Partial - Serrano Chile Beer

**homebeerbrewer** · 06-13-2009, 03:05 AM

Recipe Type: Partial Mash
Yeast: Safale S-0
Yeast Starter: None
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14@66
Tasting Notes: Nicely balanced flavor, with a little bit of a bite at the end.

8 lbs. Light LME
1/2 lb. Crystal
20 Serrano Chiles
2 oz. Centennial Hops
1 oz. Cascade Hops

Steep the grain until boiling. Halve the chiles, leaving the seeds. Boil the LME, chiles, and 1 oz. of the Centennial hops for 30 minutes. Add another ounce of Centennial and boil for another 15 minutes. Add the Cascade for the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Cool as usual, pour into the carboy while straining out the chiles and seeds, then pitch yeast.

Note: I decided to try one of the peppers when I had gotten them all out, which was almost a mistake. They are hot! During the boil, the aroma from the chiles was very interesting. I could feel my eyes wanting to tear, but not enough to actually do so, at least not until I actually ate one.

**weirdboy** · 06-13-2009, 05:50 AM

Wow, 20 chiles? That seems like a lot. How spicy is it?

I had a serrano pepper chile beer recently that was brewed as a regular pale ale and then the peppers were sliced, seeds removed, "sanitized" by soaking in everclear, then added to the fermenter. They said they used 5-6 peppers in that recipe and it was a fantastic beer.

**homebeerbrewer** · 06-13-2009, 12:40 PM

It wasn't very spicy at all. It had a pepper taste up front, and a little heat at the end. I think it was well balanced. I was actually planning on using more, but after halving them, 20 seemed good. I wonder if adding the chilies to the full boil made the difference. I'll have to try it again and add them to the fermentor to see.

homebrewer_99 · 06-13-2009, 01:31 PM

20 chili's??? Your taste buds must be dead.

I make my Seranno CP Beer with only 3 peppers and it's too "spicy" for some people.

**homebeerbrewer** · 06-13-2009, 05:02 PM

Do you put them in the boil?

sundowner · 06-13-2009, 05:54 PM

I put a few in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil and a few in the secondary. I'm with the others tho, 20 serrano peppers?...not for me. Of course I mostly use jalapeno peppers in mine. I tried a few serranos once but didn't like it. I was great for cooking chili and taco meat.

good luck

bherder · 12-31-2010, 12:48 AM

I'm going to brew this on Saturday. I bought 4 poblanos and 20 serranos. I'm going to make a 10 gallon batch though, so I hope it is just right. I like hot stuff though.

**homebeerbrewer** · 12-31-2010, 01:05 PM

I'll have to brew it again, but I didn't think it was too hot. It did have a little heat at the end, but I thought it was well balanced. All of the feedback I received was good too. I also wonder if boiling the chilies for the full hour makes any difference. I guess I'll have to experiment with this.