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**bovineblitz** · 04-09-2010, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThinkinDavid

So here is what I decided on for my Belgian Chili Ale.
O.G. 1.055
F.G. 1.010

After racking to secondary I steeped 5 dried Guajilo peppers (just under an ounce) 4 grams of Ancho Powder and 1 gram of Cayenne powder at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minuets. Since the tea ball was to big to fit into the carboy, of course, I wrapped the powder in the cheese cloth and then tied it up, making a little cheese cloth sack. Then threw all the chiles, powder sack, and steeped water into the secondary. I plan to let it sit for about three weeks but I will taste it every week to see just how flavorful and hot it is.

Very cool, can't wait to hear how it turns out.

**bovineblitz** · 04-10-2010, 08:47 PM

Brewed today!

I went with a simple pale ale recipe but with Northern Brewer hops (0.75@60min, 0.25@20min), was thinking the earthiness will go well with peppers. Used 1lb candi sugar to lighten the body as I was thinking this should be a lighter refreshing beer. Wound up with an OG of 1.048. Pitched S05 at about 68 degrees.

Now I'll wait about a week and rack to my 1gal secondary bottles and add the peppers!

nealf · 04-10-2010, 08:55 PM

I did a batch of BM's centennial blonde and racked 1 gallon of it onto a serrano and it was quite hot. I entered it into a local competition and it pulled out a 38 (very good score, IMO) but did not get a medal. I don't know if I will make anything like it again... but, it was interesting!

**Reno_eNVy** · 04-10-2010, 09:09 PM

Seems like a great idea to me! I've had beers with only one kind of pepper (either jalapeno, habanero or ancho) and they were excellent. I'm interested to hear how the 5x action worked out. Looking forward to updates! Don't forget pics

**bovineblitz** · 04-13-2010, 03:29 PM

Mini-update! Tues, 4/13, day 3 of fermentation:

The brew is fermenting away! It is going crazy, lots of motion on the carboy. It's about 68 degrees in my apartment and I've been keeping it cool with the 'wet t-shirt and fan' method hoping to avoid any overly estery or off-flavors.

I plan on racking it onto the peppers either Friday or Saturday.

brew2you · 04-17-2010, 02:46 AM

I just did a chili beer. In a five gallon batch there was four different types of peppers. I used 1 whole habanero in the fermenter and you could definitely taste it. It puts a zing on the tongue and I like hot stuff. I would really be careful with those. Great flavor addition but I could see where it can get out of control.

**bovineblitz** · 04-20-2010, 05:58 PM

Today I racked to the secondaries! It's day 10 of fermentation and the beer is looking pretty clear. The krausen looked like it hadn't fallen yet but it was just stuck to the sides, so I was giving it an extra couple days. Turned out pretty dry, 1.012, and tastes pretty good... I'll admit, I finished the whole amount I took out for a hydro reading.

It wound up being just about where I wanted it.

After sanitizing my secondaries and supplies, I started by roasting the serrano pepper in a pan on medium high. When it was fairly blackened, I put it in a covered bowl for about 10min. It smelled great!

Then, I put on some lab gloves (a must have when working with habaneros), sprayed my work area with a bit of star san and spread it with my gloves, and took out the rest of the peppers. I cut the ancho into a couple of strips since it was too big to fit through the top of the jug. I picked out a medium-sized habanero and cut it into about quarters (as best I could, it kind of exploded)... whole pepper would've been suicidal. I used 1 pepper for everything but the habanero and didn't de-seed any of them. The pepper I didn't cut I poked with the end of my paring knife to be sure the insides were exposed to the beer.

Habanero - Ancho - Panca - New Mexico - Serrano

Amounts:
Serrano - 9.4g fresh, pre-roasted
Habanero - 1.5g whole, only used 0.4g
Ancho - 9g
Panca - 8.4g
New Mexico - 6.6g

Then, I simply racked to the 1 gallon containers (actually, four 1 gallon containers and two growlers). It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, I just pinched the hose when I wanted the flow to stop. The hardest part was actually seeing the liquid level in the amber bottles. I had exactly 5 gallons so the batch size was perfect at 5.5gal.

Finished!

McKBrew · 04-20-2010, 06:12 PM

Very cool. I think you should video a sampling of each beer starting with the mildest pepper. It could be very entertaining.

Seriously though, I hope you end up with 5 good beers.

TheCrowsNest · 04-20-2010, 06:13 PM

I was actually thinking about brewing one of these this monring and I'm excited to see a discussion on it! I love the thought of a big, bad pale ale pumped full of heat.

I know peppers have a considerable amount of oils in them. What kind of effects will these have on head retention? Do dried/crushed/powdered peppers solve this problem?

beerjunky828 · 04-20-2010, 11:00 PM

Subscribed! This is great