Habenero Porter - suggestions?

[kwbbpc]

I was hoping to get some feedback/suggestions about a porter recipe I've been working up for the winter time. I've got a fresh batch of habenero peppers harvested from my garden, and was wanting to use them in a beer. To avoid overdoing the back-of-the-throat burn, I was planning on striping the seeds and pith out of the habeneros, and roasting the peppers before adding them to primary.


This is for a test batch of 3 gallons:

4 lbs Light DME
1 lbs Crystal 120L
1 lbs Crystal 90L
1 lbs Chocolate
.125 lbs German Smoked Malt (Not sure yet about this addition)

.5 oz Willamette @ 60 min
.5 oz Willamette @ 5 min

yeast:
Something clean like WLP001

Primary:
Roast 2 habeneros in broiling oven until they start to darken. Mince the habenero peppers once cool enough to touch, de-pith and de-seed.
Add habenero sections to primary.


Any thoughts?

 

[Shelly]

5 will be really, really hot! I make a smoked habenero amber ale and I only use 1, and there is plenty of heat

 

[kwbbpc]

Even with removing the seeds and pith?

 

[Shelly]

not sure on that, I just remove the stem and pitch.

 

[kwbbpc]

Yes, just de-stemming and pitching would hurt.

I was hoping to capture the habenero flavor and leave only a bit of the heat. I was wanting to use enough habeneros to get through the malt and be noticed... but I'm not sure how many exactly it would take - having never tried it before.

Could you taste any habenero pepper in your Amber, or was it all heat?

 

[Shelly]

the pepper came through great, blended well with the smoked malt, warm but not hot. I put it in the primary and my plan was to add more to the secondary, but it didn't need it.

 

[smalliewader]

I'm not sure if the delicate apricot like flavor of habanero would even come through in something as strong as a porter. I'd think only the heat would come through from the capsaicin.

 

[kwbbpc]

That's part of the reason why i had chosen to use 5 whole peppers initially, but stripped of the pith and seeds to reduce the burn from the capsaicin.

5 whole peppers would be undrinkable, but I'm hoping de-seeding fixes that and allows for the roasted habenero pepper flavor to show up.

 

[TheMan]

I would go with 3. I don't think it will be too bad. Plus, it's a porter, it can sit and mellow. The heat goes away with age.

I did a jalapeno cream ale with 7 jalapenos (I realize they are not habenero's) and it was great. The roasted flavor comes through well.

 

[usfmikeb]

Heat shouldn't go away with age, as capsaicin is an oil.

 

[kwbbpc]

I wouldn't think that heat would go away with age for the exact reason you stated usfmikeb, but it seems that I've read a lot of reports here of aged pepper beers getting less hot with time. Perhaps the capsaicin is breaking down or losing potency?

 

[Double_D]

Heat shouldn't go away with age, as capsaicin is an oil.

Hop oils break down over time and mellow out in beer is there something different about capsaicin?

 

[smalliewader]

I've read where people say their pepper beers cool down within a few months.

I can report mine has not. I have a Chipotle Chile ale that is a bit over 4 months old now and still the same as when it was 3 weeks old...hot and tasty.

 

[TheMan]

Well, I am talking more than a few months. Close to a year old and there is not much heat coming through my jalapeno cream ale. It slowly died throughout the year.

 

[usfmikeb]

Hop oils break down over time and mellow out in beer is there something different about capsaicin?

This is a good point. However, not all oils are built the same. I grow hot peppers, and use them in a variety of applications, and have never seen them lose potency. With hops, there's a very clear breakdown issue with the oils, especially from oxidization. One can surmise that there's a molecular difference between these oils.

 

[usfmikeb]

Well, I am talking more than a few months. Close to a year old and there is not much heat coming through my jalapeno cream ale. It slowly died throughout the year.

There's heat in a jalapeno?

 

[kwbbpc]

Tasting Results:

I ended up de-veining, roasting and washing about 5 small(er) habeneros. I took most of the membrane out so that the habenero flavor was highlighted without overpowering heat. I kegged it, and it turned out quite good.

Very brief summary:

Appearance:
Dark brown/black, creamy tan head.

Aroma:
Fruity (habenero fruity, if that makes sense), roasty, and a bit spicy.

Mouthfeel:
Creamy and thick, with carbonation that accentuates a bit of the heat.

Taste:
Roasty and slightly fruity, with a hint of smoke in the background.

Aftertaste:
Removing most of the membrane and roasting minimized heat, but it's still a little noticeable in the back of the throat. Roastiness with a background of fruit-like pepper taste (think more like bell pepper taste) and a hint of smoke.



All in all, I'm very pleased with how this one turned out. It's one that I'd say definitely isn't for everyone, but it keeps your palate very well entertained.