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[Big Nake]

I appreciate this thread because it has inspired me to make a beer I last made in 2006. Most of you may wince at this, but it was the best fruit beer idea I have come up with in 13 years of brewing. And I should state that one reason I got into homebrewing in the 1st place was to make a good raspberry ale. After using real fruit, purees and the extracts I got at the LHBS, I found McCormick natural raspberry extract at the grocery store. This stuff is not like the extracts by LD Carlson or Crosby & Baker... it has a much nicer flavor and aroma. About 1½ to 2 tablespoons in the keg or bottling bucket works nicely. I will make a standard American Ale that has some dark crystal and Special B (to darken the beer) and add 2 tbsp of this extract to the keg. My attempts with real fruit and puree came out jet-fuel dry and almost wine-like. I could try again and see if I could mash higher but this version with the McCormick extract is quite tasty. Cheers.