chambord for priming?

A homebrew book says just dump a full 750ml of your favorite fruit liquer in the bottling bucket. This is perfect for imparting flavor and priming. This sounds too simple and dangerous!

I'd be careful. I wouldn't prime and flavor with liquer. Too little, no carbonation. Too much, too much flavor. Drink some first. Flavor to taste. My $.02.

photogscott said:

A homebrew book says just dump a full 750ml of your favorite fruit liquer in the bottling bucket. This is perfect for imparting flavor and priming. This sounds too simple and dangerous!

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Hey, which book is that? About a month ago I was trying to find the reference again, but couldn't.

Somebody here tried that with chocolate liqueur, IIRC. Not sure what the outcome was. It doesn't sound to me like it would be worth the cost of a bottle of liqueur.

That someone would be me.

You can find the thread here. Post #14 gives you the run down on determining how much liqueur to use. After I did the math, I ignored my own work and dumped the entire 750 mL in at bottling.

The end result, as far as flavor, was good. The end result, as far as carbonation, was pretty bad.

Err...what is "IIRC"?

IIRC = If I Recall Correctly.

Thanks for chiming in. And glad it (generally) worked out for you.

I am doubtful about the Chambord. That stuff is expensive (twice what my brew would cost to make).

What do you think?

Chambord Liqueur Royale de France, IIRC , is blackberry/raspberry blend liqueur. Although I haven't experimented, I would think that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the good stuff (Chambord) and a lesser quality brand (DeKyuper or similar, if it is available).

The sugars in the liqueur will get eaten and the blending with the flavor of the beer itself would probably make it difficult to distinguish between two different brands.

Chambord or other brand, it does sound delicious. Please keep me posted. I have been thinking of using cherry, raspberry or orange liqueur to prime other stouts and may try a peppermint porter as a seasonal. You can get some good ideas by browsing the liqueur section of your local grown-up beverage store.

Oh, I forgot to mention that it might be a good idea to let the beer sit for a several weeks longer than normal. The flavor of the liqueur (at least with my chocolate) really doesn't come together until about 6 weeks after bottling. It takes several weeks to carb and then some more for the liqueur flavor to mellow.

FlyGuy said:

Hey, which book is that? About a month ago I was trying to find the reference again, but couldn't.

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It's "Homebrewing For Dummies" He just says to make sure it's a clear liquer and that "usually" the sugar is right for priming.

I'm going to use acid malt to tart the thing. Maybe 10%? It'll be a wheat

photogscott said:

It's "Homebrewing For Dummies" He just says to make sure it's a clear liquer and that "usually" the sugar is right for priming.

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Thanks. It was bugging me where I read that.