I am brewing a Coconut Cream Porter, for a club only friendly competition. Should the Coconut go into the Mash, Boil, or Secondary? I’m thinking Mash, due to the oil content.
I’d say secondary. If you add it earlier you might not get much flavor/aroma from it. Check the recipe wiki…there might be a recipe for the toasted coconut porter that won NHC some years back. You might get some info from that.
I would go with secondary too, not wanting to boil off the coconut flavor. Many brewers seem to make coconut beers without the oils causing problems. Since they are not miscible with water, they probably separate out after fermentation anyway.
Well, Maui brewing does it in all 3 phases (to my knowledge): Mash, boil, and secondary.
I typically add mine to the keg post-fermentation, this allows me more control. I add it in a couple of hop sacks with weights. Anywhere from 0.5-1.5lbs/5gallons. It usually takes anywhere from 3-14 days depending on the style of beer and the amount of coconut added… I generally toast it in the oven on the lowest bake setting for 10-15 minutes with frequent stirring until golden brown (the house smells fantastic, BTW!), before adding it to the beer. You want to use the organic stuff, not the coconut you find in the baking aisle.
I have never had a head retention issue with the coconut in a beer in the past. My guess is that the oil floats on the beer and I serve from a keg, so I am pulling the beer from underneath the oil? Just a hunch.
Many people also use extract dosed to taste with great success as well. I recommend Olive Nation. All of their extracts are top notch!
I had a wonderful coconut porter at Flat Earth Brewing at the 2010 NHC in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The aroma and flavor were off the charts. Here’s how they did it: Soak coconut in vodka for a few weeks. Drain the vodka and mix it with brown sugar until it’s a gravy-like consistency. The brown sugar takes away the harshness of the vodka. Boil the “gravy” lightly to drive off some of the alcohol. (Maybe you don’t want to drive off some of the alcohol ;)) Add the mixture to the secondary.
I do a coconut milk stout. I roast the coconut (10 oz for 3 gallon batch) at 325 for 30-45 mins, mixing the coconut around a couple of times to ensure even roasting. I let it cool and toss in in the secondary for two weeks. Good coconut flavor, but not over powering.
Do you know if they used just shredded coconut, or did they toast it first?
I think they just shredded it (Flat Earth was the last stop in the tour, and there were a lot of beverages involved). I’m sure toasting wouldn’t hurt, though.
Do you leave the coconut in the keg until it kicks or remove after 3-14 days?
How long would you expect for 12 oz of toasted flaked coconut to infuse well into a big porter?
I usually add toasted coconut to the keg in a cheese-cloth sack. Purge air from the airlock and leave in for 48 hours -max. After 48 hrs it is overwhelming (to me) for the first couple of weeks, but definitely fades over time.