Call me crazy.

But, im sitting here drinking on one of my AHB Chocolate Raspberry stouts, that I added the Raspberry in, and I like the flavor. The Extract is not to bad. I hear all this bad stuff about using it, but I think I will be using it again in a beer. Now Im only wishing I would have used it in all 5 gallons and not just 2 gallons of it.

Hi Crazy

10charsisapaininthearse

One of my first beers was raspberry wheat. I used raspberry extract at bottling (plus raspberry puree in the primary...or was it secondary, I can't recall). Anyway, it was a really good beer. I didn't think the extract tasted artificial at all. I would make this beer again...If SWMBO made me.

I know a few brewers who make excellent beer with fruit extracts. They love them because they are easy to control, are sanitary, and do not have to go through fermentation.


TL

The only fruit beer I have done used real fruit, but I wouldn't hesitate to use a little extract if I were just seeking some aromatics and a subtle background note. Using it in a strongly flavored beer like a chocolate stout may also help.

Flavor extracts or essences are just very easy to overdo, so people are scared of them. I once added cassis (blackcurrant) extract to a wit (trying to replicate Unibroue's Ephemere Cassis) and it was effin' delicious. And short of being a big brewery with the capacity to seek out and purchase loads of black currants, there's really no way to do it other than the extracts.

Just be damn careful, especially with spruce essence. I speak from very sad personal experience...

the_bird said:

Using it in a strongly flavored beer like a chocolate stout may also help.

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Thats probebly very true.

The second beer I ever made was a Raspberry Wheat with the flavor extract and it was a bad beer. Who knows, it could have been the brewer. It was in 1999, so I'm sure that flavor extracts have improved since then.

how much did you use? I was thinkin of using an oz of hazlenut in a chocalte porter.

IrregularPulse said:

how much did you use? I was thinkin of using an oz of hazlenut in a chocalte porter.

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I made the Rogue Hazelnut clone with 2 oz. of Halzelnut extract, it was an awesome beer.

a friend of mine has a rasberry belgian bruin that is very, VERY yummy.

IrregularPulse said:

how much did you use? I was thinkin of using an oz of hazlenut in a chocalte porter.

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I kind of eyeballed it, but it was around 3/4 of an oz.