Coconut Blonde Help

[Young Brewing]

I am looking to create a coconut blonde but can't get my hands on the hops I want. My initial thought was to pair some Sabro with 16 oz of coconut in the secondary but none of my local homebrew shops carry it, so I decided to use some hops I already have on hand. I have Huell Melon, Lemondrop, Cascade, Centennial, Northern Brewer, and some others. It may not be a big deal considering I only plan to use about an oz, but I was wondering if any of these would pair well, or if someone has a favorite hop pairing for coconut that might be more accessible. Lastly, this will be my first time using coconut and was wondering if 16 oz would be enough for it to shine through. Thanks!

5.5 Gallon Recipe:

7 lbs 8.0 oz​	Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)​	Grain​	1​	88.2 %​	0.59 gal​
8.0 oz​	Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)​	Grain​	2​	5.9 %​	0.04 gal​
8.0 oz​	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)​	Grain​	3​	5.9 %​	0.04 gal​
0.50 oz​	Huell Melon [7.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min​	Hop​	4​	13.3 IBUs​	-​
0.25 oz​	Huell Melon [7.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min​	Hop​	5​	2.4 IBUs​	-​
0.25 oz​	Huell Melon [7.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min​	Hop​	6​	1.3 IBUs​	-​
1.0 pkg​	Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml]​	Yeast​	7​	-​	-​
16.00 oz​	Toasted Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (Secondary 7.0 days)​	Spice​	8​	-​	-​

 

[jdauria]

16 oz should be enough, especially if adding just in secondary. Did a Coconut Coffee Blond last year only using 10 oz in a 3.5 gallon and it was a good as the coconut was there, but it did not overpower the coffee or the base beer itself. I did use an ounce of Sabro in whirlpool, and really did not think it added much. I would think a hop with tropical fruit notes would go the best, but you don't have that on hand, so if it were me I use either the Cascade or Northern Brewer. I think the Huell Melon and Lemondrop could give off other fruity notes that will take away from the coconut.

 

[Young Brewing]

If you didn't get much out of the sabro, then I think I will just throw the last half oz of Citra I have with some cascade as the base. Glad to hear the 16 oz will be plenty of coconut flavor because I was seeing some people recommend up to half a pound per gallon which seemed wildly excessive. @jdauria How did you go about getting the coffee flavor in that blond? Within the next couple of brew days, I am thinking about maybe trying some sort of coffee stout but haven't done any research on good ways to incorporate that flavor. Thanks for the help!

 

[Steveruch]

I've used coconut in a wheat beer and a cider to good results without toasting it.