For my next porter, I plan on adding coconut to the secondary. I don't know very much about coconut but I would think using fresh coconut would be a pain in the ass. Does anyone have experience with using some type of extract or just coconut from the baking aisle? If so, how much for 5 gallons?

Well I can't speak to coconut, but Jamil's hazelnut porter uses extract and it tastes great. I would go to a spice shop and use the high end stuff (that's the advice given for the hazelnut as well). I would do it to taste. Pour some samples from the secondary and use the an eye dropper to incorporate the coconut.

i would be afraid of anything in the secondary that isnt sterile.especialy raw coconut. even sugared coconut from the store could have picked up some thing undesirable---plus preservatives. i would go with good extract

One to two pounds of shaved coconut thats been toasted. Need to make sure that the coconut is not sweetened or has preservatives. I toast mine in a frying pan (no oil needed coconut has it's own) until lightly brown stir around while toasting taste so good! As fair as putting in secondary use a bucket with a lid there is no way your going to jam 2 pounds of coconut into a glass carboy. I placed the coconut in a large nylon mesh bag with six sanitized marbles (to make the coconut sink) for two weeks. Mine turned out real good I put a quarter pound of chocolate malt to give it a hint Mounds bar flavor. A lot people love my coconut porter especially the ladies. If you want to get closer to Maui Brewing's coconut porter use four pounds of toasted coconut. To me I was shooting for just a nice hint of coconut so as not to be over whelming and still taste like a porter.

Cheers! Have fun!

Jeff

My wife is using coconut milk for baking, it comes in the can and the cake is great but I don't know if there is any fat content and if this would cause the problem

there is a lot of fat in the canned stuff. Someone mentioned this last year in a thread. Can't remember what they did and the results. Coconut milk might go rancid or make the beer an odd color if used in mass quantities. Mashing toasted coconut is safe and effective. I still want to try the milk someday — in all very small batch.

A very good brewer in my club who is also sort of one of our mad scientists made this. On paper-bleech. In a taster- amazing. He toasted his in the over. He always has some kind of really unique ingredient and it is done well.

I think his porter was on the robust side.