toasted coconut

[edecambra]

So after a few searchers here I saw that most people put toasted coconut in the secondary to get that mounds flavor. I just did it in a robust porter and it is oily as hell!!

Anyone have experience with the coconut oil, should I ignore it or is there a way to eliminate it? Thanks folks, it is Super tasty by the way


***Edit with photo, scroll down!****** 12/6/11

***Edit with solution and more photo****** 12/7/11

 

[Dr. Francois]

If you want to remove the oil, you can drop the temp on your beer down to fridge temps, then collect the congealed oil on the top. It's what I do with chicken stock.

I'm convinced that toasted coconut is the wrong way to get flavor into a beer. Next time I'm ordering this from The Spice House.

Our local roaster also has a very good toasted coconut flavored coffee that I use for iced coffee all summer. A cold brew of that could make a darn fine coco-cafe porter. I might have to do that with my porter in the fridge now...

 

[mattldm]

Coconut extract tastes like coppertown suntan oil. The toasted coconut actually tastes like coconut. It took several additions of it added in the secondary for my porter to taste coconuty.
Mine was not oily at all. How much did you toast the coconut before you added it?

 

[edecambra]

well, it was pretty toasted before tossing it in, almost burnt, almost. This was only two days before I sampled and it already had a subtle and noticeable aroma of coconut. I used about 10 oz in 2.5 gallons of beer.

 

[LarryC]

I never tried coconut extract but I have tried other extracts and I never found the flavor to be close to the real thing - some even tasted chemical. I used coconut flakes that I toasted and put into secondary and there was a subtle flavor in the beer (a stout) and not noticeable affect on the head.

 

[RandalG]

I'm going for this same flavor and from what I've read and tasted in other beers oaking the beer will do it which I'm going to try. I also found this although I have no experience with it.It even lists flavored beers in the description.

Coconut Syrup Coffee Syrup - Coffee Beanery

I'm not sure what they mean be syrup though. I ordered a bottle to see but it may need to go in the last few minutes of the boil depending on how thick it is I'm guessing. I can let you know when it arrives if you're interested.

If you want to remove the oil, you can drop the temp on your beer down to fridge temps, then collect the congealed oil on the top. It's what I do with chicken stock.

I'm convinced that toasted coconut is the wrong way to get flavor into a beer. Next time I'm ordering this from The Spice House.

Our local roaster also has a very good toasted coconut flavored coffee that I use for iced coffee all summer. A cold brew of that could make a darn fine coco-cafe porter. I might have to do that with my porter in the fridge now...

Franc103, Does the local roaster guy have a website. I'd be interested in ordering some of this.

 

[beowulf]

I made a coconut porter (5gal) and used about 1.5# of toasted coconut. While toasting, I had to sort of turn the coconut a few times on the baking sheet to get it consistently toasted. It was pretty well toasted, but not burnt. I added to the mash, flame out and secondary. It still doesn't punch you in the face like I wanted, but it's noticeable. While it pours a nice head, it doesn't stick around as long as I'd like. I think there are still some oils in there that are affecting head retention. I wouldn't say the mouthfeel is oily, though. I think I did my best to rack from under the skim of oils in the secondary, so I imagine that helped. Dropping it to fridge temps before racking sounds like a good idea too.

 

[Dr. Francois]

Franc103, Does the local roaster guy have a website. I'd be interested in ordering some of this.

It is from Paramount Coffee in downtown Lansing, MI. They ship, but pm me your address and I will send you some of the bulk coffee...much better than the pre-packaged. Coarse grind is best for this application.

I put 12 ounces coffee in a one gallon container (iced tea pitcher) and add cold water to fill. Stir twice in the first hour. Leave it on the counter for 24 hours, then strrain into a smaller container. You net a bit more than half a gallon. Very smooth and very tasty. It has substantially less acid than hot-brewed coffee.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Home Brew Talk

 

[edecambra]

Ok, in the sake of getting a few more nuggets of wisdom, I figured a Photo would rouse the interest of you folks. Here is a shot in the keg, see the oil!!

It also started refermenting when I threw the coconut in and just settled out. I am chilling it down now to hopefully congeal the oil and rack off the top, hopefully!!

 

[Ceetar]

my toasted coconut. Following some of the suggestions in the kona koko brown ale 'clone' thread here somewhere I added it to the boil for a while. It's been in primary for about 2.5 weeks, I peeked at it the other day and it didn't look overly oily from what I could tell.

I haven't tasted it it, but I guess I could chill it further, transfer it to secondary on top of more coconut if I need.

 

[edecambra]

my coconut was, as you can see, toasted much more than that, maybe that is the issue? More heat brings out the oils? not sure but a hypothesis

 

[Ceetar]

my coconut was, as you can see, toasted much more than that, maybe that is the issue? More heat brings out the oils? not sure but a hypothesis

I was nervous about burning the stuff, I hope I didn't under-toast it and not get enough flavor.

 

[edecambra]

Ok so coconut oil is solid at mid 30's F so just chilled it out and used a hop bag over my siphon, here is the solid oil

 

[Terps]

I used organic dehydrated coconut flakes in my coconut porter, put them in a stocking style grain bag from the lhbs and had no oil issues at all. Used 1.5lb in 5 gallons and the aroma/flavor was amazing. Lhbs guy said it was the best flavored porter he has come across in a long time. Here is the infamous floating coconut bomb in the secondary. Was in secondary for 10 days with the coconut btw.

 

[jgln]

well, I was pretty toasted before tossing it in, almost burnt, almost. This was only two days before I sampled and it already had a subtle and noticeable aroma of coconut. I used about 10 oz in 2.5 gallons of beer.

Fixed that for ya.....


Sorry, just ignore me couldn't help it.

 

[brants77]

I used organic dehydrated coconut flakes in my coconut porter, put them in a stocking style grain bag from the lhbs and had no oil issues at all. Used 1.5lb in 5 gallons and the aroma/flavor was amazing. Lhbs guy said it was the best flavored porter he has come across in a long time. Here is the infamous floating coconut bomb in the secondary. Was in secondary for 10 days with the coconut btw.

View attachment 40059

Did you toast or do anything to them? or just straight from store bag to grain bag & in beer? I'm currently fascinated by south Pacific hops (New Zealand), & think a combo all New Zealand hopped coconut ale would be some tropical goodness in the middle of this Michigan winter.

 

[RandalG]

I used organic dehydrated coconut flakes in my coconut porter, put them in a stocking style grain bag from the lhbs and had no oil issues at all. Used 1.5lb in 5 gallons and the aroma/flavor was amazing. Lhbs guy said it was the best flavored porter he has come across in a long time. Here is the infamous floating coconut bomb in the secondary. Was in secondary for 10 days with the coconut btw.

View attachment 40059

Terps, Can you tell us what brand you used and where you got them too.

 

[Terps]

http://www.bobsredmill.com/shredded-coconut.html
That's the stuff. Toasted until almost amber in color, then funneled into the bag that was already in the carboy.
You can probably find it at most grocery stores in the baking isle. I found it at a more organic grocery store though.

 

[edecambra]

I want to know how you plan on getting that thing out of your carboy! that looks like a super head ache for sure

 

[Terps]

It was actually quite easy to remove, after the beer was bottled I just held the carboy upside down and took a filet knife to it and was able to pull the mess out easily as the bag was sort of a cheese cloth material.

 

[RandalG]

Shredded Coconut - Bob's Red Mill
That's the stuff. Toasted until almost amber in color, then funneled into the bag that was already in the carboy.
You can probably find it at most grocery stores in the baking isle. I found it at a more organic grocery store though.

I'd also be interested to know your process for toasting them, How long and what temp to get the amber color.

On another note I received the coconut syrup mentioned in my previous post. The ingredients are sugar,water,artificial flavor, coconut natural flavor and no preservatives so adding to the secondary should be no problem. However since sugar is listed as the first ingredient that could add some gravity points depending on how much is added which isn't too big a deal since I'm doing an Imperial Stout. I have not opened it yet to taste it as I'm not sure which way I'm going to go yet. Maybe I'll split the batch to see what works best.

 

[Terps]

I'd also be interested to know your process for toasting them, How long and what temp to get the amber color.

On another note I received the coconut syrup mentioned in my previous post. The ingredients are sugar,water,artificial flavor, coconut natural flavor and no preservatives so adding to the secondary should be no problem. However since sugar is listed as the first ingredient that could add some gravity points depending on how much is added which isn't too big a deal since I'm doing an Imperial Stout. I have not opened it yet to taste it as I'm not sure which way I'm going to go yet. Maybe I'll split the batch to see what works best.

To be honest I think I followed the instructions on the bag, or something I got online... It was like 350deg and I watched/stirred it like crazy to make sure it didn't burn and got the most out of the toasting.

 

[LKABrewer]

Our brew club does an 'Iron Brewer' competition twice a year. We break into teams, and each team brews to specific guidelines. This winter was specialty robust porters. I did a chocolate coconut robust porter.

- Toasted 1 lb of coconut flakes (not shredded, flaked) @ 350*, turning frequently until browned.
- Packed them into a canning jar as tightly as possible, and covered with vodka.
- The next day, added to secondary (in a corney keg) in a muslin bag.
- After 1 week, crash cooled the beer and transferred to a clean keg using a jumper hose.

The beer had a great head, no retention issues at all. After the beer was fermented, I tried adding a little coconut flavor to see how it tasted, and it is not the same thing as toasted coconut. The artificial flavor tasted artificial, like adding suntan lotion. With the toasted coconut, you could taste the different layers of coconut (nutty, toasty). It took first place among the 5 robust porters at the party!

 

[JasontheBeaver]

Did you guys notice any dissipating of the coconut flavor or aroma over time? After 6 weeks in keg mine is all but gone. Trying to get to the bottom of this because otherwise it was an outstanding beer.

 

[Terps]

I never noticed any lack of flavor, my batch was bottled though but it just kept getting better with time. Last bottle I had was after 3 months or so and it was fantastic. Puts Maui's Coconut Porter to shame for coconut flavor and aroma.