Toasted Coconut

[Allergic2hops]

My wife had some toasted coconut left over from a pie she made. I want to add it to my winter brown. Should I put it in the mash? It's not a fermentable. Could use some advice here. Thanks! A2H

 

[TandemTails]

I've made two batches of coconut stout in the past and have tried different methods based on this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=235196&page=2

They tried using it in the mash, the boil and in secondary. The thread goes into their thoughts on how each method turned out.

The next time I brew anything with coconut I'm just going to throw it into the fermenter (in a muslin bag) after primary fermentation ends. I feel like that will do the most to keep the aromatics of the coconut.

 

[Allergic2hops]

Thanks for the feedback. Good stuff. I'll do just that. Maybe zap the coconut for a few seconds to release the oils? Brewing right now so glad I finally got to reading this. Many thanks. A2H

 

[TandemTails]

Yeah, definitely toast the coconut before adding it. That gives it a much nicer flavor than raw coconut will.

 

[Allergic2hops]

It's already toasted, just thought a little heat would help the flavor. When you add it after primary should I soak the bag in starsan? I haven't done any post primary additions.

 

[AkTom]

I make a coconut IPA. For a 5 gallon batch, 1/2 # in boil and 1/2# in secondary. Very nice. I don't toast.
Cheers

 

[day_trippr]

[...]When you add it after primary should I soak the bag in starsan?[...]

That would be prudent. Adding enough weight to sink the bag would be wise as well...

Cheers!

 

[TandemTails]

It's already toasted, just thought a little heat would help the flavor. When you add it after primary should I soak the bag in starsan? I haven't done any post primary additions.

I don't worry about the starsan dunk. I will soak my muslin bag in starsan first though. I also add some sanitized lead-free glass balls (marbles) to the sack to help weigh it down. If it's below the surface of the beer then you shouldn't usually have any worries.

Also, one more thing... When I make my coconut stouts I like to remove the bag of coconut flakes 2 days before bottling and then cold crash the beer. This will solidify a bunch of the coconut fat on the top of the beer so you can either scrape it off with a sanitized fine mesh strainer or rack from underneath it. The less coconut fat/solids in your beer the better head retention you'll have.