I have an extra 7lb of liquid ultralight malt extract (My dog literally ate all the specialty grains for the kit, and I used the hops to add extra hoippiness to an IPA). Lesson learned about leaving the kit in the table while I run to the grocery store... So, I'd like to add the 7lb of malt extract to my next brew to increase alcohol content... Maybe add more hops, etc to balance it out? Good idea? Bad idea? What style beer would this approach work best? Thanks!
7# of LME is a lot of fermentables to add to a brew. I would make starter wort with it maybe? Add a couple pounds of it to water and mix to around 1.035 OG, boil, put (hot) into mason jars, and seal. Let it cool in the jar. Then add some to another brew maybe. Or, next brew, just grab the grains you need and hops, and use this LME there so you don't have to buy more LME on the next brew. You can cook with it, use it to make spent grain granola, drizzle some in your oatmeal...
you would be better off using the 7 pounds in a complete beer. now might be a good time to fool around with recipe development. brewtoad.com is fairly easy to use. figure out your hop additions. add yeast. new beer, just like that.
Anybody got a fav link for this? Seems like it might be better than spent grain bread (which you don't need much spent grain for, yet every brewday I have lots of it).
really you could just do this, no specialty grains are necessarily required, just add hops. Or add a single type of hops and call it a smash. Or use it to experiment like billandsuz says. It will still make beer (even if the beer isn't the next new sensation). I have yet to regret making an experimental beer.
I agree with billandsuz. Build a recipe around it. Questions like "Should I add a whole bunch of extra fermentables to a kit to boost ABV?" seem to generally end in sorrow.
Is your dog ok? Eating all the grains can cause bloat and can be deadly for the dog. A friends weimereiner (no idea on spelling) passed away after eating a couple pounds of dry rice.
Specialty grains are gone and you used the hops on something else, too? I would make starter wort, but it seems just as easy to replace everything except the extract and try to brew the beer you had already planned to do. The extract should keep a while, long enough to go either way.
OP was lucky. Dry grains can be deadly. If the grain is moist they can usually deal with it, though some breeds have very delicate digestive systems (e.g. greyhounds). We have Siberian Huskies, who are pretty tough about such things. In winter, coyotes occasionally stop by and eat some of the spent grain I dump in the garden. Our Siberians, in the outdoor kennel 50 feet away, usually sleep right through this... maybe a bit too domesticated for sled dogs. On a beer related note, OP should definitely build a new recipe around his extract. Adding it to an existing recipe would pretty much obliterate said recipe.
Hmmm, I have 7 lbs of LME. I would go to the store, buy 4-6oz of my favourite hops and a pack of my favourite yeast. Then I'd go home and make a batch of beer with it.
Buy a couple of ounces of centennial and a pack of US-05 .5oz @60 .5 @10 1 @FO Whirlpool/steep for 20-30 min, chill, pitch yeast. Got yourself a nice, slighty hoppy, easy drinker.
