Too much extract?

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Too much extract?

Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Hey everyone. Beginning brewer here, and I seem to have run into my first major concern.

My first beer turned out great, but then I got gutsy and went for a more complex beer. I just finished my Double CHocolate Raspberry Stout.

Anyways...I'm not impressed.

I used 2oz. 100% pure cocoa powder and 4oz. of raspberry extract.

Half of each in the secondary and half in the bottling process.

I fermented in secondary for 2 weeks, and bottle conditioned for 2 weeks.

I've heard with complex beers that you should allow a few months for all the flavors to completely meld, is this true?


My biggest concern is that I can't taste the chocolate, but there is an overabundance of raspberry. It almost tastes like I'm drinking a raspberry soda after the first few sips. The first few drinks were fine, but after that it was all raspberry I could taste because it was so potent.

Also, I'm not getting any of the usual stout characteristics...roasty, coffee, etc.

Will the raspberry flavor mellow in time, or will it just get more intense? I actually brewed this beer for a ski trip in february and didn't plan on drinking it until then, but I figured I'd give it a shot and try one early.

Has anyone else on the board had this type of experience with an extract flavoring?
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Legman
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Chocolate and Conditioning

Post by Legman »

I've experimented a few time with chocolate with some good results. If you expect to have a nice chocolate flavor, you need to use 6-8 ounces of cocoa. I doubt you're really going to taste much at 2 ounces. I just put mine in the last 15 min. of the boil. It worked out great. Also adding a healthy amount of Chocolate malt will give it a more complex chocolate flavor.
As far as aging, yes. Most beers will be better after a little aging. Some more than others. The flavors will start to blend and you'll taste more of the complexity. Not knowing your recipe, I'm not sure the outcome of yours. Drink a bottle or two every week and you'll probably notice a change. When you feel that it tastes the best, take note and age the next batch for that amount of time.
It has been my experience that most of my bottle conditioned beer tasted the best 6-8 weeks after bottling.

I can't comment on the raspberry extract. I've never used any flavorings before.
Hope that helps.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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stout recipe

Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Here's my recipe.

.5 lbs. Roasted Barley
.25 lbs. American Black Patent
.5 lbs. American Chocolate Malt
7 lbs. Dry Light Extract
2 oz. Goldings (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 60 min.
.75 lbs. Lactose
4 ounces raspberry extract
2 ounces 100% cocoa powder
1 oz. vanilla extract at secondary
Wyeast Irish Stout
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bfabre
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Chocolate and Conditioning

Post by bfabre »

Legman has hit the nail on the head.
It has been my experience that most of my bottle conditioned beer tasted the best 6-8 weeks after bottling.
My very first beer was a very dark dry stout. It took apporx three months of conditioning before it really started coming into its own. Then I let it sit for another two months just for good measure. Prior to that time the flavor was rather harsh and tasted green. After the conditioning period, which took a toll on my patience. The flavor was crisp and clean and well worth the wait. Also remember the higher gravity beers need an extended conditioning period too.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Well, after a few months of waiting, I think this has finally started to come into it's own.

As bfabre said, it tasted green before now.

I still don't think it's completely done, so I'll wait another month and check it out then. Right now it's a lot less raspberry flavor and a little more "stouty" like I was hoping. Still no chocolate, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make knowing it has turned out drinkable.

Also...can someone evaluate my recipe for me and let me know what they think the IBU's and ABV are?

When I calculated everything out, I was only coming out around 5%. Now, when I use recipe calculator on here, it's all over the board. Depending on what classification I pick (Sweet stout, Foreign Extra, etc.) the alcohol is anywhere from 6.5%-7.6%. I'm just wondering what it really is.

The O.G. was 1.070, and the F.G. was 1.013
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%ABV and IBUs

Post by slothrob »

It's about 7.4% ABV.

I'd need to know how much volume you boiled and if you added all the extract at the beginning to estimate the IBUs.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Boil and Extract

Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

I boiled 3 gallons. Extract was added at beginning.
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slothrob
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IBUs

Post by slothrob »

I calculate about 30 IBUs using the Rager utilization algorithm.

Rager is often thought to be a good choice for determining hop utilization during a partial volume boil. For reference, other algorithms give anywhere from 17 to 40 IBUs.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

thanks for the info.
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Too much extract?

Post by Addrienne »

I used to brew liquors - and I picked up this tidbit of info...

Most fruit flavors will "dim" as you age the liquor(fruit sugars oxidizing and/or fermenting). 1 year seems to be the falloff point, especially for berries. So if it still tastes too strong - stick it in the back of the closet and wait, test every 2 mos. Eventually it will even out. Of you'll run out of beer to test, which also removes the problem. :D
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