Harry Potter themed Black IPA recipe

[Wrendelar]

I’m getting ready to brew a Harry Potter themed Black IPA for a Halloween beer competition and would like to get y’all’s input.

Batch Size 5.5 Gallons
ABV: 6.4%
OG: 1.061
FG: 1.012
SRM: 40
IBU: 73
RBR: 1.24

41.5% Maris Otter
41.5% Munich I
5.7% Carafa I
3.9% Crystal DRC
3.9% Midnight Wheat
3.9% Carapils

.5 oz - 6.4 IBU Fuggle @60
.5 oz - 13.5 IBU Phoenix @60
.5 oz - 5.9 IBU Fuggle @45
.5 oz - 12.4 IBU Phoenix @45
.5 oz - 4.9 IBU Fuggle @30
.5 oz - 10.4 IBU Phoenix @30
1 oz - 6.3 IBU Fuggle @15
1 oz - 13.4 IBU Phoenix @15
1 oz - 4.3 IBU Fuggle @0
1 oz - 9.1 IBU Phoenix @0
1 oz - 4.3 IBU Fuggle - Dry Hop 2 Days
1 oz - 9.1 IBU Phoenix - Dry Hop 2 days

Yeast: S-05

I using the hops as a theme for the beer Phoenix for Dumbledore’s bird Faux and Fuggle as a play on words for Muggle

The only other “wizard” hop I could find that thematically would work as well as work with the other hops was Elixir (not sure I can even source it)

Thoughts?

 

[AlexKay]

That's a great grist bill for a black IPA. (Maybe a bit heavy on the Munich; consider 80/20 MO/Munich?)

Fuggle and Phoenix will play well together, though they're too earthy/herbal for my own concept of a black IPA. (Phoenix is also hard to find.) Elixir (Yakima Valley Hops has it in stock) is much fruitier, but I don't like it, especially in dark beers.

There's Comet (a hop, but also a broomstick manufacturer), Enigma, Medusa, Mystic, and Crystal (kind of magical sounding, though not explicitly in the novels as far as I can remember), and (Styrian) Dragon (a lovely hop),

And there's Lorien, though that sounds more like Tolkien than Rowling.

From a taste perspective, I might suggest Dragon/Medusa/Lotus. Or throw Elixir in, if you feel differently about it than I do. Comet/Crystal/Phoenix would probably work pretty well, too.

Northwest Hop Farms is a great source for hard-to-find hops. So is Farmhouse Brewing Supply. I've had only good experiences with both vendors.

 

[RCope]

I have brewed 2 "Butterbeers" so I understand the challenge. And I know you are simply asking for opinions, so I'll give you mine. If you want a black IPA, I'd minimize the roasty malts, removing the DRC and the Carafa and rely on the Midnight wheat for color. And as @AlexKay says, perhaps decrease the Munich if you want this to be IPAish. I have no problem with your hop schedule, you may want to throw in some Cascade, to give a bit more hop "bite" than both Phoenix and Fuggles (both chosen due to their name). But you can always brew it as you have written and adjust future batches accordingly... cheers!

 

[Wrendelar]

That's a great grist bill for a black IPA. (Maybe a bit heavy on the Munich; consider 80/20 MO/Munich?)

Fuggle and Phoenix will play well together, though they're too earthy/herbal for my own concept of a black IPA. (Phoenix is also hard to find.) Elixir (Yakima Valley Hops has it in stock) is much fruitier, but I don't like it, especially in dark beers.

There's Comet (a hop, but also a broomstick manufacturer), Enigma, Medusa, Mystic, and Crystal (kind of magical sounding, though not explicitly in the novels as far as I can remember), and (Styrian) Dragon (a lovely hop),

And there's Lorien, though that sounds more like Tolkien than Rowling.

From a taste perspective, I might suggest Dragon/Medusa/Lotus. Or throw Elixir in, if you feel differently about it than I do. Comet/Crystal/Phoenix would probably work pretty well, too.

Northwest Hop Farms is a great source for hard-to-find hops. So is Farmhouse Brewing Supply. I've had only good experiences with both vendors.

@AlexKay thanks for the feedback I had originally wrote the recipe with the Munich at 20% but changed it in favor or less bready Maris. Maybe I’ll tinker more with it.

I do have 8 oz of Phoenix on hand as well as Comet (forgot about that one). So maybe Phoenix, Comet and Crystal maybe the way to go.

I’ll update the recipe and do some more hop paring research and see where I net out.

 

[Wrendelar]

I have brewed 2 "Butterbeers" so I understand the challenge. And I know you are simply asking for opinions, so I'll give you mine. If you want a black IPA, I'd minimize the roasty malts, removing the DRC and the Carafa and rely on the Midnight wheat for color. And as @AlexKay says, perhaps decrease the Munich if you want this to be IPAish. I have no problem with your hop schedule, you may want to throw in some Cascade, to give a bit more hop "bite" than both Phoenix and Fuggles (both chosen due to their name). But you can always brew it as you have written and adjust future batches accordingly... cheers!

@RCope thanks for the opinion, you’re right that’s why I asked. I’m going to tinker some more with it. You are right I am really trying to thematically hit this beer to be strange and different as a Halloween brew. I’ve also thought of making it a double just to increase the mystical aspect of it. At one point I had some candie syrup/brown sugar added to it just to raise the abv and thin the beer out some more. I suppose I could just go dextrose and achieve the same results.

Thanks again!

 

[Wrendelar]

Here is the Version 2 of the recipe, take out your red pens and mark it up. Any feedback is welcome.

Batch Size 5.5 Gallons
ABV: 7.2%
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.010
SRM: 38.5
IBU: 71
RBR: 1.18

60% Maris Otter
18% Munich II
8% Midnight Wheat
7.2% Golden Candi Syrup
5% Carapils
1.8% Medium Crystal

.25 oz - 6.5 IBU - Comet @60
.25 oz - 6.8 IBU - Phoenix @60
.25 oz - 6 IBU - Comet @45
.25 oz - 7.56 IBU - Dragon @45
.25 oz - 6.3 IBU - Phoenix @45
.25 oz - 5 IBU - Comet @30
.25 oz - 6.3 IBU - Dragon @30
.25 oz - 5.2 IBU - Phoenix @30
.5 oz - 6.5 IBU - Comet @15
.5 oz - 8.2 IBU - Dragon @15
.5 oz - 6.8 IBU - Phoenix @15
1 oz - Comet @0
1 oz - Dragon @0
1 oz - Phoenix @0
1 oz - Comet Dry Hop 2 Days
1 oz - Dragon Dry Hop 2 Days
1 oz - Phoenix Dry Hop 2 Days

Yeast: S-05

I'm still on the fence about the Candi Sugar if I remove it I could bump up the IBU's a bit to get it more hoppy to counter balance the additional sweetness that would be present.

Removing the Candi Syrup
ABV: 6.2%
OG: 1.059
FG: 1.012
SRM: 38
IBU: 71
RBR: 1.23

Thoughts? @AlexKay @RCope

 

[AlexKay]

I’d bump the midnight wheat up just a little bit for insurance. It should be ok as you wrote it, but if something goes awry and you end up a little paler than expected, then you have a brown IPA, and nobody wants that.

I don’t think the light candi syrup will give you anything in the taste department. It won’t hurt anything, either, but you could save a few bucks using table sugar.

Comet and Dragon should go well together. I don’t think Phoenix will, but I understand if you need it for the theme.

 

[Wrendelar]

Here is version 3 same rules apply

Here is the Version 2 of the recipe, take out your red pens and mark it up. Any feedback is welcome.

Batch Size 5.5 Gallons
ABV: 7.5%
OG: 1.067
FG: 1.010
SRM: 42.5
IBU: 71
RBR: 1.15

60% Maris Otter
17% Munich II
9% Midnight Wheat
7.2% Dark Brown Sugar
5% Carapils
1.8% Medium Crystal

.5 oz - 13 IBU - Comet @60
.5 oz - 13.6 IBU - Phoenix @60
.25 oz - 6 IBU - Comet @45
.25 oz - 7.56 IBU - Dragon @45
.25 oz - 6.3 IBU - Phoenix @45
.25 oz - 5 IBU - Comet @30
.25 oz - 6.3 IBU - Dragon @30
.25 oz - 5.2 IBU - Phoenix @30
.5 oz - 6.5 IBU - Comet @15
.5 oz - 8.2 IBU - Dragon @15
1 oz - Comet @0
1 oz - Dragon @0
1 oz - Comet Dry Hop 2 Days
1 oz - Dragon Dry Hop 2 Days


Yeast: S-05

@AlexKay I took your advice and upped the midnight wheat as well as swapping out the Candi Syrup in favor of the Dark Brown Sugar. My logic here is to play on the flavor characteristics of the different hops.

I wish I could find a resource that has all the hops where I could compare them, YVH doesn't have Styrian Dragon and Beer Mavricks doesn't have a chart for Phoenix. The best I could do was get this (see Image)

Now Im thinking if I want these hops to play with each other I might need to play around with when they are added to get the best characteristics out of each of them. If not that I may have to give up on the Phoenix and think of a different beer to make this them like a Porter or Stout. or ... Just roll with it and see what happens.

@AlexKay Thanks for the help with this .. I'll add you to the label as part crafter and send you a few bottles to see your creativity come to life.

EDIT: after some additional research, I am only going to use the Phoenix as a bittering hop and the Dragon as more aroma. the 30 min hop addition is now that crossover. I feel better about this

 

[bike2brew]

Looking forward to the tasting report