Butterbeer recipe

[Sammij012]

I have been looking at a recipe for a butterbeer (from Harry Potter). The full recipe, which I will post below, says to use a pound and half of butterscotch extract. I feel that this is a little excessive and might be a typo. I was hoping to get some input as to if it might be right. It is for a 5 gallon batch. Thanks for any help I'm kinda new to this.

Fermentables
4.5 lb Wheat Malt, White
4.5 lb 2-Row Brewers Malt
1.0 lb Caramel Malt 40L

Hops
Amount Hop time
1.0 oz Crystal (US) 60 min
0.5 oz Saaz (CZ) 20 min
0.25 oz Saaz (CZ) 5 min

Yeasts
Scottish Ale Wyeast 1728

Extras
Amount Time
1.0 oz Vanilla Beans 7.0 days
1.0 tsp Irish Moss 15.0 min
1.0 oz Nutmeg (Ground) 15.0 min
1.0 oz Cinnamon Sticks 15.0 min
1.25 lb Butterscotch Extract 14.0 days
1.0 lb Lactose. 15.0 min
5.0 oz Whole Cloves 15.0 min
1.25 floz Vanilla Extract 14.0 days

 

[k47k]

extracts usually come in liquid form, like vanilla extract. id start with 1 drop per 12oz and see if its too your liking before dosing the whole batch.

they probably meant ounces, not pounds.

 

[max384]

I have been looking at a recipe for a butterbeer (from Harry Potter). The full recipe, which I will post below, says to use a pound and half of butterscotch extract. I feel that this is a little excessive and might be a typo. I was hoping to get some input as to if it might be right. It is for a 5 gallon batch. Thanks for any help I'm kinda new to this.

Fermentables
4.5 lb Wheat Malt, White
4.5 lb 2-Row Brewers Malt
1.0 lb Caramel Malt 40L

Hops
Amount Hop time
1.0 oz Crystal (US) 60 min
0.5 oz Saaz (CZ) 20 min
0.25 oz Saaz (CZ) 5 min

Yeasts
Scottish Ale Wyeast 1728

Extras
Amount Time
1.0 oz Vanilla Beans 7.0 days
1.0 tsp Irish Moss 15.0 min
1.0 oz Nutmeg (Ground) 15.0 min
1.0 oz Cinnamon Sticks 15.0 min
1.25 lb Butterscotch Extract 14.0 days
1.0 lb Lactose. 15.0 min
5.0 oz Whole Cloves 15.0 min
1.25 floz Vanilla Extract 14.0 days

This beer will be absolutely undrinkable as the recipe stands. The spice amounts are WAY too high. I can't imagine how awful FIVE OUNCES of cloves will be in a five gallon batch. You should use like 2-3 whole cloves. You can always add more, but you can't take the flavor away. An ounce of nutmeg is also over the top. I'd start with 1/8 tsp or so if you'll be using ground nutmeg. However, a good rule of thumb is to avoid using ground spices in beer, and use whole whenever possible. The butterscotch extract is OBVIOUSLY a typo. You never want to add pounds of any spice. I'm not entirely sure about the amounts of the other spices, but they all seem high as well. I'd be shooting for a small fraction of each of the listed amounts, and then taste test and add as needed.

 

[JonM]

Yep, there are lots of posts from folks who learned the hard way that a little goes a long way when it comes to spices.

Your base reside looks like a nice American wheat beer. Maybe grab a sixer of a commercial wheat (Goose Island 312 comes to mind) and do some experimenting in a scaled down way.

 

[tracyk]

You probably only need 5 whole cloves, not 5 ounces and probably 1.25 ounces of butterscotch extract. Personally I would add the extract at bottling time and start with half of that, then slowly add until it is to your liking. It should probably be 1 vanilla bean. Yeah the spices are way over the top, abd I think max384 has it right and also do a test like JonW stated with a wheat beer and see how it comes out. I am thinking of a butterbeer as being close to a cream ale in all reality.

 

[chickypad]

max is not exaggerating. For comparison I use 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg in a pumpkin beer together with several other spices, and given that there are about 13 tsp in an oz your recipe calls for 50 times that. I agree with all the above about doing a little experimenting before committing a whole batch to something that could very well be gag-worthy. Maybe a couple small 1 gal test batches with wheat extract, then adding the butterscotch at bottling in a couple different titrations.

 

[Sammij012]

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate the feedback. I think I'm going to try a smaller scale like the 6 pack idea. I felt like the recipe was a little off. Some of the amounts seemed a little high.

 

[EcuPirate07]

You will die if you drink this

 

[Sammij012]

You will die if you drink this

That was my plan. Figured I would be sure and post it up here.

 

[azazel1024]

Yeah, if that is the same kind of butterscotch extract I have used, plan on more like 1 ounce, maybe 2 ounces for a 5 gallon batch.

All other spices, figure more like 1/4-1oz.