Coconut sugar anyone?

[csmith0237]

I was thinking about experimenting on my next batch, and really want to use coconut sugar. Has anyone done this, and if so, do I need to make any adjustments to calculate my sg? Is there a better at worse yeast for it?

Thanks!

 

[TandemTails]

Coconut sugar is just palm sugar. The coconut moniker is simply marketing and you won't get any actual coconut flavor out of it if that's what you're looking for.

Rather than spend the extra money for palm sugar I'd just use white or brown sugar. If the sugar does lend any additional flavor, most of it will be blown out the airlock during fermentation anyway.

I'm sure there's a calculator online somewhere that will determine the SG given an amount of added sugar. The easiest way is to test with a hydrometer. My personal preference is to not add additional sugar because i feel it makes the cider too harsh, but i know some people really like the boosted abv.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=408610 this recipe calls for the equivalent of 2lb of sugar added to each gallon of cider. I made this once and it was too much added sugar for me.

Any champagne / wine / mead / cider yeast will do just fine on this.

 

[thehaze]

Coconut sugar is not made from the coconut itself, but rather from the tree's leaves. That means it bears no special coconut aromas or taste.

If you wish that coconut taste, you need either coconut water ( the real stuff from coconuts - which btw is very refreshing, but not that powerful ) or dried coconut core/meat/flakes.

 

[csmith0237]

Thanks for the input guys. I don't like cane sugar and use coconut sugar in my cooking frequently. I'm not looking for flavor from it, just wondering if it's equitable for fermenting. I'm going to do an experiment using coconut sugar in one, cane sugar in the other, all measurements and other ingredients the same and compare the final product.

 

[thehaze]

If you do not expect coconut flavours, then you can easily use that in brewing.

 

[hethacker]

Hey, just saw this post now, I am currently using coconut sugar in my cyser And mostly notice a mellow molasses flavor that is prevalent even in a low final gravity.

As to using the coconut sugar like you would other sugar, you would need to calculate the amount of sugar from the grams of sugar in the calorie content and convert that from individual serving size to pounds (i.e. if the serving size is 2oz and has 11 grams of sugar then multiply that sugar content by 8 and that will tell you how many grams of sugar are in a pound of the ingredient 11*8= 96 grams/28 grams per ounce= 3.42 ounces/16 ounces per pound= .22 lbs worth of fermentable sugar inside a 1 lb bag of coconut sugar.) hope that helps!

 

[Jayjay1976]

This thread has me wondering about using canned coconut water, the all natural stuff, as a ready-made wort for building yeast starters. It has a nice, pleasant flavor that shouldn't clash with beer recipes like Malta or other more strongly-flavored bottled malt beverages might. The fact that I love coconut is just an ancillary benefit, especially in a toasted coconut dubbel.

BTW and totally OT: I always keep a few cans of coconut water chillin' in the back of the fridge for emergency rehydration to treat a hangover. Then get some salts, carbs, and protein down to speed recovery. If you have an oxygenation setup, fill a trash bag with pure oxygen and huff it for super quick, extra effective hangover relief. Source: iron workers and shipbuilders do this all the time.

 

[Silver79]

I second that exact hangover cure. Coconut water, bacon, biscuit, oxy side of the blue tipped wrench.