coco beans

[jwags48]

ok here we go, made an imperial stout 3 years ago added roasted coco beans in secondary that where crushed and soaked in 100 proof vodka , I thought to sanitize ... beer was very good++. so I thought to add beans again to my imperial stout today but I thought let's just boil them in some water for 20 mins like I do the vanilla beans i put in my porter.....well I think I f-d up , the coco mix was very oily.....my racking hose from prim to second was greasy....does the 100 proof vodka break down the coco oils? do I have a tasty coco imperial stout that has little head and looks like Mc Ds in a glass...I will cold condition .... will that separate .... or am I just being ? ....... well you know..... time to relax and have a homebrew ...already added beans ......

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Im a bit late here but...
what happened is the same thing that happens with coffee beans. The beans have fatty oils in them(which will kill head retention) and when you boil the beans it extracts more of the oils out into the liquid your boiling them in. Thats why you didnt have the problem the first time since you didnt boil the beans you just cold steeped. Ive seen a few threads where people had the same worry from using coconut and over time they said the beer was fine and the oils didnt separate to the top.

 

[ktblunden]

So OP, how did the beer turn out? Head retention?

 

[jwags48]

Wow great! Yes the stout was really great! I did a long cold conditioning and the oils seemed to settle out. the head was good as well. Cocoa flavor was strong . The beer was very good after more time conditioning in the keg. ...