Firestarter - Bottle
8.9%

Firestarter

Chili Chocolate Ale

Homebrew Series

Paying homage to one of The Prodigy's quintessential songs, "Firestarter" was brewed in collaboration with George J. and it's an instigator! To complement its underlying chocolate flavor, it was additionally infused with both Habanero and Rawit peppers as part of an experimental split batch. Are you fear addicted?

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  • Last brewedMarch 8, 2019
  • Alcohol8.9%
  • MaltsPilsner, CaraAroma, Chocolate, CaraMunich III, Cara-120, Flaked Oats
  • HopsNugget, Glacier
  • YeastLallemand Nottingham
  • ExtrasMadagascar Vanilla Beans, Tanzanian Cacao Nibs, Habanero & Rawit Peppers
Firestarter - Label Design

This beer was probably the first one that didn't start off with a particular style or name in mind, but instead it was fueled by the will to brew beer together with a very good friend of mine, George J. He got me into craft beer and brewing in general, and was in fact the one who originally came up with the whole Hopsylvania wordplay ! Many times we talked about brewing together but somehow never ended up doing it until early 2019. Bouncing ideas back and forth between Munich and Amsterdam, we agreed on a spicy chili theme, and crafted ourselves a chocolate cake inspired beer recipe, but without the extra sweetness you'd expect from your typical dessert stout of this kind. Thus we had ourselves a strong dark ale that used the high-extract capabilities of Pilsner malt as a playground for all of the other character malts, eding up with intense flavors of chocolate, caramel and toffee. Add to that a decent amount of organic Tanzanian cacao nibs and just a hint of vanilla, and you've got yourself a concoction ready to be spiced. Our only challenge at this point was finding the right pepper additions, but after tasting our samples of Habanero and Rawit we decided to run a split batch experiment and try both of them out. Since Habanero was ranking much higher on the Scoville scale, we upped the Rawit quantity which resulted in an intensely chocolaty beer with a well ballanced spiciness that kicks in as differently as the character of the two peppers.

Firestarter - Pencil DrawingFirestarter - Ink IllustrationFirestarter - Digital Print

The Artwork

Needless to say that fire had to be a significant part of the theme in this label design, but what I didn't know was where the rest of the art would take me. In search of inspiration though, I've come to the realisation that not many things are as instigating as the foolish will of one's heart. Out of nothingness it fuels its own fire, scorching anything it touches, ever changing and ever challenging.

Firestarter - Artwork
Firestarter - Outdoor View
Pitztalerjoch in Pitztal • 2,996m
Tyrolean Alps, Austria

Availability

This is a homebrewed beer that is not available for sale or distribution of any kind. It was brewed at home in small quantities to be shared only with family and friends, simply out of passion for the craft and as a tribute to the music that inspired it.

  • Non-commercial
  • No selling
  • No distribution

Merchandise

If you dig the label artwork and would like to get your hands on some merch that features it, then check out the Hopsylvania web shop and snoop around for something you might like. All orders and manufacturing handled by Spreadshirt.

Gear up!
Firestarter - T-Shirt

Other Beers

Check out some of the other things I brewed that might be similar to this one, or alternatively just explore the full range regardless of their style.

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