Hey guys, I’m trying some toasted coconut in a stout I have brewing at the moment. I read up about coconut and in particular the oil affecting the head retention. I have toasted it already and am now storing it in a paper bag til I’m ready. I have noticed that the paper bag has been soaking up the oil, so much that I’m changing the bag every day. It’s not soaking wet or anything but it’s definitely absorbing some oil.
Does anyone actively try to remove the oil from
coconut or do you just throw it in??
I’ve never used fresh coconut however I have used dried coconut with excellent results and the oil did not affect the head retention. I think most of the thinking basically says that if you rack under the surface of the beer you should be able to leave most of the oil behind since it will float.
Thanks mate, I used shredded coconut so it should be fine then. Smells awesome, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say they don’t like the smell o coconut!
I guess you could always render the dried coconut to extract any oil that may be left in it if you are super concerned about effects on head retention issues. Just heat it up to about 350 degrees F for maybe 10 minutes and see if any oil comes out. Fatheads in Cleveland did that with their bacon stout a few years ago to get the grease out of the bacon chunks.
If it were me, I would just use the dried stuff and not mess with the rendering process.
Glad I seen this post. Let me ask a few questions on when you add the coconut.
I have a 5 gallon corny of a porter in the keezer. It’s been in there since mid 19’ I am thinking about adding coconut, cacao nibs and some dried smoked chipotle peppers. Obviously I will do a closed transfer into another keg that’s holding the added ingredients to limit o2 exposure.
These leads to my questions. Does it make any difference when I would or should have added these? Is it ok to add them now after 18 months have passed?
I don’t see any reason not to add them after 18 months. Since it is in a keg I’d leave it in until you think the flavor is fine then remove or rack off of them. A “surescreen” is the best way to get the beer off the specialty ingredients.
I’ve never had head retention problems with my coconut infused beers, and I’ve made lots of them. I toast the flakes (raw organic) cool them to room temp, and add them to conditioning in a mesh bag. Just my 2 cents.