Have I wrecked my beer?

Using both sugar and extract is not going to ruin your batch. The only concern I would have is that it sounds like you boiled your grains (probably crystal malt or some kind of dark malt, like chocolate or black patent). Boiling the grains can cause some of the tannins in the husks to come out. Tannins are what make red wine kind of astringent tasting. Your beer may have a little bit of a pucker to it. But, it should still be drinkable.

Next time, instead of boiling the specialty grains, put them in a mesh bag and steep them in the cold water as the pot heats. When the pot just reaches the boil, remove the grain bag. Then add your extracts and hops and boil away. Also, I would avoid using a lot of sugar in the boil. Sugar can lighten the body of your beer and make it too "watery." Instead of sugar, just up the amount of extract, 1 part for every part of sugar called for. You'll be happy with the results.

Thanks for the tips, I was just a little worried that when I boiled the can of extract (Glen Brew) the wort darkened considerably, the recipe DOES NOT say to boil the can's contents. What is supposed to be an American Pal Ale is now a little darker than a Kilkenny with a distinct red colour to it.

Always boil your extract no matter what the instructions say. Also, I would bet that your beer will look considerably lighter in the glass.

_Randal

I have to take a bit if exception to this..if you're using a prehopped extract kit with no additional hops, the boil will drive off a lot of the bitterness and aroma from the hops. Most no boil kits are specifically formulated to be no boil, and you should probably make them that way unless you plan on adding extra ingredients.

-------->Denny

So given the fact that I did add additional hopps I should be OK?

Uh-oh. I've boiled a couple of no boil kits for at least 10 to 15 minutes thinking it will bring out the flavor of the hops more. So your saying you should only boil a "no boil" kit if for example you wanted to add some flavor hops or something like that? Also wouldn't it be ok if you boiled a no-boil kit for around 5 minutes just to be sure your killing all the bad guys?

Well, ya won't know til ya taste it, but I bet you'll be OK.

---------->Denny

You've got it, on all counts!

----------->Denny

You're a gem Denny, thanks.