My wife has requested that I brew a beer with coconut, but she does not like browns or porters. She prefers blondes and wheat beers. Any ideas on how to use coconut and how much?
I’ve got a cocpnut Porter on tap right now. I’d go the chick beer wheat route with the beer. Possibly, pair the coconut with modest amounts of a tropical hop for a tropical combo.
How much and what form of coconut do you use?
I used the meat of the coconut, which I purchased in flake form and some sugar-preserved coconut meat. I used about a pound (mostly flake) I think for 10-gallons. The coconut is very noticeable but plays second fiddle to the dark malts. It is better to buy the pure form if only because you have a better handle on how much coconut you are using. I roasted the coconut first. I added it to the fermenter without any boiling IIRC.
having also just used flaked coconut - no sugar added that i roasted to golden brown - i will tell you a little goes a long long way. start with 2-3 ounces in the keg, or if bottling in the secondary. i left mine in the keg for 24 hours and it was too much IMO. my brew was a brown ale.
IPA or pale ale (wheat would also work) base beer with a good hop burst combo with hops like amarillo and citra, i.e. pina colada
About 2-4 oz. per 5 gallon batch for no more than 3 days.
Dry “nut” in the keg so that you can taste the flavor profile as it develops.
Balancing coconut intensity in a light beer is a little tricky as some people are sensitive to it and others are not as I have found out.
You can make a great coconut beer just using commercial coconut extract. Just keep it less than you think you need. I would add just 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you can barely detect it. And perhaps 1/2 teaspoon is enough for 5 gallons – I wouldn’t doubt it. A buddy of mine makes a coconut porter and he uses too much for my own tastes. I would use very very little if I made a coconut beer. But… whatever you prefer, I guess.
Thanks for the ideas