Phil Wymore, Perennial cofounder and brewmaster, says that it takes quite a bit of coconut to bring out its flavor in big imperial stouts such as this one—and he and his team have dialed it up over the years. If you brew a beer like this and the coconut isn’t evident enough for you, he says, “you just have to keep putting more and more into it.”
Based on a variation of the brewery’s base imperial stout, this homebrew-scale recipe gets some lactose, maltodextrin, a relatively high mash temperature, and a very long boil to build the full body and rich, deep, chocolaty flavors. Combined with the coconut, the result is a full-bodied beer with indulgent macaroon-like character.
For more on brewing imperial stouts and other big beers, check out Wymore's full video course, available to All Access Subscribers.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.124
FG: 1.048
IBUs: 60
ABV: 10%