I've been making chili pepper mead for quite some time. I never had luck with fermenting the chilies at the beginning so I've been adding it at the end with good results -- i.e. I'm pleased with the flavor. The problem is that the various types of chili additions -- powdered, liquid mixes (Tabasco, etc.) -- tend to settle out at the bottom and the bottle has to be tipped back and forth a few times before serving. One thing I've not tired yet is using fresh chilies (maybe whole?) poking them into the secondary and fishing them out after an amount of time based on tastings. Any tips or comments?