Adding Hazelnut Extract

[phildo79]

Hi

I am, at this very moment, brewing a Rogue Hazelnut Nectar Clone. The guidelines state 1 fluid ounce of hazelnut extract which is approx 28ml's. I could not get the Stearns and Lehman Flavor-mate here in the UK, so I opted for another extract which I've been told is quite a bit stronger than most.

My question is this; is the Stearns and Lehman stuff a proper strong extract or just food flavouring? I don't want to over-do it.

Also, the recipe here states 1 oz (28ml) but the recipe I found elsewhere (https://byo.com/hops/item/1331-rogue-ha ... ctar-clone) states 1/8 oz (3.5ml) and it's for a 5 gallon batch also. I'm confused!

 

[jmcnamara]

Don't have any helpful I put, but you could hold off till bottling to test the strength then, or with another similar beer.

I'd just advise against rushing and winging it with an extract or spice, too easy to overdo it i think

 

[Nosybear]

I second JC's comment and add: Sniff it. If it smells like Nutella, it's hazelnut extract. If it smells like nothing, it's food coloring. I'm trying the same test soon and have already bought (and sniffed) the extract. It's pale brown but has a nice nutty aroma.

 

[phildo79]

I see what you mean. Buy a bottle of brown ale and add the extract until it's a suitable strength and then work out how much is needed for the batch. The extract goes in at bottling any way.

I filled a pint glass with water and added 1ml of extract. It seemed a good strength for that amount of liquid. It would appear my extract isn't as strong as I was led to believe. Lying effer!

 

[Marcos Sobrosa]

I am also planning brewing the Rogue brown Hazelnut clone but I can not find the Stearns and Lehman Flavor extract or any similar here in Brazil. What I found is a hazelnut syrup which is used in coffee shops to mix with coffee or make drinks. it has sugar on it but made with natural flavors. Do you guys think its OK to use it?

 

[jmcnamara]

see what kind of preservatives it has, those might inhibit the yeast in some way.

i don't know what kinds for sure, but I believe potassium something or other is bad for yeast

but, to play devil's advocate, I also don't know if the amount in the extract would be diluted enough in the beer to not make a noticeable difference on the yeast

 

[Nosybear]

I just used some hazelnut extract in a beer I was experimenting with. The bottle I had was four ounces and was recommended for five gallons of beer. I added at bottling to ensure there was no interference with fermentation and so I could experiment with the flavor. My goal was to suggest the flavor of Nutella. The recommended amount of extract worked nicely to do so.

I'd always recommend adding things like this into the bottling bucket and tasting to make sure you don't get too little or too much.

It's potassium sorbate that's bad for yeast - we use it to stabilize wine.

 

[phildo79]

I ended up chucking the whole bottle of extract into the kit when I was bottling up. It was a 22ml bottle and I got 23 x 450ml Grolsch btls worth from the batch. It'll be ready for a taste in about 10 days. I'll let you know how it goes.

I also bought a btl of that syrup stuff that is used in coffees and milkshakes. It is nowhere near as strong as the extract. 1ml of extract to 1 pint of water gives it a good hazelnut flavour. 1ml of syrup to 1 pint of water does nothing. Now, the syrup btl is a lot bigger, so with some experimenting it may prove more cost effective but I'll see how this batch turns out first.

 

[Nosybear]

My dosage of hazelnut extract came out to slightly less than the whole bottle for five gallons and I like the result. As to using the coffee flavoring syrup, either put it in secondary so the yeast can eat up the sugars, bottle with it or, if you're kegging and not relying on yeast for carbonation, stabilize by adding potassium sulfite to kill off the yeast and potassium sorbate to stabilize the final product. Otherwise you'll get secondary fermentation and bottle bombs. I was happy with the results of using the extract, surprisingly so, and wound up with a beer that suggests Nutella without tasting like it.

 

[phildo79]

Disaster. Way too much extract. The batch appears to be ruined. I can't see it mellowing out over time. Not to the point where it tastes like I had hoped. I think I'll just try and keep it simple next time, or use a definitive recipe with ingredients I can actually source. Bummer!

 

[jmcnamara]

you could always make a pale ale or something to try to blend with it.

or try adding other spice or flavors to see if they'll mask or change the hazelnut flavor

there's definitely a point where you're just throwing good beer / money after the bad, but there may be a few things you can do to salvage / learn from the batch

 

[Nosybear]

Brew another batch and blend the two? It's unlikely the beer is "ruined" beyond repair due to addition of an extract.

 

[Head First]

Brew another batch and blend the two? It's unlikely the beer is "ruined" beyond repair due to addition of an extract.

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