SingleSpeed Brewing Company
Dear Replicator,
Last month, my family and I went on our yearly get together with two of my old high school classmates and their families — usually somewhere with fun things for the kids, (and a brewery or two for the big kids). This year we went to Decorah, Iowa and had the pleasure of hitting the lesser-known of the two breweries there, Pulpit Rock Brewing Co. While there we sampled a collaboration between them and SingleSpeed Brewing of Cedar Falls, Iowa called Coconut Migration. This incredible double IPA with a smooth taste was a hit with us all and I’d love to brew up a batch before our next mini-reunion. Any chance you can help me out?
Ben Loots
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Thanks for the request, Ben! It’s evident that you, your friends, and your families can spot a high-quality craft beer. When I reached out to Pulpit Rock to ask about Coconut Migration, Whitney Hirth got back to me within hours. Suffice it to say, I was impressed; their willingness to work with their community, both local and more broadly, foreshadowed good things to come. For the record, the initial brewing of Coconut Migration was collaborative in nature, but is now exclusively performed by SingleSpeed Brewing as they own the rights to the recipe.
SingleSpeed originated with humble beginnings and a desire to bring intriguing, quality ales to their local market in such a way as to be a sustainable beacon in the community. So, it was in Cedar Falls, Iowa that Dave Morgan decided to set up shop in a 1,700-square foot (158-sq. m) facility containing a modest 3-BBL system. This was no ragtag operation but rather a facility that was gifted the Silver level in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Why should anyone care about the certification? For the simple reason, to provide future generations with as much or more than we had during our very short time on this rock traveling through space.
Just like all successful breweries, they rapidly outgrew their space in Cedar Falls and the 3-BBL brewhouse couldn’t keep up; it was time to find additional space. While keeping an eye open for potential sites in their local community, SingleSpeed was approached by the Friends of the Waterloo Wonder Bread Building. The historic building, as recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, was slated to be demolished.
At first, the remnants of the bakery, which was in operation from 1927 until 2012, were still in place. It took an imagination, trust, and $6.5 million but the brewery’s dreams were realized when the 20-BBL brewery opened in November 2016, while maintaining the historical value of the building. Such nods include a “proofing” lounge which is located where the factory’s proofing box once stood, a lobby emulating what customers would experience in the 1950s, and the original flooring through multiple rooms. This site also has a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification: Gold!! And in addition, the Waterloo site reached Platinum for the Iowa Green Brewery Certifications. The infrastructure includes flowmeters for water consumption, a 101-kW solar photovoltaic rooftop array, and LED lighting with motion sensors.
But one could argue, that even more importantly was the community’s response. Morgan mentioned that “(Having people) randomly come up to me and thank me was pretty sobering.” It is more than just a brewery; it’s a destination and a community hang-out. And as they’ve grown, so too has their commitment to their community. SingleSpeed does special brews and annual fundraisers to help support several worthy, local causes such as the Prairie Rapids Project. They recently added a Munich helles, Gable, to their core lineup. For every pint sold in the taproom, $1 is donated to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, which is only a block away from the brewery. Portions of all canned sales are also donated to the museum.
Now onto the beer!! Coconut Migration is an East Coast Double IPA that is rested on toasted coconut before packaging. The heavy dose of late addition and whirlpool hops in combination with the coconut should invoke beaches, tossing around a frisbee, and great memories. The intense ripe mango and grapefruit marry well with the lime, pine, and a hint of kiwi. The hop showcase is fully supported by the grainy, slightly toasted malt backbone and is reminiscent of piña coladas with the addition of the coconut. To achieve such a feat, SingleSpeed’s Head Brewer, Austin Myers, relies on the trinity of El Dorado®, Azacca®, and Citra® with a small addition of Nugget for bittering. The combination of hops is repeated in late boil additions but also in whirlpool and dry hop additions during which biotransformation should occur. The beer is rested on the coconut after primary fermentation (there’s no need for a secondary fermenter) before ultimately being packaged.
Austin does feel that there’s quite of bit of experimentation that one could do with the coconut including contact time, dosage rate, or the toast level intensity. So, go ahead and do what homebrewers do best . . . experiment. After all, you don’t have to worry if an African or European swallow brought you the coconut. Enjoy your own personal vacation in the tropics without leaving your house. Cheers!
SingleSpeed Brewing Co.’s Coconut Migration clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.017
IBU = 71 SRM = 6 ABV = 7.2%
Ingredients
12 lbs. (5.44 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) flaked barley
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Munich malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) corn sugar
12 oz. (340 g) toasted coconut
6 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
9 AAU El Dorado® hops (10 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 12% alpha acids)
9 AAU Azacca® hops (10 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU El Dorado® hops (5 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU Azacca® hops (5 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
6 AAU Citra® hops (5 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU El Dorado® hops (0 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU Azacca® hops (0 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
6 AAU Citra® hops (0 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
2.5 oz. (70 g) El Dorado® hops (dry hop)
2.5 oz. (70 g) Azacca® hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
Omega OYL-052 (DIPA Ale) or GigaYeast GY054 (Vermont IPA) or LalBrew New England yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mill the grains, then mix with 17.8 qts. (16.86 L) of 167 °F (75 °C) strike water to achieve a single infusion rest temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 min.
Vorlauf until your runnings are clear before directing them to your boil kettle. Batch or fly sparge the mash with 4 gallons (15 L) and top up as necessary to obtain 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort. Add the corn sugar. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated above left in the boil.
After the boil and 20-minute whirlpool, rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 68 °F (20 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast.
Maintain fermentation temperature to avoid fusels and unwanted esters. When primary fermentation is near but not yet complete, add the dry hops. Two days later, toast the coconut at 350 °F (175 °C) for a few minutes until you see a change in its appearance. Pull it out of the oven and let it cool before bagging it and placing it in the fermenter. Let it steep in the beer for 2 days; this will give the dry hops 4 days to work their magic. Bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes.
SingleSpeed Brewing Co.’s Coconut Migration clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.076 FG = 1.018
IBU = 71 SRM = 7 ABV = 7.7%
Ingredients
7 lbs (3.18 kg) light dried malt extract
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) Munich dried malt extract
0.50 lb. (0.23 kg) corn sugar
0.50 lb. (0.23 kg) maltodextrin
12 oz. (340 g) toasted coconut
6 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
9 AAU El Dorado® hops (10 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 12% alpha acids)
9 AAU Azacca® hops (10 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU El Dorado® hops (5 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU Azacca® hops (5 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
6 AAU Citra® hops (5 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU El Dorado® hops (0 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
15 AAU Azacca® hops (0 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 12% alpha acids)
6 AAU Citra® hops (0 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 12% alpha acids)
2.5 oz. (70 g) El Dorado® hops (dry hop)
2.5 oz. (70 g) Azacca® hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
Omega OYL-052 (DIPA Ale) or GigaYeast GY054 (Vermont IPA) or LalBrew New England yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Bring 6.5 gallons (25 L) of water to a boil. Turn off heat and add the dried extracts while stirring to avoid clumps and continue until completely dissolved. Return to heat and boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the indicated times left in the boil.
Follow the all-grain recipe for post-boil, fermentation, coconut addition, and packaging instructions for the beer.
Tips for Success:
This beer is very hop-forward and as such you’ll want to use the freshest hops you can get your hands on. The alpha acid percentages were chosen simply to help with AAU calculations but you should mainly focus on the weight amounts of each in the late addition hops; there will be enough IBUs to balance the beer. Finally, like any beer but especially IPAs, you should attempt to minimize oxygen contact with the finished product as it will destroy your well-crafted hop profile faster than you can say “Oxidation!!” Consider a keg with a closed transfer if you have a draft system.
