adding a butterfinger to a milk stout?

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dukedog

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I am new to brewing ( 3 batches currently in the pipeline) as is my buddy who has taken up homebrewing with me. He wants to crush up a Butterfinger and add it to the boil with 5 minutes to go. Are there any downfalls or things to watch out for when doing this? I haven't seen much on here about using candy bars, mostly I've just seen people mentioning using cocoa powder.


And does anyone know if 1 regular size candy bar will be sufficient to impart taste to the beer or if we should add more? This is for a 5 gallon batch.

Thanks
 
I think there may be things in a butterfinger candy bar that you wouldn't want. If you want a butter finger flavour. I wold look to cocoa powder or chocolate malt and maybe some peanuts. I know of some pecan porter recipes floating around. Try the same technique but switch the nuts.

Don't happen to be a JMU alum do ya? (05 myself.)
 
Not sure if it would dissipate in the boil, but most packaged food contains potassium sorbate, which renders yeast unable to reproduce, effectively stopping fermentation. That's what wine stabilizer is made of. Plus all that oil and crap, I wouldn't put that in a beer.
 
I think there may be things in a butterfinger candy bar that you wouldn't want. If you want a butter finger flavour. I wold look to cocoa powder or chocolate malt and maybe some peanuts. I know of some pecan porter recipes floating around. Try the same technique but switch the nuts.

Don't happen to be a JMU alum do ya? (05 myself.)


Yep, we're both 08 alums. A lots chance since I graduated, even moreso for you I bet. I'll have to look for around for alternatives then. Thanks
 
Try infusing some everclear or vodka with butterfinger. Then add the now butterfinger-flavored vodka to the secondary to taste.

It's a similar idea to adding nut flavor to beer. Often the oils in the nuts will wreak havoc on head retention, and not lend enough flavor. Using alcohol as a solvent to extract the flavors from butterfinger will be much more efficient, and leave behind more fats and oils. Check out this thread.
 
so we went ahead with both batches, an American Ale, and the Milk Stout to which I added about 5 oz of unsweetened cocoa powder. As for the peanut infusion thread, I've seen a few options that I'd want to do- either soak the butterfingers in vodka and use the vodka, or use peanut extract. I haven't seen much online in the way of peanut extracts aside from these two links:

non-oil based

and oil-based
 
I know in my mind that just tossing a butterfinger in there is not going to have the desired results, but damn that sure does sound good. Maybe I just like butterfingers...
 
Any update on this? I was just eating a butterfinger today and thought "Wouldn't that be amazing to make a beer with this flavor???"

How has your experimentation been going with this?
 
Well this was my first and only stout I've ever done but it turned out fine, however the butterfinger flavor was overpowered by the cocoa flavor. You could taste it a little bit but it wasn't very pronounced. If I did it again I might use a little less cocoa powder (3-4oz instead of 5-6) and I'd at least double the number of Butterfingers I used (I used 3 normal sized bars originally).
 
So you used vodka to extract the flavor from 3 Butterfinger bars? If so, how much vodka did you use for that?

I am thinking about doing a brew for this soon, like a 1 gallon batch just as an experiment. From your notes, I should probably use 0.5oz cocoa and 1 normal Butterfinger bar for just a 1 gallon stout.
 
Sorry for the year+ delay in responding, my memory is fuzzy but I used roughly 300-400ml of vodka last time. I'm revisiting this recipe and this time I added 2 ounces of dark cocoa powder (last time I added about 4oz). I'm going to use 6 butterfinger bars when I make the butterfinger vodka infusion this go around. I'll post an update when I find out the results.
 
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