Harry Potter Butterbeer

[Sigvaldi]

This recipe is aimed to imitate the flavor of butterbeer as mentioned in the Harry Potter series. My wife is a serious pottterhead and I wanted to have something that will be pleasant to drink for her (HP-themed) birthday.

The recipe is based off the recipe I found here . However, as I do not regularly brew beers (I'm more of a mead man, myself) I don't have the setup to mash. So, here is an extract version of the recipe.

Ingredients
3 lb Briess Bavarian Wheat DME
3 lb Briess Amber DME
1 lb Briess Caramel Malt 40L, crushed
1 oz Crystal Hop Pellets
.75 oz Saaz Hop Pellets
1 smack pack Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale)
1 lb lactose
2 whole vanilla beans
1 whirfloc tablet
.75 oz ground nutmeg
.75 oz ground cinnoman
1 oz while cloves
1.25 oz vanilla extract
300 ml butterscotch schnapps


Method (This method assumes you know how to properly sanitize, etc)
1. Steep Caramel malt. Boil: Dme, crystal hops (60min), .5 oz saaz hops (20 min), 1 lb lactose, whirfloc tablet, nutmeg, cinnoman, and cloves (15 min), .25 oz saaz hops (5 min). Cool in ice bath to room temp. Cut vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out interior. Add scrapings and husks to carboy. Transfer cooled wort on top of vanilla. Add activated yeast. Fix airlock and store in temperature stable location.
2. Allow to ferment ~7 days. Rack to secondary and add vanilla extract.
3. Allow to ferment/condition ~14 days.
4. Prime with schnapps. (~113g or 4 oz sugar) and bottle.

 

[Sigvaldi]

This is my first ever beer. So... this will be fun. I also have no nearby brewing friends, so this is all done purely from reaearch, although

Had to do a partial boil, as I lack the equipment to boil 5 gallons and I'm not going to go buy one if this might be the only (or maybe 1 of 2) beers that i will make. My wort boiled over on me for a second and I had the good fortune of having to clean carmelized malt off my stove. Lol. But overall, it turned out alright.

This carboy is sliding into my closet tonight and well see how its doing in the morning.

OG: 1.068

 

[FatDragon]

I'm interested to see how this goes since I've always thought butterbeer sounded very appealing, but I'm worried about that ounce of cloves. Love that fermenter, though - I've always wanted to buy a couple jugs like that to make better use of the interior space of my fermentation chamber, but I've never actually gone and done so because I rarely have the time to brew more than one beer at a time anyway...

 

[Sigvaldi]

I'm interested to see how this goes since I've always thought butterbeer sounded very appealing, but I'm worried about that ounce of cloves. Love that fermenter, though - I've always wanted to buy a couple jugs like that to make better use of the interior space of my fermentation chamber, but I've never actually gone and done so because I rarely have the time to brew more than one beer at a time anyway...

I had been thinking of buying a new carboy anyway. When I went to the store to get distilled water, I saw this 5 gallon "Camp Jug" right next to it. It had the gallons premarked, the lid has an o-ring to make it airtight, and it even has a second tube that I can use as a blowoff if needed. It's like this jug was designed to be a fermenter!

Update on the beer: I left it in the sink overnight in case things got too vigorous. Alas, no airlock activity just yet. But then, thats normal from what I've read... right?

 

[CRZ]

It usually takes 24-48 hours before you start to see airlock activity without doing a yeast starter. The OG is on the higher side, so you could've used a yeast starter to start fermentation within hours of pitching it. Your yeast will eventually get there, just off to a slow start.
Once you do get airlock activity, it will be 1-3 days after that when fermentation is the highest that a blow off tube would be needed. Temperature will affect these times.

 

[passedpawn]

[moved out of the recipe database, which is for tested/perfected recipes]

 

[Sigvaldi]

[moved out of the recipe database, which is for tested/perfected recipes]

My bad. Still a hbt newbie. Thanks for letting me know

 

[FatDragon]

I had been thinking of buying a new carboy anyway. When I went to the store to get distilled water, I saw this 5 gallon "Camp Jug" right next to it. It had the gallons premarked, the lid has an o-ring to make it airtight, and it even has a second tube that I can use as a blowoff if needed. It's like this jug was designed to be a fermenter!

Update on the beer: I left it in the sink overnight in case things got too vigorous. Alas, no airlock activity just yet. But then, thats normal from what I've read... right?

Yeah, that second cap on the handle looks perfect for a blowoff tube. The ones I've been considering are narrower and taller (since that's the profile that would allow me to make the most of my space) but don't have a second cap like yours. They're generally used for holding and aging bulk spirits in the tradition of the Chinese countryside. They look like translucent gas cans and the booze most people put in them is about as tasty and caustic as gasoline, but since they're made for booze, they've gotta be food-grade, and they're dirt cheap.

 

[brewshki]

I've always thought about trying to make a HP beer based on butterbeer. My hesitation is that butterscotchy flavor is normally thought of as an off flavor. I guess I should remember that I am a home brewer and can do as I please haha!

 

[Sigvaldi]

I've always thought about trying to make a HP beer based on butterbeer. My hesitation is that butterscotchy flavor is normally thought of as an off flavor. I guess I should remember that I am a home brewer and can do as I please haha!

Lol. Well, it depends on how it all turns out. The only butterscotch flavor is gonna be the schnapps I add at the end. Ill definitely be posting how it turns out.

 

[Sigvaldi]

Racked to secondary today. Gravity is at 1.018 right now. There is still some sweetness, which I expected from the residual sugars and lactose. It's what I was shooting for, actually. So... turning out well. The spices don't come through as much as I hoped. Maybe they will after its aged some.

View attachment 1485391172247.jpg

 

[madscientist451]

I've never made a butterscotch flavored beverage, but you may want to re-think adding the schnapps. I would suggest doing a series of blending trials, some with the butterscotch schnapps and some with a flavor concentrate such as this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9WW4NA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Sigvaldi]

I've never made a butterscotch flavored beverage, but you may want to re-think adding the schnapps. I would suggest doing a series of blending trials, some with the butterscotch schnapps and some with a flavor concentrate such as this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9WW4NA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I thought about that as well. Its a large enough batch that I certainly can. This is based off another recipe, so i went the same way he did, but I may do as you advise. It's best to experiment, after all.

 

[Sigvaldi]

So, I'm not a huge fan of beer, so I rely on my friend's comments while saying it tastes like a stout with a sweet finish. I was also told it doesn't taste like beer, but I believe that was in reference to its sweeter flavor.

The beer finished off at roughly 7% alcohol, but it doesn't have a strong alcohol flavor, probably due to the sweetness. I did end up going with the schnapps to prime, and it turned out pretty well. Just enough schnapps to get the sugar i needed (butterscotch schnapps is approximately 11g of sugar per oz, if I remember right)

It's still not a beer for non-beer drinkers. But if you like beer, don' see why you can't give it a shot.

 

[dmenace86]

Thanks for posting. My wife is also a huge HP fan, but can't stand beer. When I saw this I was hoping it could be something I brew for her, as I'm still trying to find something that will bring her some enjoyment out of this hobby too... Well, the search continues, but I may give this a go in the near future simply out of curiosity.

 

[Sigvaldi]

Well, my next experiment i think will be more successful. I'm going to abandon the idea of beer altogether and make some kind of butterscotch wine. Details pending.

 

[dmenace86]

Sounds like a good idea. I need to get into the wine, mead, and cider side of things... If I do end up brewing this, or using your recipe as a template, I'll update here to let you know how it works out.

 

[Sigvaldi]

So, I know it's been a while, but things got hectic and I actually havent been actively brewing. Brief synopsis: wife goes through 3 jobs, finally graduates woth her masters, new city, another new job, all the while I'm ttying to keep things steady.

That being said, I'm bacl and taking another shot at Butterbeer. This time, I really hope to get the sweet flavors by preparing a sweet brown sugar wine with butterscotch flavoring.

Ingredients
(Primary)
2 lb brown sugar
water to 1 gallon
1/2 tsp d47 yeast
1 tsp DAP
1/4 tsp Ferm-k
Malic acid to a ph of 4.0 (about 1 1/2 tsp)

(Secondary)
2 whole vanilla beans

(Finish)
Lactose to taste (guessing about a lb)
2-4 oz of buttterscotch concentrated flavoring, to taste
Corn sugar to prime
Bottled and capped in beer bottles

Day 1: It's good to be back in the saddle again. I missed having fun and experimenting with little microscopic creatures. Mixed everything in primary and shook really hard in my very fancy aeration procedure. Starting gravity is 1.078. My hope is to get a strong butterscotch flavor. The final product I am hoping will be sweet with a touch of cream flavor and body. Butterscotch is made from brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk or cream. Hopefully this comes out well.

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

So, I know it's been a while, but things got hectic and I actually havent been actively brewing. Brief synopsis: wife goes through 3 jobs, finally graduates woth her masters, new city, another new job, all the while I'm ttying to keep things steady.

That being said, I'm bacl and taking another shot at Butterbeer. This time, I really hope to get the sweet flavors by preparing a sweet brown sugar wine with butterscotch flavoring.

Ingredients
(Primary)
2 lb brown sugar
water to 1 gallon
1/2 tsp d47 yeast
1 tsp DAP
1/4 tsp Ferm-k
Malic acid to a ph of 4.0 (about 1 1/2 tsp)

(Secondary)
2 whole vanilla beans

(Finish)
Lactose to taste (guessing about a lb)
2-4 oz of buttterscotch concentrated flavoring, to taste
Corn sugar to prime
Bottled and capped in beer bottles

Day 1: It's good to be back in the saddle again. I missed having fun and experimenting with little microscopic creatures. Mixed everything in primary and shook really hard in my very fancy aeration procedure. Starting gravity is 1.078. My hope is to get a strong butterscotch flavor. The final product I am hoping will be sweet with a touch of cream flavor and body. Butterscotch is made from brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk or cream. Hopefully this comes out well.

View attachment 410615

I do mead as well as beer and my wife is a huge potterhead. we were watching the third movie this weekend when she mentioned trying butterbeer now that I am actually brewing. Let us know how the second recipe goes. Ill be trying a small batch of the first in a few weeks now hopefully. When its done Ill post my results for you as well

 

[aprichman]

All brown sugar for the fermentables? That’s going to need some time to smooth out.

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

I brewed the first recipe for a 2 gallon batch this weekend. it smells amazing currently. Hoping my wife enjoys it and ill make a 5 gallon batch later. will let you know how everything turns out in a few weeks

 

[Sigvaldi]

So, the second butterbeer batch (more like carbonated butterscotch wine) has had time to age. Its pretty good, although it is veeeerry sweet. The original description of butterbeer states it is "almost sickeningly sweet." I think I managed that.

It ended up not being sweet enough in the end, so i added a brown sugar syrup to get the sweetness I wanted. That, of course, required me to be very careful of carbonation and I heat pasturized the bottles (10 minutes in boiling hot water, off the fire) to prevent co2 grenades.

They've aged a few months now, but I think a little more won't hurt.

@Ronald, hope it turns out well for you. Like i said, its not a bad recipe, just not for non-beer drinkers like myself. It is a bit sweeter than your average beer, from what I'm told.

 

[SEndorf]

Interesting ideas and comments to follow along and see how they turn out.
I though a "Harry Potter Butterbeer" would contain ear wax and snails.
Good to see it doesn't!

 

[passedpawn]

My kids and I have made this a few times. We go to Universal/Islands of Adventure pretty often. They have a butterbeer there, and we wanted to recreate the awesome butterbeer at home. I can assure you, it's awesome, and also that one is enough - it's very sweet and heavy. This recipe duplicates that. This was from Huffington Post I think.

I suppose you could make it alcoholic pretty easily by adding something. But if you've got kids or non-drinkers that want to taste what the park offers, here you go.

Ingredients

• 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 6 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water.
2. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
3. Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
4. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
5. In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
6. To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

 

[SEndorf]

@passedpawn that looks fantastic.
Thanks for posting.
For the adult version, perhaps a few shots of rum rather than the extract?

 

[passedpawn]

@passedpawn that looks fantastic.
Thanks for posting.
For the adult version, perhaps a few shots of rum rather than the extract?

Sure, but I really don't like rum drinks. Butterscotch Schnapps would be a closer fit. I guess this lets you split the batch, kid/adults.

[edit] not wanting to hijack this thread, sorry for that. Just noticed several comments from those mentioning a non-alcoholic version.

 

[SEndorf]

Sure, but I really don't like rum drinks. Butterscotch Schnapps would be a closer fit. I guess this lets you split the batch, kid/adults.

Thank you.
Funny.... For all this beer making, I'm really quite clueless regarding the hard stuff.