I've made two batches of hazelnut beer now and I am looking for advice making my own extract. The first batch I made (10 gal batch) I just threw about a pound of chopped hazelnuts in the last 10 minutes of the boil and then I added another pound of chopped hazelnuts to the secondary and let it sit for a couple weeks. I was disappointed with the results as the hazelnut flavor was barely discernible. The second batch I just picked up some extract from the homebrew shop and it worked great.
I still like the idea of using actual hazelnuts rather than the pre-made extracts especially since there are local hazelnut orchards I can buy fresh hazelnuts at. I was wondering if anyone has tried homemade hazelnut extract in their homebrew and how successful it was?
Also how should I make it for this purpose? I'm guessing I just want to chop the roasted unsalted hazelnuts into small chunks but not so fine that they would turn to mush and then put in a jar and pour enough vodka in to just cover the chopped hazelnuts with maybe a little extra since some will probably soak into the nuts? How long should I let it soak, a week, a month? Should I strain the extract with cheese cloth before adding or should I just pitch the whole thing, nuts and all to the secondary?
I still like the idea of using actual hazelnuts rather than the pre-made extracts especially since there are local hazelnut orchards I can buy fresh hazelnuts at. I was wondering if anyone has tried homemade hazelnut extract in their homebrew and how successful it was?
Also how should I make it for this purpose? I'm guessing I just want to chop the roasted unsalted hazelnuts into small chunks but not so fine that they would turn to mush and then put in a jar and pour enough vodka in to just cover the chopped hazelnuts with maybe a little extra since some will probably soak into the nuts? How long should I let it soak, a week, a month? Should I strain the extract with cheese cloth before adding or should I just pitch the whole thing, nuts and all to the secondary?