tasting it and I cannot get a good taste out of this stuff. Maybe a bad batch?

I may end up going with real coconut -- possibly added to my mash, and a ton (2-3 lbs) in the secondary. Going to toast and dab with paper towels to get rid of oils.

Also adding cacao nibs and vanilla beans.

I've seen some people that have added malibu/coconut vodka to their beer, but I really don't want to do this. I can't see it coming out good/non-chemical tasting.

I wouldn't do the Malibu thing either. I never tried mixing the extract in water, maybe that's not a good test? All I can say is mine turned out really good. Definite real coconut flavor. I took some of the beer to a Christmas party and it got rave reviews, the growler didn't last long. It was also a hit at my homebrew club.
Talk of this has got me wanting to make it again. I probably will later this year.

 

[RyPA]

I agree, water isn't probably a relevant test.

I am thinking that I possibly did not fully ferment and maybe the sugars are overpowering the coconut. For this next batch, maybe I'll try the real coconut and when I am kegging, if the coconut flavor isn't there, add some extract. Do you recall how much you used for 5g? Did you add a small portion at a time and taste, rinse and repeat?

 

[Beer666]

Amoreti coconut cream is good stuff. I used some with 700g of toasted coconut and 150g of raw nibs toasted for 15 minutes. Amoreti stuff is pretty awesome in ice cream too.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I agree, water isn't probably a relevant test.

I am thinking that I possibly did not fully ferment and maybe the sugars are overpowering the coconut. For this next batch, maybe I'll try the real coconut and when I am kegging, if the coconut flavor isn't there, add some extract. Do you recall how much you used for 5g? Did you add a small portion at a time and taste, rinse and repeat?

With some of the Apex flavorings a little can go a long way. The directions say to start with .1%. So 5 gallons is 640 oz and .1% of that is .64 oz, or 1.28 TBS. That's where I started, but I felt that wasn't enough. So I added that much more, a total of ~2.5 TBS. At that amount it was quite prevalent but not overbearing. Next time I think I'll dial it back to 2TBS or slightly less.

I also use their apricot flavoring in my apricot wheat. Apex recommends .2%, or twice as much as the coconut extract. IMO that's far too much. I used 3/4 of a tsp (teaspoon!!) and I think that's a bit too much.

 

[RyPA]

I used around 2 oz (half the 4oz bottle) based on my calculation for a 5 g batch; I converted 5g to ml then multiplied that by 0.25% or whatever it is. I taste a slight chemically taste sometimes, but nothing that even slightly resembles coconut. I'm just going to dump it once my oatmeal stout needs keg space.