Stir Fry Rye IPA

I did my Stir Fry Rye IPA on Friday.

This is my schezuan pepper rye IPA. Just so you know, schezuan peppers are not hot, but are very floral and citusy. They are very reminiscent of the American "C" hops. But they do have a strange cooling effect on the tongue and an odd zip of acidity, with a resiny bite.

12# - American 2-row Pale
1# -- American Crystal 40L
2# -- American Rye Malt
1# -- Honey (Flame out)

60 min - 1.25 oz - Simcoe
30 min - 2 oz ---- Ahtanum
5 min -- 1 oz ---- Ahtanum
Dry ---- 1 oz ---- Ahtanum

1 tsp. -- Irish Moss ------ 15 min
5 grams - Schezuan Pepper - 5 min

SafAle US-05

Mash
154F @ 75 min
1.4 qt/lb
Split Batch sparge 175F

Brew house 75%
OG -- 1.072
FG -- 1.015 (Predicted)
ABV - 7.4% (Predicted)
IBU - 68
SRM - 8.5

I might add another 3 grams of Schezuan peppers with dry addition. It depends on the taste. The peppers were just a hint of notability in the wort. It depends on how much of that gets stripped by the off-gassing.

to my taste schezuan pepper corns have a capsicum taste that I'm not sure I'd like in my beer, but I curious to hear how this turns out.

Whoa someone might be selling you the wrong pepper. Schezuan has no heat and is not even related to capsicum peppers.

Here is the Wiki for it.

Sichuan pepper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Check the photo out and see if that is the peppers you have.

I love sichuan pepper/prickly ash; at least in sichuan food.. I'm really interested to hear how this comes out!

Hydro sample after 5 days:

Down to 1.012 (I think I might through some carapils in next time?)

Whoa this thing taste like minute made orange juice, just dryer and quite a bit more bitter.

The schezuan is really holding up, but I think I'll boil bit more, maybe 1 gram when I add the dry hops. I tried several "tea" experiments and a five minute boil really helps to open the flavor of the peppers up. I would have thought it would be quite the opposite, glad I tried that one out.

it think sichuan pepper might work in something like a saison as well...

Oh yeah! (with a Minnesota accent). Definitely in a Saison, or maybe a Wit. It troughs the citrus and the floral way off the chart.

Floral, Citrus, Resin and Spice. Yummm!

I never added the extra peppers, I thought the balance was just right. I had assumed that I would want to add some dextrine malt to the next run, but I do not. It is very well balanced just the way it is. I know it is young for making that decision, but I am experienced in tasting young beers. This one is developing something amazing, I think the added body would kill the complexity.

I will be tinkering with the hop schedule in the next one. I will up the bittering addition slightly and slide the 30 minute to 20 min, and the 5 minute to 2 min.

I will also drop the 2 row to 11 lbs to accommodate my new crush this will bring the OG to 1.075

I think this one might be competition worthy.

Maybe I'll brew this one up for next years long-shot and some local events. :rockin:

Wow, cool! Where do you find sichuan peppers? And in a Wit would you use the same 5g amount (for a 5gallon batch)?

I found a jar in the health/organic food section at Hy-Vee (National Grocer). A local herb shop, or a farmers market, might have some.

I like this place for strange spices. They have a ton of neat stuff for great prices.

Szechuan Peppercorns

I would use between 5 - 7 grams in a five gallon batch. 5 for a mild complexity, 7 for a good hit of flavor. Maybe more, if you are going for a szechuan flavored beer.

Awesome, thanks!

Subscribed and looking forward to some final product pics and reviews.

This is a great beer. It is still very young, but I just cracked a bottle open (8 Days after bottling) and it is amazing. Big, bold and dense, white, rocky head. The OJ taste is gone and there is a pleasant bitter, citrus and floral flavor left with a complex spiciness from the rye and schezuan peppers. Brilliant orange color like a setting sun orange. The lacing is beautiful (like SWMBOs frilly things) and last until it drys onto the glass. Infact, this is the best lacing I have ever seen from any beer I've ever had.

I will post more later, maybe some pictures and an update when this this is properly aged.

This is now my new house ale. I will probably try it with some hops I have better, cheaper access to. Magnum/Amarillo instead of Simcoe/Ahtanum I can get the others at half the cost.

do you get much of the numbing effect from the sichuan peppers coming through in the finished beer?

fastricky said:

Wow, cool! Where do you find sichuan peppers? And in a Wit would you use the same 5g amount (for a 5gallon batch)?

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in NYC you'll definitely be able to find them in any decent sized chinatown grocery

ericm said:

do you get much of the numbing effect from the sichuan peppers coming through in the finished beer?

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No. Just a fleeting barely there tingle on the lips and tongue and then it disappears, not unpleasant at all. Just excellent complexity. The flavor citrus, floral and resin really shine from the peppers.

It's good.

SnickASaurusRex said:

No. Just a fleeting barely there tingle on the lips and tongue and then it disappears, not unpleasant at all. Just excellent complexity. The flavor citrus, floral and resin really shine from the peppers.

It's good.

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sounds pretty awesome, I'm gonna have to try this sometime soon. any modifications to the recipe you posted in the first post that you'd recommend after having tasted it?

Looks pretty cool. Subscribed to try at a later date.

ericm said:

sounds pretty awesome, I'm gonna have to try this sometime soon. any modifications to the recipe you posted in the first post that you'd recommend after having tasted it?

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Yeah I will post that stuff tonight. At work now.

Whew Work is over and no red headed bosses either. :rockin:

Okay! This is the rewrite of the recipe that I used. It was not the one that I had planned, but I am overjoyed that it turned out the way it did. It is all grain so remember to adjust for system efficiency and boil off rate.

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5.5 gal

OG - 1.075
FG - 1.012
ABV - 8.1%
IBU - 69
SRM - 8.4
BU:GU - .92

12# - 73% - American 2-row Pale [EDIT]
1# -- 7% -- American Crystal 40L
2# -- 13% - American rye malt
1# -- 7% -- Honey (Generic Clover) @ Flameout

Mash @ 152F until done ~60 min. Sparge grain bed @ 170F.
Boil 60 min.

1.5 oz - 60 min - Simecoe
2 oz --- 20 min - Ahtanum
1 oz ---- 2 min - Ahtanum
1 oz ---- Dry --- Ahtanum

1 tsp --- 15 min - Irish Moss
5 Grams - 5 min -- Schezuan Peppers (ground fine)

Yeast -- Fermentis US-05
Ferment @ 74F ~7 days, check hydro, (this is internal temp, yes I know it is warm. I used what I had, and I liked it.)
leave for 3 days, check hydro, if same rack to bright.

Dry hop with 1 oz Ahtanum for 10 days.

Knock hops down when necessary.

Bottle after the dry hop. Warm condition for 1 week @ 82F, then store for two more weeks @ room temp.

Chill and enjoy.

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I might make some changes. The only thing I would do is swap a # of 2-row for another # of rye malt. I feel it was there, but it was too much in the background.

I will also use Magnum/Amarillo next time. because it is what I have in bulk.

Again, here is a place to get schezuan: Szechuan Peppercorns

Happy brewing

I might also try this with C60L. Just to add that much more. Ya know what I mean.

That link for the peppercorns says

Usage: For best results, toast and grind before using.

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Did you toast and grind or just boil whole?

Sounds delicious btw!

No I did not toast and grind. I just whired in the blade grinder till it was all dusty.

This beer sounds excellent! I love the creativity.

I've been looking for a Rye IPA recipe that won't be compared to, or be seen as a copy of the outstanding Founder's Red's Rye that is a favorite around my house. The szechuan peppers in this recipe should really differentiate its flavor. I plan on brewing this in the next few weeks.

Can you post a few pictures of this brew?

Yeah! I was planning to crack open a few bottles tonight, but it'll be late. Check back tomorrow.

Here's one: Hope it works

It really is a nice reddish orange, but no good lighting in house.

How does it taste?

Well real delicious. Good soft mouth feel, with a pleasant sweet aftertaste. The hops cut through really well with a great massive floral and citrus flavor. There is some excelent complexity provided by the peppers, and a big dose of resin in the finishing notes.

It really is a keeper.

I plan to try it with some darker crystal and some other hops and maybe more rye, before I finalize my recipe.

An update to my schezuan beer.


After a good month of proper bottle conditioning the beer has lost some of the bright sunset red that it initially had. It is still a very good looking beer but it is a deep golden rust color now. It is just as tasty, even more so now that the green has faded off. I suspect the red came from the schezuan and that it has reacted to the yeast or is mildly oxidized. The flavor has not seemed to drift, just the color. This one is up again in my pipe line and I will be brewing it soon with some minor changes. I'll keep you guys posted.

SnickASaurusRex said:

An update to my schezuan beer.


After a good month of proper bottle conditioning the beer has lost some of the bright sunset red that it initially had. It is still a very good looking beer but it is a deep golden rust color now. It is just as tasty, even more so now that the green has faded off. I suspect the red came from the schezuan and that it has reacted to the yeast or is mildly oxidized. The flavor has not seemed to drift, just the color. This one is up again in my pipe line and I will be brewing it soon with some minor changes. I'll keep you guys posted.

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How did this turn out with amarillo/magnum?