My home brew club is brewing a brown ale and I've bought in for 5 gallons of wort. If I had known it was going to be a brown ale I wouldn't have bought in because I'm sick of brown ales. What can I do to make it something other than a brown ale? Is there a yeast that someone can recommend that will change the flavor profile? How about a fruit or a spice?
OK, so this is one big brew, just bring your fermenter? Or, is this a group buy on kits? Not following 100% here.
I'm confused also, but I'll say toasted coconut would be a nice addition to a brown ale. I just had Kona Koko Brown, which was a "decent" beer, but it needed more aroma and mouthfeel.
Sour it? Hop the hell out of it? Coffee and bottle for later use? Vanilla bean? There are many things you can do. But see my post above for outstanding questions.
Sorry for not being clearer. We brew 50 gallons all grain, then people who buy in take 5 gallons home with them to ferment however they see fit.
If I added coconut, how much should I add? I've had a coconut stout that I enjoyed very much and I think a coconut brown sounds pretty good.
Cool, that is what I was figuring, but didn't want to assume. So your options to "change" this up a bit are yeast, dry hops and other flavoring components. I think toasted coconut could be good, but have no experience to offer. 100% brett beer, if you have ever thought about that...and you don't need to sour it either.
I'm not 100% sure bro, I wish I was because I'm a fan of coconut too. Try to do some research on how Kona and Maui adds coconut to their brews. For what it's worth, I found that Kona Koko Brown extracts more coconut flavor (without being annoying) than Maui Coconut Porter, which was extremely subtle for me. On the bottle, Kona simply writes, "brewed with toasted coconut, natural flavors added". Though this particular beer had almost zero coconut aroma... it was all flavor. Finally, I'd be worried about fatty oils releasing from the coconut into the beer. But I bet you could find a way to use the real thing successfully vs. a potent extract.
When Stone did the Ken Schmidt Kona Coffee Coconut Macadamia Nut Porter, they added toasted coconut at whirlpool and also "dry nutted" with toasted coconut. Since they enlisted Garrett, the head brewer from Maui Brew Co, I'm assuming Maui may do something similar. I thought the Stone beer did a pretty good job with the coconut flavor and aroma, so this may be a good starting point. You can also back calculate what the amounts would be for a 5 gallon batch based upon their recipe, although the equipment will obviously produce different results, etc. etc. Link: http://blog.stonebrew.com/?tag=ken-schmidtmauistone-kona-coffee
Nothing really to add to the production element of this thread. Just wanted to clear things up and to give due recognition, Garrett Marrero is the founder, owner & chief idea guy of Maui Brewing Co. The lead brewers are Scott Freitas, Kim Lutz, & John Walsh. Sometimes the face of a brewery can unintentionally overshadow the backbone. Bios can be gleamed here: http://www.mauibrewingco.com/mbc/MBCBreweryCrew.html To the poster: If your interested in how Maui Brewing Co. infuses their coconut into their porter, I'm sure if you e-mail them with your question they will respond back to you...they are really a very helpful crew.
