Amoretti Flavorings

[CodeSection]

I have been considering brewing a pumpkin beer and did not want to bake literally 30+ cans of pumpkin. So, I was researching for a natural flavor solution.

I recently watched an interview that was held at the 2019 NHC on YouTube with Amoretti. They offer more flavorings than any other company I have seen. Their extract infusions are highly concentrated ~ .5 - 2.0 ounces per 31.5 gallons is all that is needed. For a 10 gallon batch, that comes to .15873016 oz or 4.694 ML. That is what I call concentrated!

Their pricing appears high, but when you compare how much extract you need vs others, the pricing comes out about 1.5 times more than the imitation stuff. In addition, you save all that time baking plus you save the cost of electricity for baking the can pumpkin.

Their product is all natural whereas others are imitation flavoring. I was surprised to learn the typical flavoring you can buy at the LHBS or online is imitation flavoring.

Has anyone used Amoretti? If so, what are your thoughts and what flavors did you use?

 

[CodeSection]

Anyone? I can't be the first to inquire about Amoretti.

 

[IslandLizard]

Not sure it's same product you're looking at. My wife scored a large bottle of Amoretti Tangerine Craft Puree at our Homebrewer Guild's Holiday Party raffle. It's very potent and concentrated, a little bit goes a long way. A few drops in a glass can push it over top in many cases.

Pumpkin or its puree has very little flavor by itself, but it's there, very subtly if not totally overshadowed by any spice that's usually associated with Pumpkin (pie). Is that flavoring you're eying up pumpkin or pie?

Using a very small amount of pumpkin pie spice in beer goes a long, long, long way. On the other hand, using 5 cans (70 oz) of pumpkin puree mashed in a 5 gallon batch was barely detectable. My notes say to double it next time. It took a year for my Pumpkin Ale conditioning in a keg at 65-70F to become truly delicious as the very small amount of pumpkin spice I had added turned out being already way too much. After that year of aging the pumpkin could be actually tasted, the spice had nicely integrated and subdued itself. The mouthfeel was also a large contributor to the pumpkin sensation.

 

[brewbama]

I’ve used Amoretti Watermelon flavor. Expensive but good stuff.

 

[CodeSection]

@IslandLizard, thanks for replying. Since I will be adding it right before bottling, I did not want any fermentables so I was going to use the extract infusions.

You bring up a good point on flavor choice. My son suggested a pumpkin type ale to give to clients around Thanksgiving time. When I was looking at Amoretti's catalog (Amoretti® Brewers Guide to Natural Infusions https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1...7f903dbd-759a-4d66-ac69-822d40f4ddd2.pdf?3978) I initially thought of 1151 Natural Pumpkin Spice Extract W.S.

After reading the description of the Natural Pumpkin Spice Extract W.S. I realized there was no pumpkin in it...just spice. Then I looked at 506 Natural Pumpkin Extract W.S. That has pumpkin pie flavoring. Last night I was thinking of using both extracts. I have no idea which one to use or even to use both. What would you suggest?

 

[CodeSection]

I’ve used Amoretti Watermelon flavor. Expensive but good stuff.

Thanks for posting! Do you recall how much you used and in how many gallons? Have your tried any other flavors? The more I read the catalog, the more I thought of buying...peach, watermelon, strawberry, to name a few.

 

[Hayden123982]

I've been thinking about trying them out to use in the sparkling water I keep on tap. Price is holding me back, but the "artisan natural flavors" are much cheaper (~$11 for 8oz)... Just not sure how much of that I would need to use vs the extract (~$25 for 2oz)

 

[brewbama]

Thanks for posting! Do you recall how much you used and in how many gallons? Have your tried any other flavors? The more I read the catalog, the more I thought of buying...peach, watermelon, strawberry, to name a few.

It came with a pump to attach to the bottle. I think I use a pump or two per glass. I didn’t add it to the entire keg.

I have not tried other flavors.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Roasting pumpkin or butternut squash I find better than canned. The cubes to not make a mess and the flavor is good. The real spices work just fine, no need to spend on concentrate.

 

[MT_Keg]

Thanks for posting! Do you recall how much you used and in how many gallons? Have your tried any other flavors? The more I read the catalog, the more I thought of buying...peach, watermelon, strawberry, to name a few.

I used raspberry in an Wheat beer I made for my father-in-law. I used 4oz ( by weight) in 5 gallons and it was a big hit; he thought the flavor was a tad strong.

10 gallons of wheat just finished up and will be kegged in Saturday. This time I am going to use 3 oz of raspberry in one keg and 4 oz of blackberry in another.

 

[IslandLizard]

After reading the description of the Natural Pumpkin Spice Extract W.S. I realized there was no pumpkin in it...just spice. Then I looked at 506 Natural Pumpkin Extract W.S. That has pumpkin pie flavoring. Last night I was thinking of using both extracts. I have no idea which one to use or even to use both. What would you suggest?

When it comes to adding the spice flavor, I'm with her, and save your money:

The real spices work just fine, no need to spend on concentrate.

Just add a little pumpkin spice mix after the boil, at reduced temps and let steep for a few minutes. Or add to your fermenter after fermentation while it's conditioning, which would be my preference probably. I think the mix is mostly ground cinnamon with some (dried) ginger and clove powder. I got mine from the spice section at the Amish market. I had added 1 tablespoon of that spice mix at flameout, which turned out more than plenty.

If you can get it, use real Cinnamon over Cassia, the latter being most commonly called and sold as "cinnamon" now. When you cook it, the difference becomes almost moot, but sprinkled over coffee or used in a pie you may find the real cinnamon to taste/smell much better, cleaner, lighter, less deep, more fragrant.
From what I understand whole cinnamon resembles thin papery shells of bark, much like a rolled cigar just smaller in diameter, and tends to be more expensive. Cassia is often a single curl of 1/16" thick bark.
https://www.foodrenegade.com/your-cinnamon-real/

I would probably use whole spice next time and steep or add to the fermenter to remain more fragrant.

 

[CodeSection]

You all make good points, thank you! I have time to experiment and might try some combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Hopefully, my research will lead me to how much of each ingredient should be used.

For my Christmas Ale I use cinnamon sticks, grated ginger, sweet orange peel, and vanilla beans (striped and gutted) and make a tea with a French press to add to the bottling bucket. Which do you believe is better: adding the ingredients to the BK at flame out or making a tea and adding it to the bottling bucket? Which do you think would give more aroma and flavor? I'm leaning toward the tea....

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm leaning toward the tea....

So am I.
In many cases cool or slightly warmed alcohol extractions from mere hours to several days in a closed container are best as higher heat and boils change things, while blowing off volatile and delicate aromas quickly. Sometimes you want to incorporate more than one, boil, hot steep, teas, extractions, etc. Similar to what we do with hops, FWH, boil, late boil, FO, whirlpool/hopstand, dry hop.

Adding after fermentation or at packaging time gets more of it in your bottles or kegs. Fermentation can change their character, while CO2 can strip out components.

 

[MT_Keg]

I used raspberry in an Wheat beer I made for my father-in-law. I used 4oz ( by weight) in 5 gallons and it was a big hit; he thought the flavor was a tad strong.

10 gallons of wheat just finished up and will be kegged in Saturday. This time I am going to use 3 oz of raspberry in one keg and 4 oz of blackberry in another.

4 oz of blackberry is wayyyy too strong... we are going to use 2 oz next time.

 

[jlash630]

sorry to revive a dead thread, I am about to keg my sour wheat and have a bottle of the raspberry artisan flavor. have you worked with this since the previous reply? you mentioned your father thought it was a tad strong, did you ever try the raspberry with 3oz?

what did other people think about the 4oz recipe?

Also, did you preheat or dilute the amoretti with something so it would mix better?

 

[wepeeler]

sorry to revive a dead thread, I am about to keg my sour wheat and have a bottle of the raspberry artisan flavor. have you worked with this since the previous reply? you mentioned your father thought it was a tad strong, did you ever try the raspberry with 3oz?

what did other people think about the 4oz recipe?

Also, did you preheat or dilute the amoretti with something so it would mix better?

I've been using the beverage infusions with great success for seltzer. I literally dump 5 gallons of water in a keg and carb it to 35-40psi. BUT, I don't add the flavoring to the keg. I would suggest the same for your beer. If you add too much, you run the risk of ruining the entire keg. Just add some flavoring to your glass, then fill from the keg. Adjust accordingly.

(Plus the infusions are sticky as heck. Has to be a disaster to clean.)