BeerBorg

Ok here is the skinny. I brewed a brown ale (Rogue clone) for my dad as he requested one and he was paying for the grain bill. To be honest, I rarely do anything with extract when it comes my beers, so I am need of advice on how much to actually use. Here is the set up. Five gallon batch of Brown Ale ready to bottle now. I am going to put the extract in with the priming solution in the priming vessel at bottling.

In doing some research, I have seen everything from 1 oz. all the way down to 5ml of hazelnut extract to be used in this type of beer. Any ideas, input, experience with adding extract to beers here with the Borg? I simply do not use this stuff often enough to have it down to any sort of science at this point. Below is the grain bill if that will help at all. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

8 lbs. 2-Row
1.25 lbs. 80L
.59 lbs. 120L
.52 lbs. 20L
1.02 lbs. Munich
.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt
.5 lbs. Victory Malt

It depends WHAT you are using I believe. LorAnn makes flavoring for beer they sell in 1 fl dram bottles (3.7ml, .125fl oz). The entire contents are used for a 5-6 gallon batch.

Got the Brewcraft Hazelnut extract from Williams Brewing. It says to use 2 ozs. per 5 gallons of beer. Though from other brewers I have seen posting on extract, that seems to be too much. Their description/usage even says add to taste after it says use all 2 ozs. So there in lies my dilemma. They don't even seem to know how much to add.

I just don't want to add too much or not enough to get the flavor it needs and the beer not turn out as it should.

Funky Skunk Brewing wrote:Ok here is the skinny. I brewed a brown ale (Rogue clone) for my dad as he requested one and he was paying for the grain bill. To be honest, I rarely do anything with extract when it comes my beers, so I am need of advice on how much to actually use. Here is the set up. Five gallon batch of Brown Ale ready to bottle now. I am going to put the extract in with the priming solution in the priming vessel at bottling.

In doing some research, I have seen everything from 1 oz. all the way down to 5ml of hazelnut extract to be used in this type of beer. Any ideas, input, experience with adding extract to beers here with the Borg? I simply do not use this stuff often enough to have it down to any sort of science at this point. Below is the grain bill if that will help at all. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

8 lbs. 2-Row
1.25 lbs. 80L
.59 lbs. 120L
.52 lbs. 20L
1.02 lbs. Munich
.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt
.5 lbs. Victory Malt

split the batch, add 1oz to half and add 5 ml to the other half.

May be the best option to be honest, BeerRust. Then I will know for the next batch we do up for him of this brew.

I have used hazelnut extract from Austin Homebrew (their name/logo on the bottle, no idea who mfg'd it).
They recommend 1 oz per 5 gallons. I went with that concentration, and it was, IMO, a bit too much. If I use it again, I'll use half that amount.
The several times I've used flavor extracts in beers, I've found them to be pretty powerful, so I'd recommend a light hand.
Also, from what I've read, strength can vary greatly by manufacturer.

Crazy Climber wrote:I have used hazelnut extract from Austin Homebrew (their name/logo on the bottle, no idea who mfg'd it).
They recommend 1 oz per 5 gallons. I went with that concentration, and it was, IMO, a bit too much. If I use it again, I'll use half that amount.
The several times I've used flavor extracts in beers, I've found them to be pretty powerful, so I'd recommend a light hand.
Also, from what I've read, strength can vary greatly by manufacturer.

Yeah, see that is what I have been reading in some research as well. It seems everyone using [insert amount here] said it was too strong and they would have used less. Plus, as you stated ... The strength can differe from brand to brand.

I may just end up going with .25 ozs. in half the batch and .5 ozs. the last half of the batch. It may be the only way to every know for certain what the better result is without ruining the entire five gallons of beer. Plus, I'll have the notes to reference for future batches.

Is there a way for you to taste after adding it? I'm assuming you could add .25oz, stir and siphon/pour a taste? Then, you could add more if needed? Granted it won't be carbed, but it should give you an idea, right?

Kealia wrote:Is there a way for you to taste after adding it? I'm assuming you could add .25oz, stir and siphon/pour a taste? Then, you could add more if needed? Granted it won't be carbed, but it should give you an idea, right?

Yes. Another idea I was kicking around as well. Will probably use a little from each idea in order to get this right -- Or at least close enough to right and go from there. That's partially why I do not like adding extract to beers. Would be much easier to pump it through a Randall and get the flavor instead of trial & error to figure it out. But, I like the process all at the same time. Just strange that way I guess

Funky Skunk Brewing wrote:

Kealia wrote:Is there a way for you to taste after adding it? I'm assuming you could add .25oz, stir and siphon/pour a taste? Then, you could add more if needed? Granted it won't be carbed, but it should give you an idea, right?

Yes. Another idea I was kicking around as well. Will probably use a little from each idea in order to get this right -- Or at least close enough to right and go from there. That's partially why I do not like adding extract to beers. Would be much easier to pump it through a Randall and get the flavor instead of trial & error to figure it out. But, I like the process all at the same time. Just strange that way I guess

Sounds interesting either way, I'm sure it's going to be great!