Death by Coconut Clone

[markwink]

Does anyone have a good recipe for a Death by Coconut clone?

 

[kristiismean]

looks reasonable since it's a porter? this recipe is for a 3 gallon batch so up the amounts

http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/985496/death-by-coconut-clone

 

[jjf485]

Been researching for a month or so and finally brewed this over the weekend. Here's the recipe:
http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/1306751/death-by-coconut-attack-of-the-clone

Here are my findings:
- about 1.3 pounds of coconut per 5gal
- use cholaca if at all possible (no idea how much yet, but add to secondary to taste)
- grain bill based on Reddit AMA with Oskar Blues
- I chose to add flaked oats for head retention to counteract the potential coconut oil
- My LHBS was out of Cali 001 so I used 4x SafAle S-05 (10gal batch)

It's bubbling away in primary now, I'll update with notes after transfer, tasting, and additions. Cheers!

 

[jjf485]

Ok, so I toasted 3lb of organic coconut in the oven at 350° for about 5-8min (turning a bit to keep it even). Laid out the coconut on paper towels to soak up any oils (pans were fairly oily). So I added 1.5lb to a carboy and it was a big 'ol PITA getting these coarse shreds through the funnel into the carboy. So for the remaining 5gal, I used a vinyl bag in a bucket (worlds easier going in).

Tasting notes: Roasty, malty nose but nothing too spectacular. Medium body and expected color for a porter. Tasted boozier than expected, but not overwhelming (1.070 OG / 1.016 FG = 7.1ABV). Lots of coffee, chocolate, burnt toast, and some toffee / caramel on the finish. Really pleased with it so far. After racking onto the coconut I took a big whiff from the bucket and WOWZA it's a punch of chocolate and coconut; straight up almond joy. Excited to add the Cholaca next week.

I've included a few photos.

 

[homebrewdude76]

I wonder if the coconut will soak up beer? How long are you going to leave the coconut?

 

[Xernex]

I wonder if the coconut will soak up beer? How long are you going to leave the coconut?

It will - I lose a fair amount to the coconut in my stout, but I typically toast most of mine till it's almost brown, and use a much finer shred. Maybe I should find some of these larger flakes.

 

[homebrewdude76]

Did you determine how much Cholaca to add? I can see they sell this stuff on Amazon.

 

[elwood522]

Wanted to see how this came out. I was really impressed with Death By Coconut but at $12/4 pack it seems like it's very worthwhile to home brew it!
Thx in advance,

 

[homebrewdude76]

Mine is on tap now. Seems to have a milk aroma from the coconut

 

[Xernex]

Nice... how's the taste? I just put my 4th incarnation of coconut stout in primary saturday, decided to add cocoa nibs this time to see how it reacts.

 

[Quaker]

Mine is on tap now. Seems to have a milk aroma from the coconut

What was your recipe/process and Cholaca quantity?

 

[AkTom]

I've made a coconut IPA a couple of times. I haven't toasted the coconut. It is a great beer. I may have to try this soon.

 

[jjf485]

An update since I bottled in December (it's been a crazy month or so):
- Cholaca is DENSE. Run the bottle under warm water to heat/loosen it up for an even mixture, otherwise you'll get a thick sludge into your bottling bucket.
- I decided to split my batch into two: 5gal with 6oz cholaca, and 5gal without
- In this recipe, at least, I felt the bitterness and chocolatiness was already plentiful and the Cholaca did more harm than good (but let's be honest, it's still very drinkable; I mean it's beer, c'mon).
- Yes, i said 6oz cholaca into ~5gal; it's pure liquid cacao and is 100% incorporated into the liquid, so a little goes a long way (at least in a porter)

I will also recommend toasting the coconut a bit longer than I showed in my photo earlier in this thread; the coconut flavor is certainly there, but it's distinct and not as meshed with the roasted/toasted profile as I'd like.

Submitted it for Champion of the Pint in St. Louis, we'll see how it does!

 

[Quaker]

So do you prefer the non-Cholaca portion? Did you play with blending to come up with a more ideal dosage of Cholaca?

 

[jjf485]

I actually do prefer the non-cholaca version. I didn't play with blending rates like I should have, didn't think 6oz would be so aggressive. I'd start smaller, or even measure up a much smaller amount (beer in oz and cholaca in small specific amounts) to get the flavor right and scale up for the batch.

Meh, hindsight 20/20, and really the cholaca version isn't bad at all, I just prefer the base version. Damn perfectionism always gets the best of us. RDWHAHB.

 

[Enemygod]

I am thinking of brewing this. Love the original beer. I find that it has a hint of sweetness. With that being said do you think your recipe could use any lactose, or is it pretty spot on?

 

[jjf485]

I agree, this recipe isn't as sweet as original DBC, so give an addition of lacto a try, that may help balance the Cholaca bitterness for a more "milk chocolate" flavor profile. And keep us posted, of course!

And FWIW, Oskar Blues never mentioned flaked oats. I threw it in for a bit more body, but that may have also added to some bitterness.

 

[Quaker]

I actually do prefer the non-cholaca version. I didn't play with blending rates like I should have,
.

I meant blending the 2 portions now in the glass to see if cutting it in half or some other proportion might be ideal.

 

[LLBeanJ]

After first tasting Death by Coconut at Oskar Blues last winter, my wife asked me to take a shot at replicating it. So last summer I brewed up what I hoped would be a clone and it turned out really nice. I entered it into a comp a few months later and it received a gold medal.

The base beer was Jamil's Robust Porter recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. To that I added toasted coconut to the boil, to primary a week before kegging, and to the keg (left in the keg until it kicked). I also added a couple vanilla beans to the boil and some DIY vanilla extract to the keg, as well as cacao nibs to the keg. This was my first attempt at a coconut brew and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it came out. It was very much a crowd pleaser and I'll definitely brew it again.

 

[woo_pig]

Has anyone added maltodextrine? I hadded 8oz per 5 gallons. Waiting till this weekend to keg mine.

 

[jjf485]

Just got results from the annual "Champion of the Pint" competition in St. Louis and, while this didn't place, it scored a 39. Pleased, but obviously there's room for improvement. Would like to hear how everyone's turns out!

 

[user 62649]

I made a clone of Kona brewery coconut cream ale. I never had the beer, I live in PA, and went from reviews I read online. I made a base cream ale and added some toasted coconut and some extract as well. Turns out I pretty much nailed the original. A friend from Hawaii said it is pretty much spot on. Now I want to make one with a little lime zest!

 

[RedlegEd]

Has anyone added maltodextrine? I hadded 8oz per 5 gallons. Waiting till this weekend to keg mine.

So, how did it come out? Ed

 

[woo_pig]

So, how did it come out? Ed

It is amazing. A very nice dessert beer. Had to let it age for a lil bit. It was to hot. I used coconut vodka to soak the coconut. The cocnut is a big slap in the face. The malto gave in some body.

 

[morbster]

Has anyone ever drank this slow enough to know how it ages?

 

[woo_pig]

Has anyone ever drank this slow enough to know how it ages?

I know the coconut fades

 

[peoples22]

Resurrecting an old thread I know but I recently was able to try DBC and loved it. I was wondering if you guys had any other feedback or different iterations and how they came out?

 

[RedlegEd]

Resurrecting an old thread I know but I recently was able to try DBC and loved it. I was wondering if you guys had any other feedback or different iterations and how they came out?

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

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

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.

 

[RedlegEd]

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.

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