Adding coconut to barreled beer...

Can only share my one experience:
I used 3lbs of natural dried coconut in a porter.
Laid the coconut on a cookie sheet and baked in the oven (~350) keeping a close look until I saw the edges of the coconut start to brown. I then used a sanitized funnel to pour the coconut into the carboy and racked the beer on top. I think I left it on the coconut for a week but I would taste check after a few days. I would recommend not doing this in the barrel.

edit The porter came out great, the coconut was not too subtle but not too overpowering

 

The coconut floats so racking onto it will mix the flavor in a little better. But I guess you could bag it and weigh it down in the barrel if you wanted to.

 

If you have been keeping the barrel topped off, you shouldn't really have room for coconut. If you plan on using the barrel again, you should rack the beer into a carboy with the coconut. That'll save you from having to clean it all out of the barrel after you empty it and will also ensure you aren't imparting coconut flavors into the barrel itself.

 

I used 1.33lbs of toasted unsweetened coconut in secondary in a ~1.060 porter for two weeks and I think the flavor is perfect. It's balanced ,but very coconutty, in that it meshes well with the chocolate of the porter. I feel I can pick up on the toasted flavors too which also work well given the base beer.

 

Oh sorry yes, 5 gallons.

 

Pull a pinch of coconut away from the cookie sheet before you start to cook it. Pull a pinch off after you cook and cool the coconut. Compare the flavor side by side. Consider adding a second amount of toasted coconut, or letting the beer sit on the coconut longer. I think either way would work quite well. Coconut would work best in a barleywine if it's kind of a nuance. Go easy, now.

 

This is probably relative to the flavor you want in the beer. I had a toasted coconut Bell's third coast old ale and it was awesome.

 

Would natural food stores carry coconut? Which kind should I look for?