I’m interested in adding some spicy kick to my next brew, and was wondering if anyone had any tips for adding chili peppers to their brews. Currently, I have a bunch of dried Habanero peppers, but I could conceivably go for other ones. Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers!
I would highly recommend doing a tincture!
For 6 oz of extract, usually enough for 10 gallons depending on spice level, use 6 oz Vodka (something decent, but not too expensive) add in your peppers (I like extra spicy so I think last time I did like 6? Habaneros In the jar) and shake every now and then for about 4 days. Strain out the peppers and toss the jar in the freezer. If there’s any crud at the top that froze over scoop it out and toss it. Then add that to your beer.
I prefer using tinctures since it gives you a lot more control, what I’ll do is pour 1-2 oz of beer into a glass and add in a few ml of the tincture. (Mixing imperial and metric units, I know) until I find the spice level I like. Once I know how many ml for 1-2oz of beer I’ll extrapolate that out and do math for a 640oz (5gal) batch and add that much in to my keg. I like this method since it gives you a lot more control and repeatability than just tossing peppers into secondary (some might be super spicy some might be duds, etc). One other thing: I don’t know if I’m crazy and I’ve wanted to test it but I’ve been busy, I find dehydrated peppers add in more heat than fresh peppers, not sure why though, maybe it’s just in my head lol.
I use peppers for mead a lot. Usual drill: throw them after bubbling slows down or the smell will bubble away.
A couple of good, ripe habaneros is good for 5L. Don’t use scorpions, they add sting but no other flavor, while habaneros are quite flavorful.
Capsaicin does not have any notable effect on yeast, it’s neurotoxin, after all.
I have done it twice, with dried chili flakes.
First, we steeped various concentrations in water to try and find the right amount of heat. It won’t replace actual beer, and tastes like ass, but it’s a usable proxy. I tasted with friends with different heat tolerance and we found out that with the chilis we were using, 2g/l was the right amount. They were pretty mild Espelette peppers fyi.
Then we added the flakes at flameout and left them during fermentation.
The beer itself was great. It was a classic tripel, where the bell-peppery notes actually shone without taking front stage and played well with the sweetness. The heat was discreet as first, but there was a cumulative effect with every sip that made it seriously hot halfway down. It was amazing.
We tried to replicate it last year but it wasn’t as good or hot.
Is this for beer?
I’ve brewed a lot of wine with a lot of ingredients but chile pepper isn’t something I’ve tried adding yet.
A little goes a long way with any flavor, a single vanilla bean or half a cinnamon stick completely changes the flavor, so the only practical advice I can offer is to start small.
I was wondering about the capsacin affecting the yeast, but plenty of people online are saying they cut the peppers in half and throw them in, and I’ve had any number of spicy brews and wines, so it must not be too much of an issue.
Yeah, it’s for beer. I’m thinking a Vienna or Amber Lager with some heat to it, just for lols.
Cool, sounds like a fun why-not.
Green chili beer is a thing in New Mexico. I tried some a long time ago, back in the days when decent beer was still non-existent in the states. And it was quite nice. So if you ever pass through NM then it’d be worthwhile to see if any breweries would share their knowledge.
(edit) I also tried red chili beer from the same brewery. The green chili was much better, which is also what I find with chili in food.
Christmas!
