Harry Potter Butterbeer

[BrewBrain]

I don't think I tempered my eggs... I just brought the boiling beer away from the heat, stirred it well and added the eggs slowly while continually stirring. I had no scrambling at all.

Alright, I want to do this again, but it turns out I don't know what "tempering" in my eggs means. I thought it was just adding slowly while stirring.

 

[koomber]

Wow, I can't believe this thread still lives. Some fresh links as the others appear to be dead.
Video of the baldy man himself making it.

A new copy of the recipe:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/dec/14/heston-blumenthal-christmas-recipes

I'll have to try this myself now. I'll open up a bottle of SWMBO Slayer!

 

[Hegh]

Hegh - I appreciate the help, but you don't need to be so harsh. I'm a beginner brewer and this is my first recipe, so be kind.

I'm very sorry, I did not mean to be harsh at all. I was trying to be helpful, but I guess the tone didn't come through in writing. My wife just read it as well, and yelled at me for not saying anything nice.

PS The efficiency crack at the beginning was meant to be a joke, not a negative comment on your process.

 

[Hegh]

Alright, I want to do this again, but it turns out I don't know what "tempering" in my eggs means. I thought it was just adding slowly while stirring.

Tempering means adding a little bit of the hot liquid at a time to the eggs and stirring it in, to raise their temperature slowly. Then, once they're warmed (by adding maybe 3x as much liquid as eggs), pour them back into the hot liquid.

The goal is to avoid pouring cold eggs into hot liquid, which can result in a string of scrambled eggs floating around.

 

[ladybrewer]

I'm very sorry, I did not mean to be harsh at all. I was trying to be helpful, but I guess the tone didn't come through in writing. My wife just read it as well, and yelled at me for not saying anything nice.

PS The efficiency crack at the beginning was meant to be a joke, not a negative comment on your process.

No hard feelings.

In the end, this is the actual recipe (because of what we had on hand and what we couldn’t find in the brewing supply store - and also because I didn't understand our new scale and read 1.5 as a pound and a half, not a pound and 5 oz . . . hence why I have some .7 lbs instead of .5):

Grains:
8lbs Pale Malt
2 lbs Wheat Malt
1.7 lbs Honey Malt
.7 lbs Crystal Malt 60
.7 lbs Aromatic Malt
.7 lbs Biscuit Malt
.7 lbs Vienna Malt
.7 lbs Flaked Barley

Hops:
1 oz Kent Goldings (60 min)
.5 oz Fuggles (30 min)
.5 oz Styrian Goldings (10 min)

Yeast:
Edinburgh Ale Yeast

Additions:
2 Cinnamon sticks - 60 min
4 whole Cloves – 30 min
2 oz Butterscotch Schnapps - 30 min.
½ nutmeg, crushed - 10 min
2 vodka-soaked vanilla beans - in secondary
2 oz Butterscotch Schnapps - in secondary
1 lb lactose - at bottling
More schnapps as needed for flavor at bottling

Boiling as we speak!!

EDIT: In the primary, and hopefully it'll be bubbling away by tomorrow!

 

[BrewBrain]

Tempering means adding a little bit of the hot liquid at a time to the eggs and stirring it in, to raise their temperature slowly. Then, once they're warmed (by adding maybe 3x as much liquid as eggs), pour them back into the hot liquid.

The goal is to avoid pouring cold eggs into hot liquid, which can result in a string of scrambled eggs floating around.

Ah. TY!

 

[ScottyC]

No hard feelings.

In the end, this is the actual recipe (because of what we had on hand and what we couldn’t find in the brewing supply store - and also because I didn't understand our new scale and read 1.5 as a pound and a half, not a pound and 5 oz . . . hence why I have some .7 lbs instead of .5):

Grains:
8lbs Pale Malt
2 lbs Wheat Malt
1.7 lbs Honey Malt
.7 lbs Crystal Malt 60
.7 lbs Aromatic Malt
.7 lbs Biscuit Malt
.7 lbs Vienna Malt
.7 lbs Flaked Barley

Hops:
1 oz Kent Goldings (60 min)
.5 oz Fuggles (30 min)
.5 oz Styrian Goldings (10 min)

Yeast:
Edinburgh Ale Yeast

Additions:
2 Cinnamon sticks - 60 min
4 whole Cloves – 30 min
2 oz Butterscotch Schnapps - 30 min.
½ nutmeg, crushed - 10 min
2 vodka-soaked vanilla beans - in secondary
2 oz Butterscotch Schnapps - in secondary
1 lb lactose - at bottling
More schnapps as needed for flavor at bottling

Boiling as we speak!!

EDIT: In the primary, and hopefully it'll be bubbling away by tomorrow!

Looks good! I'm interested in how yours will turn out.

Just FYI -- I took a sample off of mine the other night (after 1 week in secondary w/vanilla bean). Wow -- it's fruity. I sure this is a result of fermenting the Edinburgh yeast too warm (71-73 F). I wanted it to have a slight fruity profile, but this is pronounced. I didn't really get any of the spice or vanilla flavors in the taste. Hopefully those esters will die down over time... Regardless, I'm planning on adding some vanilla extract along with the butterscotch schnapps at bottling (and perhaps some spices...we'll see)

So, ladybrewer, I would recommend fermenting in the mid to high 60s with this yeast if you have the ability to do so.

 

[ladybrewer]

My butterbeer is bubbling away and has a good cinnamon taste that should blend well with the butterscotch. Yum!

 

[ChristianAce]

I am curious as to why you wouldnt just whip up a small batch of your own butterscotch instead of using an extract or schnapps?

I seriously can't wait to hear how these come out.. I am a HUGE HP fan and just started making my Dumbledore's Oak Aged Mead and want to brew some of this depending on how they come out. Keep us updated!

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Making up a batch of traditional butterbeer now... pictorial how to coming soon

 

[ScottyC]

An update -- I just bottled the butterbeer yesterday. I tested small batches mixed with various amounts of vanilla extract and butterscotch schnapps. I felt like it needed a lot of both to counteract the estery profile I got from the fermentation. Since the schnapps have a decent amount of sugar in it (25 Plato or so, corrected for alcohol), I was practically able to use just the schnapps to prime. I did the math and (1) 750 mL would be the perfect amount to prime a 5 gallon batch with. Unfortunately, I didn't have the whole bottle *shucks*. At the end of the day, this is what I added:

-600 mL butterscotch schnapps (yes, 600 mL)
-2.5 Tablespoons vanilla extract
-The rest of the lactose I had (to get to 1 lb total in the batch)
- Approx. 1.5 ounces priming sugar


Christian Ace -- I decided to go w/Schnapps primarily out of lazyness (I had some sitting around). Also, I've never made butterscotch before, but I assume it's like making caramel, which I've always found tricky (goes from goo to burnt within a few seconds).

I'll post back in a few weeks with how this one turns out.

 

[ScottyC]

Christian Ace -- I decided to go w/Schnapps primarily out of lazyness

Also, lazyness = laziness for those who are to lazy to spell.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Here is how I make butterbeer to warm me up on a cold day.

1

Collect your ingredients

500ml ale (not anything really hoppy, just a middle of the road beer)
Yolks from 2 medium eggs, whisked
60g sugar
Dash of nutmeg
15g unsalted butter (unsalted is pretty important, maybe not a deal breaker though...)

2

Warm your pot on medium heat

3

When it is up to temp pour in the beer

4

Now watch the beer. It will begin to bubble as it approaches boil. That is the alcohol burning off....

It will be clear when it begins to boil in earnest, pull it off the burner when it looks like this.

to be continued..........

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

5

Temper the eggs by adding a little bit of hot beer at a time to the yolks until the mixture is about three times the volume of the yolks.

Whisk the yolk into the hot beer.

6

Next whisk in the sugar

7

and the nutmeg

8

Now that your eggs, sugar and nutmeg are added, back to the burner and boil for two minutes. Stir constantly.

9

After the two minutes, remove from the heat, and whisk in your butter

10

Then you are ready to drink it. it is best to swirl the butterbeer and allow the solids to settle (bits of egg white and spice) for maybe 4 minutes. Then decant into a flagon and enjoy! You could also use a fine strainer and skip the waiting...

I really like butterbeer for a cold day or a sweet treat. Some don't like it (my wife) but it is fun and takes about 5-10 minutes to make and clean up. I think I will make some for the kids at Christmas this year or maybe at Oktoberfest.

I would say 500mL is too much for one sitting. It is very sweet and rich. 500mL is perfect for two people IMO.

IMPORTANT: do not use hoppy or very dark beers. Something middle of the road works well, but hops do not work in this... I have used a brown porter and that was fine but not my favorite.

 

[ChristianAce]

I am curious now, I work for a coffee roastery and we sell Monin Syrups for flavoring drinks or foods and they are as natural as you can get in syrups, so I wonder how well their lineup would work. I still think making up a batch of butterscotch will work the best tho, but they have all the flavors butterscotch, vanilla, pumpkin, maple spice, brown sugar etc etc etc.. hmm just a thought for you guys who want to try different flavors and how they work in brewing. I have no idea how they work. I dont think they have preservatives in them so that might be good. let me know what you guys think. and I seriously am so excited for these two brews I come back and check hourly haha. I am working on a Dumbledore Oak Aged Mead right now.. its my first. So I will let you guys know how THAT turns out. .

 

[ScottyC]

Boerderij -- nice pictoral demo on the classic butterbeer! I want to try making this WITH my butterbeer (once it's ready)...

ChristianAce -- I have not used the syrups personally in brewing. Because of the sugar, I'm sure they would add a significant amount of dryness and probably a hint of the flavor you're after. As with adding any adjunct sugar, I wouldn't add to much because you wouldn't want those cidery flavors to form. Could be interesting, though. Your Dumbledore mead sounds interesting as well -- you know crusty ol' Dumbledore would be drinking something harder than that kiddy butterbeer!

Also -- did the wine (or mead?) in the Half Blood Prince that nearly killed Ron have a name? That would be a cool name for a wine/mead.

 

[ChristianAce]

Boerderij -- nice pictoral demo on the classic butterbeer! I want to try making this WITH my butterbeer (once it's ready)...

ChristianAce -- I have not used the syrups personally in brewing. Because of the sugar, I'm sure they would add a significant amount of dryness and probably a hint of the flavor you're after. As with adding any adjunct sugar, I wouldn't add to much because you wouldn't want those cidery flavors to form. Could be interesting, though. Your Dumbledore mead sounds interesting as well -- you know crusty ol' Dumbledore would be drinking something harder than that kiddy butterbeer!

Also -- did the wine (or mead?) in the Half Blood Prince that nearly killed Ron have a name? That would be a cool name for a wine/mead.

Hmm. I did not Know that about the flavorings but that makes perfect sense. Again I think the real thing with any flavoring is the way to go, just like to throw ideas around.

-My Dumbledore Mead I am still trying to figure out.. not sure if he would be drinking just a oak aged mead or if it would have a hint of something.. if you guys have any ideas for finishing it let me know...

-The wine that almost kills Ron, I have no idea, but funnily enough I just started that book (re-re-re-re-rereading the whole series before movie 7) so I will look and see.

 

[theblkspdr21]

I am creating a caramel Apple Red Ale and there is a way to create a toffee/butterscotch flavor in your beer by taking 1lb each of LME and Table sugar mixing them in a saucepan and heating until they start to darken technique is mentioned in Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher in a Recipe for a Caramel Quadrupel, check it out, great book.

 

[ericd]

Butterbeer is a real drink:

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Next recipe to try posted above by Koomber. I wanted to post it here just in case...

2 cans Old Speckled Hen ale
¾ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
120g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
20g unsalted butter

 

[Hegh]

I am curious now, I work for a coffee roastery and we sell Monin Syrups for flavoring drinks or foods and they are as natural as you can get in syrups, so I wonder how well their lineup would work. I still think making up a batch of butterscotch will work the best tho, but they have all the flavors butterscotch, vanilla, pumpkin, maple spice, brown sugar etc etc etc.. hmm just a thought for you guys who want to try different flavors and how they work in brewing. I have no idea how they work. I dont think they have preservatives in them so that might be good. let me know what you guys think. and I seriously am so excited for these two brews I come back and check hourly haha. I am working on a Dumbledore Oak Aged Mead right now.. its my first. So I will let you guys know how THAT turns out. .

Take a look at the ingredients. I've got some Taurani (sp?) syrups that I had been planning to use for brewing, but it turns out they've got preservatives in them. If you're force carbing, you could add them at kegging time, but I don't know what would happen if you added them before/during fermentation.

 

[ChristianAce]

Ya the only reason I questioned Monin syrup was because they don't have preservatives.. but I feel like the real deal would be better.. tho I asked a friend who brews and he thinks it can almost be done without the additives but I believe it would be better to make it a little more flavorful and pronounced.



Back to what Ron almost died drinking.. It was an Oak-Matured Mead that Slughorn was going to give Dumbledore. Slughorn normally drank nice wine so I don't know why he drank DD's mead .. but I am SURE that it was DANG good.. and that's why I am making some. Just 1 gallon but I think I need to make at least one more. at LEAST.. and Now I want to make some butterbeer.. so I may find a store near me and get some grains and hops and stuff to make this what seems to be a tasty treat.

 

[ThreeRatBastards]

Here is how I make butterbeer to warm me up on a cold day.
..........

I just made some of this Boerderij, it is pretty good! I would describe it as liquid French toast. Thanks for the recipe and howto!

 

[ChristianAce]

ScottyC how would you adjust it if you were doing real butterscotch and only 3 gallons. I know you guys have calculations for sugar and stuff. I want to make a batch myself and I am going to work on making a good butterscotch syrup. And you were adding it at bottling or in the 2nd? Also did yours turn out pretty buttery/creamy?

 

[ChristianAce]

I keep hearing that you can get a good buttery taste just from the diacetyl(sp).. but I again am very curious to see what you guys think about your final outcome.

 

[ladybrewer]

Just racked to secondary . . . the color is a gorgeous, rich deep orange and so far the aroma and taste are very good. I added a couple ounces of butterscotch schnapps, and two vanilla beans that I had sliced, scooped and chopped, and soaked in vanilla vodka overnight.

 

[ladybrewer]

Adding lactose, priming sugar, and more schnapps today, and bottling 'er up!!

 

[ChristianAce]

mine, doesnt really taste like butterbeer at all but it is good.. i think my next batch will be alot different since I will be doing a full 5 gallon batch and not just 2 gallons.. haha.. let me know how ya'lls turn out

 

[ladybrewer]

Yeah, mine ended up tasting more like a cinnamon/vanilla ale. Good, but not Butterbeer. None of the butterscotch schnapps came through. Maybe I'll try butterscotch extract next time?

 

[Justibone]

Fantasy belongs in children's books. Anyone who reads "Grown-up" fantasy deserves a kick to the pills.
People who read children's literature enjoy a good fairy tale; people who read adult fantasy like to sit around with grown men and play pretend. (D&D)

D&D rocks. I have two separate campaigns going. It's the only other hobby (besides brewing) that survived the Great Hobby Purge of 2010 ... a.k.a. "getting married".

 

[akthor]

Anyone come up with a working recipe yet?

 

[frailn]

Okay, I decided to brew up a Harry Potter Butterbeer, because my 22 year old step daughter asked me to. She said that she wants to drink it with her best friend over at her house while having a Potter dvd marathon. How could I say no?

So, I took a look at Cap'n Jewbeard's recipe and I looked at some screenshots from the potter movies. Decided to tweak Jewbeard's recipe so that the color is more close to the brew served in the movie. The brew in the movie is kind of a light colored beer and really hazy, so I went with a lot of wheat malt.

This was my first all-grain ever and only my fourth batch of brew ever. I went with BIAB using my turkey fryer set up with an aluminum kettle for the mash and boil.

11 lbs Wheat Malt
1 lb American 2-row Pale Malt
0.5 lb Crystal 40L

Steeped the grains in a jumbo mesh bag in five gallons of water at 152 for an hour an 15 minutes. I let the bag drain, then took some 140 degree water and poured it through the grain bag until it ran clear. I think it should be 170, but this was my first all-grain, so I forgive myself. Will go hotter next time...

At this point as I started to bring the wort up to boil, I scooped out 2 quarts of wort and put it on a pot on the stove in the kitchen and boiled that down from 2 quarts to 2 pints and added a pint of this concentrated wort back into the main kettle later on. Kept one pint back to save in the fridge for a concentrated yeast starter for future brews. The point of this little exercise was to try to get some caramely taste into the brew. I couldn't find butterscotch extract, so decided to do this technique in conjunction with some vanilla extract addition to get the butterscotch flavor into the brew.

Hop Schedule:
0.5 oz Brewer's Gold for 60 minutes
0.25 oz Saaz for 20 minutes
0.25 oz Saax for 5 minutes
(all hops were in pellet form)

At flame out, I added:
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 oz sarsaparilla
lactose - 8 oz
¼ tsp imitation butter flavor
¼ tsp vanilla extract


Pitched a large starter of Pacman that I harvested from a Rogue Mocha Porter.

Fermentation kicked off super fast, within just a few hours.

OG is 1.066

Should have seen the look on my LHBS guy's face when I showed him my ingredient list. He was nice and didn't say WTF. Just asked me if I forgot rice hulls. But, I told him I didn't need any since I was going BIAB.

I have a feeling this will be nasty beer, but the fact that it is a novelty based on a wizard movie makes this experiment very forgiving. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

 

[ChristianAce]

I am curious as to how this comes out. Let me know.

I finished and drank my version and it was NOTHING like HP ButterBeer.. it was like a reallly sparkly amber.. not bad by any means.. but had no sweet taste to it.. I even added a TON of butterscotch shnapps during fermentation and 1st rack.. hmmm let me know if you guys get something close.

 

[frailn]

I am curious as to how this comes out. Let me know.

I finished and drank my version and it was NOTHING like HP ButterBeer.. it was like a reallly sparkly amber.. not bad by any means.. but had no sweet taste to it.. I even added a TON of butterscotch shnapps during fermentation and 1st rack.. hmmm let me know if you guys get something close.

I will post back on this thread when I check the FG in a few weeks, let you know how it is tasting at that point.

 

[Justibone]

I'm curious that your wheat malt was able to convert itself. I didn't know that it did that... I thought it required barley.

 

[frailn]

I'm curious that your wheat malt was able to convert itself. I didn't know that it did that... I thought it required barley.

That's why I like to experiment - just like in the kitchen when I'm cooking something new. You will be surprised what you discover. It definately was super sweet wort.

Just for kicks, I tried a gravity reading of the wort that I boiled down from 1/2 gallon to 2 pints. Couldn't even get a reading, the hydrometer was off the chart.

It's been in the fermenter one week with lots of activity, so I think I might take a gravity reading in a few days and a taste to see how it is coming along.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Wheat malt does have enough diastatic power to convert itself, but it won't be as quick as a straight barley mash.

 

[frailn]

Update on my version of Treble Strength Butterbeer:

Original recipe listed on this post.

Took a gravity reading today, after 10 days fermenting.
Original Target Gravity - 1.072
Actual Original Gravity - 1.064
Gravity reading after 10 days - 1.015
So, it looks like my ABV at this point is fairly close to 6.5%

I plan on checking the gravity daily for the next 3-5 days to see if it drops more. I'm hoping to get this puppy up to 7% ABV.

Tasting notes from the fermenting bucket after 10 days:
Sweet, low bitterness just enough to offset the sweet a little, the spice blend with the butter extract and vanilla extract has blended together into a flavor that reminds me of a cross between an oatmeal cookie and a gingerbread cookie. More towards the oatmeal cookie side. The butter is evident in the flavor, but not overpowering. There is a bit of alcohol "hot" but not too much. I'm sure this will dissipate with time in the fermenter. Plan on leaving this in the primary for four weeks, and if that "hot" is still there, I will leave it in another two weeks.

The color is light yellow - close enough to the HP movie stills I have seen of butterbeer.

Surprisingly, this seems to be coming along nicely. I'm impressed by the pacman yeast, the activity was fast and furious for the first week and gravity has dropped considerably. I wish I had taken a gravity reading earlier just to see how fast Pacman was chomping at this wort!

I think the key to getting this a lighter color with sweeter notes was the use of 8 oz lactose and the process of boiling down 2 quarts of the wort to two pints in a separate boil kettle and adding it back into the main boil.

Man, I had a lot going on for this brew. First all-grain, first BIAB, first time using spice additions and extract additions, first time using a special technique of boiling down some wort, first time doing a yeast starter and first time harvesting yeast from a commercial brew. It was a crazy brew day. More to come as this beer matures.

 

[frailn]

Here is the movie still I used to base my recipe on in regards to color.

Here is a pic of my brew for a comparison. This is from a hydrometer sample after 11 days of fermentation.

 

[malweth]

The buttery taste in chardonnay is mostly from the oak barrels, you could get the same effect in a beer, but I would not suggest it at all for butterbeer, it's not a sweet buttery taste, it's a woody, oaky astringent buttery taste.

I'm late to this party, but just read the whole thread.

The buttery taste in Chardonnay is mostly from malolactic fermentation. The grapes' malic acid becomes lactic acid from ML Bacteria. Oak aging will lend vanilla flavors and perhaps contribute to this, but Chardonnays that don't undergo MLF have more of a green apple flavor.

That's as I understand it... I could be wrong.
I prefer red wine.

I WILL be making one of these concoctions when the 7th's movies come out on DVD. I'd prefer a brewed version rather than a mulled drink, but the cream soda based drink for the kids sounds great!