Hot Pepper brewers.....

[smalliewader]

Who's brewed a few of these? I attempted my first a few weeks ago. Simple cream ale with 4 Chipotles added just before flame out. Tasting the sample before pitching it had a nice smoked jalapeño hit in the nose, slight fruity pepper flavor and heat right at the back of the tongue that didn't linger.

Racked to secondary two weeks later just to get it off the skins and seeds. It's lost that fruity pepper flavor and the heat is more intense, but not back of the tongue, it's now in the throat after a good taste of the beer. The heat does not linger either, which is good.

What typically happens to your pepper beers as they age? Do they mellow with age? Get hotter? I'm really curious to see where this finishes...... So far I'm happy with it, but I love hot peppers. Should pair awesome with some bbq in a frozen pint glass.

 

[Airborneguy]

I brew a porter with chilis that my boss gives me from his garden. The heat varies obviously based on how well the chilis grow year to year, but I try to taste them before brewing and judge it as best I can to keep it consistent.

I put 2-3 in the fermentor after fermentation has slowed or even stopped. I leave them in for about a week and take them out when I keg.

I've always gotten a sharp, but not overpowering heat in the back of the throat that quickly fades unless you are chugging the beer. Overtime, it fades in the keg, but the keg never lasts long enough for it to completely go away. This year, I am planning on leaving 1 chili in the keg to keep the heat around longer.

 

[usfmikeb]

Are you using the peppers fresh, or are you drying them first?

 

[Airborneguy]

Fresh. I just clean them and cut the tops off.

 

[smalliewader]

Mine I smoked whole, fresh from the garden. It really brings the heat out of jalapeños and adds a great smoke flavor. I freeze them for cooking all winter. I just cut the top off and split down the middle when I added them to the boil.

 

[smalliewader]

I was thinking of adding a strip of fresh cut Anaheim Chile to each bottle....... Any thoughts? Not for heat, but to try to get the fruit pepper taste back.

 

[Airborneguy]

If you add it to the bottle, it's going to be very strong. I don't know that particular chili's properties, but keep that in mind.

 

[smalliewader]

Thanks for the input...... Maybe I'll try it in a few bottles to test it. If it's good, I have something to roll with for the next batch.

 

[Airborneguy]

You should try to cut up different sizes to see which bottles are closer to your preferred taste. I usually keg this beer, since I know I like it, but I might try this in bottles in the future with half the batch.

 

[DarkBrood]

I do a lot of various cooking and preserving with hot peppers (check out my cooking oils described at http://www.digitalgibson.com/GibsonGardens). A couple of notes on this discussion:

The main thing to remember with hot peppers is that, like the bitterness in hops, the heat comes from an acid (capsaisin). When using hot peppers, you need to bear in mind the very high acidity and its effects on your pH at various points in the brew process. Capsaisin is essentially an oil, so (again, like hop bitterness) it concentrates from boiling. It also needs the proteins, etc. in the wort/beer to bind to (oil stays separated in water). I've heard of them being added to the mash, along with bittering hops, along with flavor hops, as well as adding to the fermentation.

Drying, smoking, or roasting your peppers and adding to fermentation will give you an additive that is much more repeatable than fresh peppers during the mash/boil, but you will lose that fresh "fruitiness".

To add the fruitiness back without the heat, you would need to add them to the secondary (don't add to the bottle - too high a risk of contamination with long-term storage).
Separate the capsaisin by cold-steeping the sliced peppers:
1: slice them lengthwise into several strips
2: remove the seeds and white pith
3: boil 1/4 cup of water and add a teaspoon of corn sugar or honey
4: cool water to less than 50 degrees F
5: place pepper slices in sterilized jar and add just enough water to cover
6: store in fridge overnight
7: allow to warm to same temperature as fermenter
8: drain water and add peppers to secondary for 3-7 days (by taste)

Theoretically, any vegetal additions should be pasteurized by holding at 160 degF for 10 minutes, but that will still be warm enough to drive off some volatile aromas and flavors. I find that it takes a while for the jar to warm up enough to math the fermenter (I do mostly ales). If there are any rogue yeasts or other critters present, they will generally show themselves during this warm-up due to the sugar addition providing food for them. If your water is still relatively clear, unclouded, and without sediment, then go for it! (the peppers will release some pectins and such, so note the appearance while still chilled to compare)

 

[smalliewader]

Great info, thanks.