"Award Winning" Coconut Porter

[biertourist]

Biertourist your viper tower is a savage device

I have no hope of understanding the meaning of this sentence; I've tried and failed.  Can someone translate it for this poor Yankee?


Adam

Hi Biertourist

I guess you don't remember selling me your viper tower, taps, keg etc. I only recently got around to using it
Savage device means it is a great piece of equipment Sorry if I caused confusion.

Shanna

-Oh!  2 Issues here:
1. I didn't even know it was called a "viper tower";  I called it a "cobra-style tap".
2. It WAS a Savage device; I SO miss it.  My new tap tower is a much lower quality tap tower.  -Although REALLY expensive I wouldn't buy another tap unless it's a Perlick; a pure stainless flow control Perlick would be amazing but JEEZE, they're expensive!

[biertourist]

I just brewed this beer again because it's just too awesome to not brew it again.

I upped the late Citra addition from 0.5 oz (14 grams) to 0.75 oz (21 grams) just to see what happens.

The base beer is pretty much perfect for a chocolate porter or a coconut porter; just age the chocolate version on toasted cocoa nibs and the coconut version on toasted coconut.


Adam

[irish_goat]

How long do you tend to condition this for before drinking?

[DEMPSEY]

Has anyone ever put the coconut in the mash tun with the grains and if so what is the results.

[biertourist]

How long do you tend to condition this for before drinking?

I use a super fast fermenting American ale yeast strain and both times I've left it primary for 7 days, then I chuck the coconut into the corney keg directly for 3-4 days at ambient temp in my garage (with about 15 lbs of CO2 pressure), then I turn off the CO2, vent the keg, and retrieve the coconut bag with my stainless siphon, then seal it back up and use the 15 lb + shaking "quick carbonation" method.  -This beer is so dang tasty I can't stand to wait longer than 3 days condition / carbing time.


This time I mashed lower and ended up with an FG of 1.011, but last time I was at the top-end of the range and it ended up higher; I think I'm going to like it in the higher end of the range.  I've got some really high diastatic power 2 row malt as my basemalt this time which I think also helped conversion go faster and is partially responsible for the lower FG.


I'm going to compare the two but I think upping the late citra addition from 0.5 oz to 0.75 was a good way to go on this one.


Adam

[biertourist]

Has anyone ever put the coconut in the mash tun with the grains and if so what is the results.

Lots of recipies call for it; Maui uses coconut in the mash, boil, and during fermentation.

The result is that you get very few fermentables out of it in the mash and very little flavor.

Kona brewing I think originally used it in the mash, too but now that much of it is brewed here in Woodinville, WA @ the Redhook / Anheiser Busch brewery I doubt its brewed the same way.


I've got a co-worker here that has had Kona's fresh at the brewery after going on the brewery tour and he says that mine tastes way better with a better coconut flavor.  Just use unsulfured, unsweetened flaked coconut and toast it (in the microwave on the stove top constantly stirred, or in a convection oven while watching closely and add it to the secondary or directly to the keg).  The flavor isn't great after 24 hours, starts getting good at day 2 and by day 3 and 4 it's awesome.

The late citra really enhances it, too but I'm sure a couple of tropical NZ varieties could do the same thing.


Adam

[biertourist]

I found the same thing with Chocolate additions - you want to start with awesome quality ingredients (raw cocoa nibs), toast them without burning to bring out the oils, and then add them as late as possible to bring out the flavor.

-Because you're not wasting the ingredients in the mash or boil, you can use less to get more flavor and therefore can afford to buy better ingredients.

I'm doing a split batch milk chocolate stout with home made dulche de leche (real milk) as my next dark beer; the other half of the batch will become Indian Chai Latte Stout. (I went to a specialist spice importer and had them make me an indian chai tea (yes a redundant title) spice blend which I'm going to add in the secondary of the dulche de leche milk stout without the cocoa nibs. -I'm not going to add any espresso this time, but I might pull a single 2 liter growler of it and add some espresso to see what it would be like with it.

I really love making beer!  -All I'm doing now is alternating between some sort of experimental Pale Ale and then an experimental Porter or Stout; I think I could keep doing this for a long time.  So far my best porter and stout experiments are ending up in the dessert beer category, though.

(A Black Forest Cake Stout is a future possibility, too; just age my coconut porter recipe with coconut, coconibs, and add some almond extract to provide a hint of marschino cherry flavor.)



Adam

[mr hoppy]

Read this blog post last night, and thought it belonged in this thread.

http://perfectpint.blogspot.ie/2011/10/beer-rant-english-ales.html

[biertourist]

Read this blog post last night, and thought it belonged in this thread.

http://perfectpint.blogspot.ie/2011/10/beer-rant-english-ales.html

Yup; don't forget to see the comments from Ron Pattinson on the "Scottish styles" and lack of Czech beer styles in the BJCP guidelines.


Adam

[mr hoppy]

I'm familiar with Ron's ouevre. I some times think the BJCP are like the Académie française of beer.

BTW did you try out the U Fleku Tmavy Lezhak recipe? I've a fridge again (yay!) so I'll be doing one up as soon as I get a chance.

[biertourist]

BTW did you try out the U Fleku Tmavy Lezhak recipe? I've a fridge again (yay!) so I'll be doing one up as soon as I get a chance.

I did NOT get to try it.  I did make a black lager which was delicious, but it was a simple single infusion mash with an easy-going German lager strain instead.

-I wanted to do a LOT of back-to-back lagers but it just takes soo long and I only have a single fridge for fermentation, lagering, and serving and I wanted to actually be able to DRINK my beer so I switched back to porters and pale ales for a while again.


Adam

[mr hoppy]

I did it around Christmas 2012. I skipped the decoction but it was still really nice. (Better than the Czech pils I did before it with a double decoction). I'd definitely recommend it, my wife's still asking when I'll brew it again. It also seemed to be a forgiving recipe for WLP800. It was the last lager I did though, as I've not had refrigeration since. Hopefully sometime soon.

[biertourist]

I've now brewed this 4 times (10 gallon batch now) and I keep slowly tweaking it.

I switched back to MO as the basemalt as the mouthfeel and higher finishing gravity I think made a better version of this beer.

I got a stuck mash this time between the MO and the oats... (Rice hulls recommended)



I also swapped the Carafa III for Carafa II and I think that was a mistake as there's just not enough roast flavor to balance it out.  I'm going to switch back to Carafa III and add a bit of a highly roasted malt next time.


I upped my Citra quantity even further this weekend but this was the first brew in my new whirlpool kettle and it stayed at high temps too long -I ended up getting more IBUs than I wanted and I think less Citra flavor.  I'm going to have to wait to add the Citra addition in the whirlpool now.


I also switched to SAFAle-04 because I think English esters will help this beer out.  -I'll report back on the results of the changes but its all small tweaks from here out.  The basis for the recipe and especially the coconut handling portion of the recipe are hard to improve on.


Adam

[ferg]

It was your recipe I made the last time I did this (minus the citra)... was my 3rd attempt at it and 3rd recipe I've tried (1st was the HBC porter kit, 2nd was one off electric brewery/HBT I think) had the last bottle of it a week or so ago.. about 3/4 months since bottling. I have to say it was the best so far.

I've also been trying different varieties of toasted coconut. 1st time was dessicated coconut from lidl, which I found to be great. Shamrock brand was next, but wasn't nearly as flavoursome. 3rd attempt was Natco brand found in the Asian supermarkets. The strange thing about the last one (natco brand) was my FG jumped from 1.012 to 1.020 after I added it! It may have been that I toasted this one a lot more than previous attempts and maybe in the browning of the coconut there's saccharification occurring. I was concerned about bottle bombs and over carbination but thankfully this never transpired.

I know before I complained that the coconut flavour dissipates after about a month, not so with this batch! It was beautifully mellow bounty bar tasting, your recipe really complimented the coconut flavour.

I think the key might be in the method of toasting of the coconut rather than the brand however. I do it on the hob to keep an eye on it. I used 800g in a 22l batch, 7 or 8 days 'dry hopping'. I used a thin bottomed wok for the last batch on a high heat with lots of stirring to evenly brown it. On a lower heat it or in the oven it would brown in layers and it's difficult to 'flip' it to just toast the remaining white parts. I'm going to try the same method but with the lidl brand (also the cheapest source per g) and see how it turns out!

edit: I think I remember trying the oven method with the shamrock so that might explain the difference there...

edit 2: it also occurred to be that I assumed the Natco brand/batch 3 was unsweetened dessicated coconut. I will have a look at the bag next time in the Asian shop to confirm

[biertourist]

It was your recipe I made the last time I did this (minus the citra)... was my 3rd attempt at it and 3rd recipe I've tried (1st was the HBC porter kit, 2nd was one off electric brewery/HBT I think) had the last bottle of it a week or so ago.. about 3/4 months since bottling. I have to say it was the best so far.

I've also been trying different varieties of toasted coconut. 1st time was dessicated coconut from lidl, which I found to be great. Shamrock brand was next, but wasn't nearly as flavoursome. 3rd attempt was Natco brand found in the Asian supermarkets. The strange thing about the last one (natco brand) was my FG jumped from 1.012 to 1.020 after I added it! It may have been that I toasted this one a lot more than previous attempts and maybe in the browning of the coconut there's saccharification occurring. I was concerned about bottle bombs and over carbination but thankfully this never transpired.

I know before I complained that the coconut flavour dissipates after about a month, not so with this batch! It was beautifully mellow bounty bar tasting, your recipe really complimented the coconut flavour.

I think the key might be in the method of toasting of the coconut rather than the brand however. I do it on the hob to keep an eye on it. I used 800g in a 22l batch, 7 or 8 days 'dry hopping'. I used a thin bottomed wok for the last batch on a high heat with lots of stirring to evenly brown it. On a lower heat it or in the oven it would brown in layers and it's difficult to 'flip' it to just toast the remaining white parts. I'm going to try the same method but with the lidl brand (also the cheapest source per g) and see how it turns out!

edit: I think I remember trying the oven method with the shamrock so that might explain the difference there...

edit 2: it also occurred to be that I assumed the Natco brand/batch 3 was unsweetened dessicated coconut. I will have a look at the bag next time in the Asian shop to confirm

-On the increased OG using certain coconuts.  Some dessicated coconut includes added sugar and some includes added sulfites so that it stores better.  You want to avoid both of these things, which is difficult.

I still haven't found the "perfect" method of getting the coconut evenly browned.  I use a thin layer on a cookie sheet in a convection oven as the constant air movement helps it to brown more evently.  I then mix up the coconut and keep toasting but as it goes from browning to burning VERY quickly I don't push my luck.


Adam