How do you add coconut flavor to brew?

[ratm4484]

Anyway, I was in Hawaii recently. They have a Coconut Porter. It is outstanding!Maui Brewing Co. Along with all of their microbrews. But since I live in New York it's not like I can just pick it up at the store. Any suggestions to add coconut flavor to a porter. I was thinking shredded coconut, but that my be too weak to even flavor the beer to begin with. Or maybe a coconut extract. I've never used a baking extract so I'm not sure how much to even go about using. Any advice would be great. Thanks

 

[Tenchiro]

maybe shredded in the secondary

 

[Hammy71]

Maybe a Pina Colada mixer?....I dunno how that would work....

 

[Brewsmith]

Extract at bottling or keg

In my coconut stout I used about 0.8 mL in a 12 oz. bottle. I just used a syringe.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I was in Hawaii earlier this year and had the same brew.

I came home and tried it as a stout. I used 1 can of coconut milk at the end of the boil with one bag (14 oz) of sweetened dy coconut, lightly toasted.

I added a second bag, still toasting, into the secondary and left it there for about 3 weeks.

It came out great, but I doubled up on the chocolate. I thought it was a bit too much, others didn't.

I have another in the primary right now. I used 2 cans of the milk. It has a nice light coconut flavor. I will use another bag of the dry in the secondary this time also.

 

[Donasay]

add coconut???

Listen to the basic brewing podcast with the guy from Kona brewery, he has a coconut beer that is amazing and he actually gives out the recipe. Albeit for making about 30 barrels of the stuff, but a little math can generate a recipe for you.

 

[BigKahuna]

IMHO...Maui's Coconut Porter is better than Kona's! We got to try them side by side at the GABF.....Both better than NON coconut beer.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

just the right combination of homegrown hops and some Marris otter worked for me...

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

I did a coconut cream stout (based on http://www.aircrafter.org/boggs/homebrew/recipes/2006.10.29-Coconut_Cream_Stout.xml) and it came out great. I taste the coconut, but most people when drinking it cannot place the flavor until I tell them what it is, then they are all have a 'duh' moment.

My advice, do this in a bucket and not a carboy, it was a royal pain to get all the coconut into the carboy through a funnel and even harder to get it all out. Most of the coconut formed a thick layer on top of the beer (like a disc) and I just popped the racking cane through it to the bottom, ended up with a few pieces of coconut in the keg, but it didn't bother me.

 

[Bar385brewer]

This is my first try at it so I don't know how it wil turn out, but I cut up fresh pieces of coconut and am soaking them in coconut rum for a week. I will then add it to the secondary and hopefully it wil turn out well.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I recently brewed and currently have on tap a coconut porter that was inspired by Oskar Blues' Death By Coconut. My porter base is Jamil's Robust Porter from Brewing Classic Styles.

To get the coconut flavor, I picked up 24 oz shredded coconut from Trader Joe's and toasted 12 ounces of it @ 300°F for 15 minutes and added it to the boil with 10 minutes remaining. I also added one split and scraped vanilla bean to the boil with 5 minutes remaining. Prior to transfer from the BK, I skimmed off as much coconut as I could and let any remaining coconut go into the fermenter. When the time came to keg it, I used a paint strainer bag over the fermenter to filter the beer as I siphoned it to the keg. This kept any wayward coconut shreds from going into the keg. I also "dry hopped" the remaining 12 oz of toasted coconut (toasted as above) in the keg using a hops bag and weighed it down using a SST beer shank and will leave it in the keg for the duration of serving. Also added at kegging was ~2 oz of vodka that had been soaking on cacao nibs for about a month and another ~2 oz of vodka that had been soaking on vanilla beans for a few weeks.

This was my first attempt at brewing with coconut and I am very pleased with how it turned out. The coconut is very prominent with a hint of chocolate in the background. I had planned to add some Silver Cloud Estates coconut extract to the keg if the coconut flavor from the actual coconut ended up being less than desired, but was pleased to discover that it wasn't needed at all.

 

[AkTom]

There used to be a great coconut IPA recipe here. Am I glad I printed it, as I can't it now...
For a 10 gallon batch, total of 2 lbs coconut.
1 lb in the boil. 1/2 lb in each fermentor. Untoasted worked very well. I have a 5 gallon batch ready to bottle this afternoon. The fg sample was good. Of course, carbed and cold, excellent. This is one of my top 3 favorites.

 

[addled_mind]

There is a brewery near me that also has an excellent coconut porter - they toast shredded coconut in the oven then add it to the secondary. I'm not sure how long they keep it on the coconut for but you could start with a week and taste it then.

 

[Physicsbrewer]

There used to be a great coconut IPA recipe here. Am I glad I printed it, as I can't it now...
For a 10 gallon batch, total of 2 lbs coconut.
1 lb in the boil. 1/2 lb in each fermentor. Untoasted worked very well. I have a 5 gallon batch ready to bottle this afternoon. The fg sample was good. Of course, carbed and cold, excellent. This is one of my top 3 favorites.

This sounds really interesting to me. Could you post your recipe for the coconut IPA? I'd love to give it a try!

 

[CamG]

Are any of you having any issues with any oil coming from the coconut ?
I was thinking it might mess with the mouth feel and head retention.

I have been wanting to add coconut to an Oatmeal Stout and was thinking of using an extract for those reasons. I would rather use toasted coconut if it's not causing problems.

Thanks,
CamG

 

[crunchydoc]

I use organic shredded coconut in a hop bag in my keg. dunked the whole mess in starsan to kill any bugs and threw it right in. Worked wonderfully. 12 to 16 oz for a 5 gallon batch of coconut chocolate oatmeal stout.
It floated on top for about a week then sank to the bottom and acted like an infuser or hop randle as the beer was dragged through it from the dip tube at the bottom. The last couple of glasses were pretty coconutty but very delicious.

 

[bruteforce]

I toasted some shredded coconut and tossed it into secondary. Come out great in the porter. 12 oz toasted.

 

[imasickboy]

I just added 3 pounds of toasted coconut to 5 gallons of dark mild earlier today. I'll check on it in a week, and have some coconut extract handy in case I need it. If it doesn't taste like Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil smells, then it's not enough coconut.

 

[TallDan]

Bump to a 7.5 year old thread? Why not?

I bought two coconuts from the grocery store a week and half ago, used a wine opener to put a hole through the eye, drained the liquid. Popped them in the oven for a few minutes until they cracked, removed the shell and used a vegetable peeler to take the skin off of the outside. Then shredded with a cheese grater, spread out on baking sheets and toasted in the oven. Dumped that into a fully fermented imperial stout. I was on vacation last week, so I'm planning to taste a sample of it later today, and add more if it doesn't have the coconut flavor I want.

I'm counting on the cold crash to cause the oil to gel since it's gel temperature is in the 70's.

 

[TallDan]

Tastes like a roasty imperial stout with a hint of coconut. Think I'll hit the grocery store for a couple more coconuts.

 

[Izzie1701]

We can get the Maui brewing co beers here in Canada. We had it at the brewery and fell in love with it also. Found it here at one of our specialty beer shops.

 

[TallDan]

Just about done roasting more coconut. I'd suggest buying coconuts and shredding and toasting yourself. It's worth it for how it makes the house smell.

 

[AkTom]

This sounds really interesting to me. Could you post your recipe for the coconut IPA? I'd love to give it a try!

I posted it the recipe section. In American IPA Coconut IPA. I tried to import it over here, but I'm a computer failure.

 

[imasickboy]

Just a follow up on my coconut mild:

It was a dark mild, with 3 pounds of shredded unsweetened coconut that I toasted myself added to secondary. Racked it to the keg after two weeks on the coconut, and a week later, this beer is outstanding. Heavy coconut flavor and aroma.

 

[crusader1612]

Just a follow up on my coconut mild:

It was a dark mild, with 3 pounds of shredded unsweetened coconut that I toasted myself added to secondary. Racked it to the keg after two weeks on the coconut, and a week later, this beer is outstanding. Heavy coconut flavor and aroma.

3lbs?! Wow that is alot. butglad it worked out.
I have a Porter on tap used 2lbs total.
1lb at flameout
and for 2.5 days before kegging.