Habañero Hopper

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Found this in Popular Mechanics, not my brew but looks like it's a winner. I'm not an IPA drinker, but wondering if anyone has brewed a great habanero ale?

Brewer: Zack Kinney
Style: American IPA with habañero
Competition results: First place in the spice, herb, or vegetable beer category of Hudson Valley Homebrewers 22nd Annual Competition (2012)

All-grain recipe, 5.25-gallon batch size
Original gravity: 1.068
Final gravity: 1.010
Bitterness: 82.3 IBU
Alcohol by volume: 7.7 percent

11 pounds Briess two-row malt
1 pound Briess White Wheat
1 pound Munich malt
1 pound Vienna malt
11 ounces Gambrinus Honey Malt
5 ounces Crystal 20L
.5 ounces Warrior hop pellets (17.2 percent AA)—first wort, 60-plus minutes
1 ounce Centennial hop pellets (8.7 percent AA), 60 minutes
.5 ounces Warrior hop pellets (17.2 percent AA), 15 minutes
1 ounce Citra Hop pellets (13.4 percent AA), 5 minutes
1 ounce Warrior hop pellets (17.2 percent AA), 5 minutes
1 ounce Citra Hop pellets (13.4 percent AA), flameout
1 ounce Citra Hop pellets—dry-hop, seven days
1 ounce Cascade hop pellets—dry-hop, seven days
1 habañero chili pepper (Roast pepper for approximately 3 minutes over an open flame, just enough to get a bit of char on the outer skin. Then cut in half and soak in 46 ounces of vodka for 48 hours to sterilize. Add entire chili to secondary for seven days and reserve the vodka to blend back into the finished beer.)
3 vials of WLP001 California Ale

Mash for 60 minutes at 151 degrees F and mash out for 10 minutes at 168 F. Boil for 60 minutes. When yeasting, use a rocked carboy for about 5 minutes to oxygenate. Add 3 vials of yeast (no starter).

Fermentation: Primary fermentation for three weeks at 68 F. Cold-crash for two days. Rack to secondary and dry-hop/dry-habañero with 1 ounce Citra, 1 ounce Cascade, and 1 habañero chili pepper (pith, seeds, and all) for seven days. Cold-crash again for two days; rack to keg and force carbonate.

 

[m3n00b]

46oz of vodka seems a bit excessive. Are we making a mixed drink here?

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

hey...not my recipe, plus the pepper is soaked in it.,but you do raise a great question

 

[Jasonmsc]

I've done three chili beer batches. I've just used a pale ale all grain kit from Northern Brewer. To it I've added 2-3 Habañero peppers, 3-4 jalapenos, a few serranos, and sometimes a couple mild peppers. I roast all of those and add to the last 15 of the boil. Then I add the same roasted amount to secondary after soaking in vodka, just enough to cover the peppers. I add the peppers and vodka to secondary. It comes out with a pretty good spice and flavor. It is my most popular beer amongst friends and family. I don't think one Habanero is going to do much for spice or flavor.

 

[eastoak]

habanero does not have a tilde on the n. just a little quibble