Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Honey Habanero Cream Ale

[tackett]

Recipe Type

Extract

Yeast

Wlp080 cream ale yeast

Yeast Starter

No

Batch Size (Gallons)

5.5

Original Gravity

1.047

Final Gravity

1.010

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

21.91

Color

5.63 SRM

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 days at 65 D

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

10 days at 60 D

Tasting Notes

Sweet honey, bready, small vegetable flavor. Mild heat.

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Honey Habanero cream ale

Brew Method: Extract
Style Name: Cream Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4 gallons
Efficiency: 35% (steeping grains only)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.047
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV (standard): 4.74%
IBU (tinseth): 21.91
SRM (morey): 5.63

FERMENTABLES:
3.3 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Pilsen - (late addition) (45.2%)
2 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light - (late addition) (27.4%)
1 lb - Brown Rice Syrup - Gluten Free (13.7%)

STEEPING GRAINS:
0.25 lb - Belgian - Biscuit (3.4%)
0.75 lb - Canadian - Honey Malt (10.3%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Saaz for 2 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Aroma (AA 3.5, IBU: 1.35)
1 oz - Tettnanger for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil (AA 4.5, IBU: 20.56)

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.25 oz - Irish moss, Time: 15 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil
2 each - Habenaro peppers, Time: 30 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil

YEAST:
White Labs - Cream Ale Yeast Blend WLP080
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 77.5%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 65 - 70 F
Fermentation Temp: 65 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

PRIMING:
Method: Corn sugar
Amount: 5oz




This is actually my first recepie and I must say I am very pleased with it.

I used honey malt to impart a certain sweetness, and biscuit malt to obtain a bread/wheat flavor.

The fermentables were chosen to hopefully allow the pepper flavor and flavor from the grains to come through. And it functioned perfectly.

The hops were also a great choice, the IBUs are a little high for the style, but I wanted a bit more bitterness than a standard cream ale to help offset, what I assumed would be a pretty sweet brew.

I chopped and roasted the habaneros for 30 min at 350D. Then I put them in vodka for 48 hours before starting on the recepie.

I preboiled 2 gallons of water (since my pot is only 5 gallons.) and set it aside covered.

Then brought 4 gallons to 160 and steeped the grains for 30min. Then removed.

Brought water to a boil, added Tettnanger.
Picked out the habanero pepper flesh and threw them in at 30min
Added whirfloc tablet at 10 min
Added saaz at 2 min.
Added rice syrup and LME at 1 min

Flameout

Then added all the DME.

Cooled wort to 70D
Poured into fermenter and aereated.
Pitched yeast

Primary fermented for 14 days.
Racked to secondary for clarity purposes for 10 days.
Cold crashed for 2 days.
Bottled.




Let me tell you something. This is damn good stuff. The honey malt comes through wonderfully with just the right amount of bready after taste. The fermentables are in the background where they should be. The aftertaste dries out and the heat flares up like a locomotive. POW! After the heat dies down, and it dies fast, you are left with a fresh cut vegetable taste. Almost like a green pepper.


I'm pretty excited how this turned out. Hopefully someone else brews this and gives me some advice.

 

[catdaddy66]

I like the sound of this! I was wondering what the soaking in vodka did for the peppers/beer? Since the peppers were in the boil for 30 minutes the alcohol imparted to them evaporated, so was it for flavor? Does the vodka bring out more heat from the habs?

I am brewing a pale ale tonight and will put peppers in the bottle (maybe in the secondary) as a first attempt. Want to use habenero or serrano, maybe a tabasco pepper. Not sure.

 

[tackett]

Well I was hoping that the vodka would take some of the heat out of the peppers and impart more pepper flavor without making it flaming hot.

 

[sicsoundz]

I varied a bit...
Used 4 jalapenos and 4 serranos (no habaneros available at the time)
Used extra light malt extract (no pilsner at my local shop)
No vodka on peppers

Gotta say... WOW! One of the best beers i have ever had! Proud of myself and proud of tackett! EXCELLENT.

 

[MisterZ]

Hopefully someone else brews this and gives me some advice.

This caught my eye. I love spicy stuff. I have a mixed berry jalapeno mead in progress. I just need the time and an available fermenter. Just curious - Why the decision to add the rice syrup and extracts at the last minute / after flameout?

 

[tackett]

Well. It's just the way I've been brewing. Adding all the fermentables at flameout keeps the color lighter. So if I'm trying to control the color I'll add them this way. Stouts and porters I don't worry about it.

Plus it keeps the mess to a minimum and eliminates boil-overs.

I've never noticed a taste difference between full boil and late addition, but a full boil really does darken the beer significantly.

Let me know how it comes out.

 

[tackett]

I varied a bit...
Used 4 jalapenos and 4 serranos (no habaneros available at the time)
Used extra light malt extract (no pilsner at my local shop)
No vodka on peppers

Gotta say... WOW! One of the best beers i have ever had! Proud of myself and proud of tackett! EXCELLENT.

Thank you for the kind words sir.

 

[MisterZ]

I varied a bit...
Used 4 jalapenos and 4 serranos

Curious how you did the peppers. From making various jams with jalapenos, serranos and habaneros I know that white sugar will eliminate much of the heat. I don't know if the fermentable sugars in beer have the same effect as white sugar. Of course, using the seeds or not makes a huge difference as well. ISo with your 4 and 4, when did you add them, did you include seeds, and how hot would you say it got? I know heat is subjective, just a general idea.... Hoping not to screw this up - just had my first catastrophic failure, and another 5 gallons of beer that tasted like a mix of barley wine, napalm and brake fluid would really make me nuts!

 

[MisterZ]

OK, last question: When you say, "Picked out the habanero pepper flesh" does that mean flesh only and you did not include the seeds? Thanx!

 

[sicsoundz]

Curious how you did the peppers. From making various jams with jalapenos, serranos and habaneros I know that white sugar will eliminate much of the heat. I don't know if the fermentable sugars in beer have the same effect as white sugar. Of course, using the seeds or not makes a huge difference as well. ISo with your 4 and 4, when did you add them, did you include seeds, and how hot would you say it got? I know heat is subjective, just a general idea.... Hoping not to screw this up - just had my first catastrophic failure, and another 5 gallons of beer that tasted like a mix of barley wine, napalm and brake fluid would really make me nuts!

Too funny! Sorry about the brake fluid. I actually find napalm appealing, which is part of what I liked about tacketts recipe to begin with.

So...the peppers...I roasted them at 350 for about an hour in a regular small casserole pan, covered. I basted them with butter, but afterward decided that was probably not a good idea for the sake of drinking fresh, not rotten, beer. Anyway, cooled them overnight, skinned them, de-meated and de-seeded them, added them at about 1/2 hour into boil.

I found the heat to be very mild, but as I said, I find napalm appealing. I think there is more of a pepper or vegetable taste than there is heat. Had the store been stocked with habaneros, I would have used them instead, and will likly search a little harder next time. But then again...the taste of habaneros is not near as nice as jalapenos or serranos. I have also considered doubling the amount of japs/seros to increase the heat. I don't want it to be overboard, obviously, but would like just a little more. I was hesitant about adding as many as I did, but knowing the reslut now, I will likely mod the next batch which is due to start this weekend or next.

The best part of all of this (in a married man's mind) is that my wife LOVES the recipe too. I am pretty new to the homebrew scene, only my 5th batch, but she would not touch any of the others. Kinda nice to have her actually want this beer, but on the other hand, I am starting to hide them so I get more than her.

Good luck!

 

[MisterZ]

The best part of all of this (in a married man's mind) is that my wife LOVES the recipe too.

Good luck!

Yup, I know about that. My wife has finally taken a shine to something I cooked up, and it's a Kolsch that I tweaked a little. So I'll need to whip up another batch of that, and I did promise a co-worker a half batch of the wine of her choice in exchange for all of her wine making equipt. But I'll get to this pepper beer eventually. I'm guessing at 3 each of the Jalapenos and Serranos, but leaving in the seeds and using a boil bag to keep them out of the fermenter. Thanks again for the info.

 

[tackett]

When I picked out the flesh, it included the seeds if they wanted to hitch a ride.

I'm glad everyone is enjoying this recepie. I really liked how sweet the beer turned out. Goes great with the heat.

I'm very proud of this recepie, the peppers need tweaked a little depending on your tastes but the core beer recepie I really like. I may brew a batch with no peppers at all just to see what the cream ale tastes like by itself

 

[MisterZ]

When I picked out the flesh, it included the seeds if they wanted to hitch a ride.

On the topic of how much peppers to add:
I just re-racked a one gal batch of raspberry / blackberry / serrano mead. Two fair size serranos split length-wise and dropped raw into the secondary (with seeds) for one month has it right between warm and hot. Just about right for my taste. Now it's off the fruit and peppers, and it needs to age / mellow out for a few months. Months. Damn. Still undecided on how many peppers to add to a brew. I did see an image of a hot pepper Saison the other day on Google. Interesting.