Harry Potter Butterbeer

God Emporer BillyBrew said:

Spoiler!

j/k, if you don't know by now you deserve to have it spoiled.

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Heh... yeah, when the book came out, I read it that night and the next day, and my friends has to forcibly restrain me from carrying out my wicked plot:

I was going to make a t-shirt that said "Snape Kills Dumbledore" and just wear it around the DC Metro all day.


Also- as for how the beer is: Don't know yet. It's not quite done in primary. Sometime tomorrow, most likely, I'll transfer it to secondary. I'll taste it to see how it's doing, and also how the herb and spice flavors are doing - if they've faded, I'll hit it with a spice tea.

Also, I got the Butterscotch extract in the mail from SpiceBarn.com, and dude... I can smell it through the bottle. That is some POWERFUL stuff. I will be VERY careful with it.

Cap'n Jewbeard said:

Heh... yeah, when the book came out, I read it that night and the next day, and my friends has to forcibly restrain me from carrying out my wicked plot:

I was going to make a t-shirt that said "Snape Kills Dumbledore" and just wear it around the DC Metro all day.

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There's a video on the internet of a guy who read the book I guess at the England release before the US release, drove by Barnes & Noble(USA) at midnight where all the diehards were waiting, yelled 'Snape kills Dumbledore' and drove off. As he's driving away you can hear people cursing and going auggh! I'd be pissed, I'm not sure I'd believe it though until reading it, so it might not have been that bad if that had happened to me.

If they were over 13, then they deserved that.

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

If they were over 13, then they deserved that.

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Yeah, I'm a pretty big idiot because I've read the Harry Potter books. Oh well, maybe in my next life I'll be cool. You're absolutly right. I would have deserved that, totally.

HAHA. Sorry I couldn't resist there.

Try some George R. R. Martin ("A Song of Ice and Fire" series kicks royal ass)or Steven Erikson.

Or some old school Raymond E Feist. Magician is a pretty good jump up from the er.. stuff.. you just admitted reading.

So, are you putting the flavoring from spice barn into the secondary? Do you think that will wreck your head retention? It killed one of my other homebrews head when I put it in to test...Mine says butterscoth FLAVORING though, not extract...

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)

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Trean72 said:

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)

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

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So if I read Harry Potter and play D&D what does that make me? Oh and I'm planning on making at least 2 batches of Butter Beer this year 2 different ways to see what works out better. Once I find some freaking butterscotch

There may be cheaper places to get it, and 4 oz is WAY more than you'll ever need, but SpiceBarn has the flavoring for about 5 or 6 bucks a bottle, plus shipping.

http://spicebarn.com/butterscotch_flavoring.htm

Trean72 said:

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)

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

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Where exactly do you live? I have a pair of large boots I'd like to cram some place.

Hey Capn Jewbeard,
I would hold off on adding that flavoring from spice barn, see my above posts...I got the same thing, and expirimented by adding a drop into a bottle of another batch of homebrew. It totally destroyed the head! I actually chickened out and added vanilla extract instead, along with some spices...I think next time I might use golden syrup to get a buttery flavor, because all of the butterscotch extract ive come across has decimated the head retention...I might add a drop (no more than 2) of the spice barn stuff to the bottling bucket...Would boiling it help to solve this problem you think?

Hmm- without knowing the composition (an essential oil, perhaps?) I'd imagine that boiling it would destroy the flavor and aroma.

I will probably drop like 1/2 tsp into 5 gallons; if the butterscotch is at ALL perceptible at that point, I'll stop; it should be little enough that, on that scale, it won't screw up the head too badly. I hope.

Thinking about it, this brew really should have a big, thick head on it. I should have added flaked wheat to the boil. Oh well- for next time.

Denny's Evil Concotions said:

Where exactly do you live? I have a pair of large boots I'd like to cram some place.

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I'm stationed in Tennessee right now. Come on down. My boots are bigger and I have a concealed carry permit.

Then again, if I go around making fun of people, I deserve to get people mad at me.

Speranza said:

So if I read Harry Potter and play D&D what does that make me?

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Still a huge dork. Not because of the book, but because you're too old (I assume you're over 21) to play 'pretend.'

Trean72 said:

Still a huge dork.

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I win! and I'll have a huge batch of butterbeer to enjoy while laughing at your "reality."

*on topic*
I hate you all I can't find butterscotch for the life of me, damn this hick state called Tennessee! Or damn my searching skills lol!

Any updates on the beer? How about of the nerdiness of X person who reads X book?

I just finished a 1203 page book called "Bonehunters" from the "A Tale Of The Malazan Book Of The Fallen" series by Steven Erikson

At least I know I can read, you reality seeking hicks! ( we need a "tongue in cheek" smiley!)

The beer sounds crazy. Might just be good, though. As far as downing someone for reading, jealousy has a strong hold on us all. I read at bedtime. The picture shows Spot chasing a ball. I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Bet a high alcohol beer with butterscotch candy added into the boil would be the thing if you let it mature until winter. Send it to me if you don't like it.

Ask <groan> starbucks or another coffee place. They have butterscotch coffee flavoring. Make sure it don't have preservitives in it though.

Also try baking supply places.

I am gonna bottle tomorrow...So far the beer looks good...I chickened out and used vanilla instead of butterscotch...I will take a sample tomorrow.

Well, even though it's clear as a bell after primary, I put it in secondary for a bit. (I haven't gassed up my C02 tank yet; this beer is going to have pride of place as First Kegged Beer!).

I put 3/4 tbsp of the butterscotch extract into the bottling bucket; while it had a powerful smell, it seemed to dissipate somewhat when it was mixed into the roughly 4, 4.5 gallons of beer. Now, I had a taste of the beer (flat n' warm), and it seemed the 'scotch was playing nicely with the other herbs and spices.

As for killing the head? Don't know yet. Can only hope it doesn't.

Can't wait to hear how this all turns out.. I am definaly interested in trying a batch.. please post your thoughts and what you would/will do next time you make the batch!

SpamDog

So I'm wating to hear how it turned out. The book is out this Saturday, will you be drinking butter beer as you read? I have to know!!!!

Here is a definition from answer.com:

Butterbeer:
Butterbeer is a warm frothy drink that makes the drinker feel warm and cozy.

**WHOOPS Didn't realize how long the thread was.. guess I was a little late

Some Chardonay wines pick up a buttery flavor from the wooden barrels from conditioning. Maybe if you bought a big wooden barrel to do a secondary in it might do the same. Then again, I don't know if that has to do with the grapes or the alcohol. Ask someone in the wine forum if they know exactly which portion of the wine interacts with the barrel and you may have an easy solution. Ooops! I didn't realize you already tried something. Well if it doesn't work out try the wooden barrel for a secondary. I think it might work.

OK, here's the skinny on the butterbeer:

Overall: Not bad, needs refinement. Wish there was another book so I could plan another batch around it.

Head: Good, lacey, and thick- but I've kegged it, so your experience may vary.

Color: Lovely brown/garnet thing happening (I'll try to snap a photo later)

Aroma: Fascinating- sweet, spicy, herbal... and butterscotch-y.

Taste: The herbs/spices are blended well, but they are VERY overpowered by the butterscotch extract. I put about a teaspoon in a 4.5-ish gallon batch... this was too much. I'd use half that next time. A little hop bitterness (the aromas are mostly wiped out by the butterscotch, sadly; I used nice Saaz and similar) keeps it from being cloying, but the lactose definitely makes it a "specialty" brew.

Alcohol: Warm, but not hot. About 5%, and mixed in nicely with the sweetness and the butterscotch warmth.

Summary: Good, but too much extract. I've never worked with it before; they weren't kidding when they said to use it sparingly. yeesh! I'll drink it up, though, no worries...

Cool. Thanks for taking one for the team . I subscribed to this thread and i plan on attempting this in the near future. I just hope that the head will come out as well if I bottle it as opposed to kegging.

It almost surely should, especially if you use a smaller amount of butterscotch extract.

How do you think this recipe would do as a gruit? Instead of adding the hops just upping the spices and turning it into a "butterscotch root beer?" This is quite an interesting concept. Someone earlier had posted about other fictional brews. Too which I have a response.

The Brown Ale from Sherlock Holms would be just a traditional English Brown Ale.
Romulen Ale is a high alchohol drink and it's not really "beer," it's better made in a mixed drink with Everclear, blue Curaico (sp) and soda water.

Yeah, that's right. I'm a dork! Wanna make something of it? :rockin:

I think I might have to try the brew from this thread.

I just picked up a book on making your own root beer and sodas and realized that butterbeer must be made in a similar fashion. I never realized that the biggest difference between (old fashioned) root beer and real beer was fermenting time! I think it's funny that you all are trying to brew this like a real beer, with hops and stuff! It seems to me like it should only be allowed to ferment for a couple of days, just like you would do a homemade root beer or ginger ale. It's pretty clear from the books that its alcohol content is very low. If I ever come up with a recipe for brewing butterbeer like root beer I'll post it here D (First I must practice!)

As has previously been suggested - I imagine butterbeer being a kind of cream-soda flavoured stout.. but white....

anyone got a photo of the final product?

Alright, I just finished the last book two nights ago and thought it safe to finally bone up on butterbeer. Unbelievably, I never did hear any spoilers prior to finishing. A couple fake ones, but no real ones.

Did anybody come up with a low alcohol tasty potion? I haven't seen any of the movies - to they show the drink on screen?

Here is a quick google search I did. I am not sure if this is butterbeer that they are supposed to be drinking in this scene; however, if it is it seems to be a rather pale beer:

http://www.mugglenet.com/images/hbplist/Ch14/14weasley.jpg

why not make a home made cream soda brew and add butterscotch schnapps to it before you carb it?

Denny's Evil Concoctions said:

Ask <groan> starbucks or another coffee place. They have butterscotch coffee flavoring. Make sure it don't have preservitives in it though.

Also try baking supply places.

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Whole foods has it, go up to the Allegro coffee bar. No preservaties in the coffee flavoring.

*Edit-Just at Whole Foods this morning. Coffee bar does not have butterscotch flavoring but the guy said they did sell butterscotch extract...then again he did make my whole milk/no foam latte with non-fat milk and foam)

Saw the movie this weekend with the kids. Liked the fact that the kids in the movie were drinking "butter beer". Funny. I figured it had to be something like the table beer the Belgians drink or a Pale Mild like the British drink. Don't believe there was anything "butter" flavored about it.......

Aclay said:

[Romulan] Ale is a high alchohol drink and it's not really "beer," it's better made in a mixed drink with Everclear, blue Curaico (sp) and soda water.

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Just to add to the dorkiness factor... Romulan ale, as per Vonda McIntyre's novelization of Star Trek II, is not ethanol, but some other depressant... Kirk thinks that he remembers why he never developed at taste for it -- the great high never quite compensates for the depression the next day.

God only knows what they were drinking on set, but I highly doubt it was Everclear or blue Curaçao.

That felt good... now to see what the wife thinks of the idea of brewing butterbeer.

Vuarra said:

Just to add to the dorkiness factor... Romulan ale, as per Vonda McIntyre's novelization of Star Trek II, is not ethanol, but some other depressant... Kirk thinks that he remembers why he never developed at taste for it -- the great high never quite compensates for the depression the next day.

God only knows what they were drinking on set, but I highly doubt it was Everclear or blue Curaçao.

That felt good... now to see what the wife thinks of the idea of brewing butterbeer.

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If you have to go and bring up a drink from Star Trek, then you have to check out this thread, as long as you have a strong stomach.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/klingon-blood-ale-61383/

For Star Trek dorkiness, I wonder how Altair water tastes....or if it's safe to brew with

OK....wizards like Harry Potter always made me think "Butterbeer" would be some made up prissy soda. First google hit turned up this:

MuggleNet | Madam Rosmerta's Magical Recipes | Butterbeer

wikipedia does mention that there's a historical "butterbeer" that actually did include beer

Harry Potter universe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'll take a real beer thank you