Viper mead

Ew mead on the go today... 1 gallon , 3.5 lbs honey 3 small fiery home grown chillies ( brand not known) and 3 home grown vipers for a kick...

Possibly gonna turn out quite hot.....

If that's what you're aiming for, all power to you.

I'd make it at least medium sweet, if it were mine......

^ seconded. Hope you get some fruit flavour from the peppers, and not just heat.

that seems irresponsible.

fatbloke said:

Possibly gonna turn out quite hot.....

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^understatement of the year.

I did this once with one habenero per gallon in a cyser. It was quite hot and sweet, but you couldn't drink much. I suggest small bottles.

It tasted sweet at first, then nothing in the middle, and finally lots of heat at the end. I would suggest some oak to fill the hole in the middle.

Oak,,, good idea...

Irresponsible ,,,, dunno about that . I recently made one gallon 1 hab and that's nice.... The vipers are home grown by a friend, grown in a pot on his kitchen window in Liverpool uk... They hot as hell but not like the real thing.... Lack of sun lol....

Never been a huge fan of the spicy meads or beers since I got carsick after some jalapeno gummies. Just gives me flashbacks. But all the power to you if your down to drink it all.

Micheal from Moonlight says he only makes what he'd like because if it doesn't sell he has to drink it all.

vetusstimulus said:

Oak,,, good idea...

Irresponsible ,,,, dunno about that . I recently made one gallon 1 hab and that's nice.... The vipers are home grown by a friend, grown in a pot on his kitchen window in Liverpool uk... They hot as hell but not like the real thing.... Lack of sun lol....

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Which was my point before the other fool mentioned "understatement".

We do quite well down here with various chillies, even "Dorset Naga" but I suspect they have more heat potential with better sun etc.....

Just remember, capsaicin is a fatty alkaloid, so it will extract most as the alcohol level rises. Equally its most concentrated in the umbilical, then the seeds. So if you wanted to reduce the heat but still have some, plus the fruit flavour, then remove the seeds and white umbilical part inside and just use the red flesh.......

fatbloke said:

Which was my point before the other fool mentioned "understatement".

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You are absolutely right I am a fool, a fool for agreeing with you.

So how do I go about this oak...

It only a couple of days old and bubbling away...

I like it hot as hell but am gonna remove the vipers after a short time to maintain the sweet sweet honey flavour... The oak sound like a good addition....

Sometimes all you need is a couple days for extraction form peppers.

EAT THE HEAT!! err.. drink the heat? Always game for pepper experiments! How are you planning on adding them?

vetusstimulus said:

So how do I go about this oak...

It only a couple of days old and bubbling away...

I like it hot as hell but am gonna remove the vipers after a short time to maintain the sweet sweet honey flavour... The oak sound like a good addition....

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After you rack to secondary, wait until the mead is drinkable. Once it taste good, add 1 oz of oak cubes (NOT CHIPS, flavor extraction is too damned fast). I would suggest Hungarian medium toast, but American could work as well. After you add the oak, taste every few days until it is where you want it. The oak will die over time, so if you overdo it a little, it will age out. Just don't forget it for a month! Then you will need to age for a long, long time.

When would u guys add the vipers?

personally? never.

Ha ha ha ..... Lol

vetusstimulus said:

When would u guys add the vipers?

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I've never done a hot mead before, but assume beer method would work the same. You have two choices really. 1. Add peppers directly to a secondary - pro: super easy con: control of the heat level and taste is very difficult since even peppers from the same plant can very greatly (crap shoot). 2. Make an extract and add before bottling. Cut peppers into small chunks and soak in a couple ounces of vodka for a week or two, strain peppers off and you are left with a solution you can add "to taste" at bottling time. Con: takes more time Pro: Easily configurable so you can end up with something you like and not so hot its more of a dare to drink rather than enjoyable.

[EDIT] If using mild peppers (jalapeno on down) the secondary method may work out for you, but the extract method is usually preferred for truly hot peppers....

Well this mead is done, bottled last night,

Sitting back enjoying a glass, phew its hot, but very nice,

Its a dry slow drink,

pepper meads make me want to puke, but to each their own.

Wow,
Thats gonna hurt going down AND coming out -

MarshmallowBlue said:

pepper meads make me want to puke, but to each their own.

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Don't be such a wuss

No different from going to the curry shop is it........ one persons Korma is another persons vindaloo (that said, the OP did seem to want to use a fair amount of chilli peppers).....

Plus while its a good "specimen" colour, I'm thinking it might use a bit of filtering for a final polish.......

I did a 5 gal oaked habanero mead many years back, something like 17-18lbs honey, couple ounces of toasted oak in secondary, approx 10 - 12 habaneros (I think in primary, it's been a decade and a half) .....turned out quite strong (17%-ish), relatively sweet, quite warming - perfect winter warmer on a cold cold Detroit winter night