Extracts/Artificial Flavorings

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NewBee
Registered Member
May 19, 2004
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A strawberry melomel finished with little strawberry character. I went to the brewshop and they mentioned they had some extracts. I took a look at a bottle of extract and the instructions said "Add at bottling time." I'm assuming this wouldn't be a problem. Has anybody used one of these extracts?

My main question is this though. The brew shop didn't have a strawberry extract, so would artificial strawberry flavoring from a grocery store work too? Do they have sugar and would they cause bottle bombs if I added them at bottling time?
 
The extracts I've used for cooking and flavoring tend not to have a lot of sugar, just the concentrated essence of whatever the particular flavor is.

I've never added anything at bottling time, except for sugar and yeast to carbonate. The extract should have some type of ingredient breakdown on it, so I would check the bottle and see how much sugar is actually in the mix.

If there is not a breakdown by percentage or grams of sugar then check the ingredients. Ingredients are listed in descending order from most to least, and the closer sugar is to the first ingredient the higher the concentration; and the closer it is to the last ingredient, the lower the concentration.

Hope that helps,

Oskaar
 
That's just it! The ingredients are not helpful in the least! I take a look at them and they say something like "Ingredients: Water, Artificial Flavoring". To me that's like saying the ingredients to barbeque sauce are "Water and barbeque sauce".

Here is something I found on the internet

Many of the processed foods that you buy today come with an ingredient label that lists "artificial flavors" as one of the key ingredients. Artificial flavors are simply chemical mixtures that mimic a natural flavor in some way.

If this is true, hopefully it will work fine.
 
It the ingedients only list water and 'artificial flavoring' then you don't have to worry about sugar. It might seem like listing water and barbeque sauce, but the flavouring in question is probably a single chemical or they would be required to lits the componants.

I would sample a bit of it before adding it to an entire batch of mead though. Chemists can have pretty imaginative taste buds.
 
You could also call the company that makes the extracts and ask them. Tell them you're diabetic and have to watch your sugar intake. I'm sure they'll be helpful!

Oskaar
 
I was making some barbeque sauce today so I took the time to read the label on my Orange extract bottle here's the breakdown:

Alcohol 80%
Water
Oil of Orange

Manufacturer: McCormick

No sugar, but that's a good alcohol kicker up front.

Hope that helps,

Oskaar