Girl Scout Cookie Caramel Delites (Samoas) Beer

[HiImBrian]

^^ Yea I revised the recipe quite a bit and sought out advice from a few people. This was one of the first recipes that I really built from scratch, so I'm pretty pumped it turned out! I'm still learning that simpler is better haha.

As for the 4lbs of coconut, yea I left it in for a week and it's very noticeable. I'm curious as to why people would rather use large amounts for a shorter period of time. To me that just sounds like a more expensive route to get the same/similar result.

 

[TwistedHops]

Did you vodka soak the secondary additions?

 

[HiImBrian]

Did you vodka soak the secondary additions?

No, I've done the volka thing before and actually got a boozy flavor. I put all 4 lbs of coconut with 8oz of nibs in a sack and drizzled freshly boiled lactose over the sack and said a little prayer.

For the record, I got a LOT of coconut flavor and wouldn't go over my 4lbs in a week.

 

[HiImBrian]

Update: I won the friendly competition with my original recipe and brewed at a local brewery on their pilot system. Very minor changes to the grain bill and went with toasted coconut instead. The tapping was a huge hit with so many people showing up to try it out that they had to sell it in 4oz tasters because we didn't brew enough. I just got word that they want to rebrew this on their 10BBL system! Woot Woot!

 

[TwistedHops]

Very cool! We'll all live vicariously through you as your beer becomes famous!

 

[HiImBrian]

Very cool! We'll all live vicariously through you as your beer becomes famous!

You nailed it my friend. It'll be "my beer," not actually "me" lol.

 

[seagondollar]

Update: I won the friendly competition with my original recipe and brewed at a local brewery on their pilot system. Very minor changes to the grain bill and went with toasted coconut instead. The tapping was a huge hit with so many people showing up to try it out that they had to sell it in 4oz tasters because we didn't brew enough. I just got word that they want to rebrew this on their 10BBL system! Woot Woot!

What were your minor changes if you dont mind me asking?

 

[HiImBrian]

Bumped up the Carapils and CaraMunich a bit (not positive offhand exact amounts) and added rice hulls to keep their system from getting stuck. Also went with a 30 min mash.

 

[chichum]

Here is a copy of my recipe. If/when I do this again, I'd try toasting the coconut and bump up my Carapils a bit as the beer lost quite a bit of head retention after I bottled. Out of the keg it's got great head, but it dies down fairly quick.

Fermentables

Amount Fermentable Maltster Use PPG
16.0 lb Maris Otter Pale (UK) Any 76 % Mash 38
2.0 lb Medium Crystal Any 9 % Mash 34
1.0 lb Carapils (DE) Any 4 % Mash 35
1.0 lb CaraMunich I (DE) Any 4 % Mash 34
1.0 lb Pale Chocolate (UK) Any 4 % Mash 33
Hops

Amount Hop Time Use Form AA
1.0 oz Styrian Golding (SI) 60 min Boil Pellet 5.2%
1.0 oz Centennial (US) 45 min Boil Pellet 10.5%
Yeasts

Name Lab/Product Attenuation
Whitbread Ale Wyeast 1099 70.0%
Extras

Amount Name Time Use
1.0 each Whirlfloc Tablet 15.0 min Boil
4.0 lb Toasted Coconut 7.0 days Secondary
8.0 oz Cocoa Nibs 7.0 days Secondary
1.0 lb Lactose 7.0 days Secondary
Predicted Stats

Batch Size 10.0 gal Boil Time 90 min Efficiency 75.0%
1.058 OG 1.018 FG 25 IBU 5.4% ABV 18 SRM 0.44 IBU/OG

Thread revival- what temp did you mash at? How long in primary? I assume only 7 days in secondary? Looking forward to making this!

 

[HiImBrian]

Thread revival- what temp did you mash at? How long in primary? I assume only 7 days in secondary? Looking forward to making this!

I mashed in at 154F. I'm not positive on my primary/secondary, but I'll usually primary until I hit or get very close to my FG and then add any additions (in this case coconut) for a week or so. Just keep tasting samples until you get the flavor you like. I'd recommend toasting the cocoanut, as I didn't have great head retention. I'm actually going to be brewing this again soon and toasting the cocoanut is all I plan to do different.

Check back and let me know how it turns out for you!

edit: I just read a few posts up and it looks like I did 4lbs for 1 week. Time to update my notes on Beersmith haha

 

[bubba_drums]

Here is a copy of my recipe. If/when I do this again, I'd try toasting the coconut and bump up my Carapils a bit as the beer lost quite a bit of head retention after I bottled. Out of the keg it's got great head, but it dies down fairly quick.

Fermentables

Amount Fermentable Maltster Use PPG
16.0 lb Maris Otter Pale (UK) Any 76 % Mash 38
2.0 lb Medium Crystal Any 9 % Mash 34
1.0 lb Carapils (DE) Any 4 % Mash 35
1.0 lb CaraMunich I (DE) Any 4 % Mash 34
1.0 lb Pale Chocolate (UK) Any 4 % Mash 33
Hops

Amount Hop Time Use Form AA
1.0 oz Styrian Golding (SI) 60 min Boil Pellet 5.2%
1.0 oz Centennial (US) 45 min Boil Pellet 10.5%
Yeasts

Name Lab/Product Attenuation
Whitbread Ale Wyeast 1099 70.0%
Extras

Amount Name Time Use
1.0 each Whirlfloc Tablet 15.0 min Boil
4.0 lb Toasted Coconut 7.0 days Secondary
8.0 oz Cocoa Nibs 7.0 days Secondary
1.0 lb Lactose 7.0 days Secondary
Predicted Stats

Batch Size 10.0 gal Boil Time 90 min Efficiency 75.0%
1.058 OG 1.018 FG 25 IBU 5.4% ABV 18 SRM 0.44 IBU/OG

Is the toasted coconut sweetened or unsweetened?

 

[HiImBrian]

Is the toasted coconut sweetened or unsweetened?

That's a fantastic question. I believe unsweetened, but not positive. Also, I didn't actually toast the coconut, but I would if I were to brew this again.

 

[mmlipps]

16.0 lbMaris Otter Pale (UK)Any76 %Mash38
2.0 lbMedium CrystalAny9 %Mash34
1.0 lbCarapils (DE)Any4 %Mash35
1.0 lbCaraMunich I (DE)Any4 %Mash34
1.0 lbPale Chocolate (UK)Any4 %Mash33
Hops

AmountHopTimeUseFormAA
1.0 ozStyrian Golding (SI)60 minBoilPellet5.2%
1.0 ozCentennial (US)45 minBoilPellet10.5%
Yeasts

NameLab/ProductAttenuation
Whitbread AleWyeast 109970.0%
Extras

AmountNameTimeUse
1.0 eachWhirlfloc Tablet15.0 minBoil
4.0 lbToasted Coconut7.0 daysSecondary
8.0 ozCocoa Nibs7.0 daysSecondary
1.0 lb Lactose 7.0 days Secondary

Did you get any caramel flavor out of this, or mainly chocolate coconut?

 

[HiImBrian]

Did you get any caramel flavor out of this, or mainly chocolate coconut?

Mainly chocolate and coconut. Carmel is a tough distinct flavor to highlight. The chocolate and coconut were great, and with a little lactose really gave it a samoa taste.

I brewed this again with a slightly tweaked recipe and should be getting competition notes back today.

 

[mmlipps]

Mainly chocolate and coconut. Carmel is a tough distinct flavor to highlight. The chocolate and coconut were great, and with a little lactose really gave it a samoa taste.



I brewed this again with a slightly tweaked recipe and should be getting competition notes back today.

Let us know how it went.

Did you lose much volume from the 4 lbs of coconut?

 

[HiImBrian]

Let us know how it went.

Did you lose much volume from the 4 lbs of coconut?

R1 turned out well, but still room to improve. It scored a 33 at the last comp I entered with most of the comments being to increase choc malt and bring out the porter characteristics more. I currently had 6.1% choc rye malt, but I'll be bumping that up closer to 10% or so. The coconut really dominates at 5 lbs for 11 gallons. Next time I might bump down to 4lbs to try and balance out a bit more. I also received comments about the cocoa nibs giving a "dusty" feel. That's something I'll have to dig into a bit as I just made a tincture with nibs and vodka and threw that into the secondary.

I can't really comment on volume loss, sorry.

 

[marvinsjunk]

Just brewed a 5 gallon batch of this guy yesterday, with a few changes. I'm going to use about 1.5 lbs toasted coconut. A third went in the mash, a third at flameout, and the rest will go in the secondary. Beersmith was telling me the above recipe was going to be very light, like a light brown, so I added 5oz of black patent for color and a little more roast character. I also added 1 lb of D45 candi sugar late in the boil to try to get more caramel flavor. I bought lactose but I'll add it to the keg only if it needs more sweetness. 6-8oz cocoa nibs and 1 vanilla bean will go in the secondary as well.

This will probably be my main entry for an upcoming competition with friends. Thanks HiImBrian for the recipe!

 

[Ashevillain]

I am wondering how sweet this comes out? Sounds pretty amazing if it can stay crisp enough.

 

[HiImBrian]

Just brewed a 5 gallon batch of this guy yesterday, with a few changes. I'm going to use about 1.5 lbs toasted coconut. A third went in the mash, a third at flameout, and the rest will go in the secondary. Beersmith was telling me the above recipe was going to be very light, like a light brown, so I added 5oz of black patent for color and a little more roast character. I also added 1 lb of D45 candi sugar late in the boil to try to get more caramel flavor. I bought lactose but I'll add it to the keg only if it needs more sweetness. 6-8oz cocoa nibs and 1 vanilla bean will go in the secondary as well.

This will probably be my main entry for an upcoming competition with friends. Thanks HiImBrian for the recipe!

I fully support the adding of black patent to darken this up. My first time with this did come out browner than I'd like, so I added some blackprinz malt and it looked much better the second time around. 1.5lbs of coconut sounds a tad low to me, but let me know how it turns out! Good luck in the comp as well. Definitely report back!

 

[marvinsjunk]

Just brewed a 5 gallon batch of this guy yesterday, with a few changes. I'm going to use about 1.5 lbs toasted coconut. A third went in the mash, a third at flameout, and the rest will go in the secondary. Beersmith was telling me the above recipe was going to be very light, like a light brown, so I added 5oz of black patent for color and a little more roast character. I also added 1 lb of D45 candi sugar late in the boil to try to get more caramel flavor. I bought lactose but I'll add it to the keg only if it needs more sweetness. 6-8oz cocoa nibs and 1 vanilla bean will go in the secondary as well.

This will probably be my main entry for an upcoming competition with friends. Thanks HiImBrian for the recipe!

Man this is good! So I used a half lb in the mash, half lb at flameout, and I went with 1.5 lb in secondary, all freshly toasted. Also used half lb cocoa nibs and 1 vanilla bean in secondary, about 1 week. I didn't add any lactose and don't think I will. The coconut was dominating at first but now has tamed down and the chocolate and vanilla are coming through. The wife says it tastes a lot like samoas, and I tend to agree. I don't think it's too sweet at all. Really happy with how this turned out

 

[marvinsjunk]

Oops, double post

 

[HiImBrian]

Man this is good! So I used a half lb in the mash, half lb at flameout, and I went with 1.5 lb in secondary, all freshly toasted. Also used half lb cocoa nibs and 1 vanilla bean in secondary, about 1 week. I didn't add any lactose and don't think I will. The coconut was dominating at first but now has tamed down and the chocolate and vanilla are coming through. The wife says it tastes a lot like samoas, and I tend to agree. I don't think it's too sweet at all. Really happy with how this turned out

Could you taste the coconut quite a bit in the wort before adding the 1.5lb into secondary? Also, I think the vanilla bean would be a good addition, nice thinking!

I finally bottled off the rest of my keg last night and the coconut flavor definitely mellows and changes over time.

 

[marvinsjunk]

The pre-secondary gravity sample tasted really good, but didn't have a lot of coconut. I think the boil probably drives off a lot of the flavor and aroma. Next time I'll probably just put it all in the secondary.

 

[chichum]

So I've been toying with this recipe for a few batches and by far the favorite: switched the nibs for 8oz of hershey's cocoa powder (this really messes with the color but if it tastes good, I'm happy) and put 4lbs of toasted (toasted is key, you have to toast it) coconut in the secondary and then pressed half of it before bottling. #nevertoomuchcoconut

It's amazing.

 

[HiImBrian]

So I've been toying with this recipe for a few batches and by far the favorite: switched the nibs for 8oz of hershey's cocoa powder (this really messes with the color but if it tastes good, I'm happy) and put 4lbs of toasted (toasted is key, you have to toast it) coconut in the secondary and then pressed half of it before bottling. #nevertoomuchcoconut

It's amazing.

Do you have any pictures? I'm usually not a fan of cocoa powder, but tempted to try it as some of the score sheets I received seemed to hate on the cocoa nibs a bit. Also what do you mean you pressed half of the coconut?

 

[chichum]

Do you have any pictures? I'm usually not a fan of cocoa powder, but tempted to try it as some of the score sheets I received seemed to hate on the cocoa nibs a bit. Also what do you mean you pressed half of the coconut?

Hey - here's a picture. The cocoa powder made it much lighter and much more brown.

As for the "pressing," - After 7 days in the secondary, I took some of the coconut and put it and some beer in a french press and pressed the coconut to get the most flavor as possible. After doing about half of it, i was happy with how the beer tasted (was going ot be too much coconut if I pressed all of it).

Hope this helps!