Why put peppers in beer? Why? No really, why?

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
TNGabe

TNGabe

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2012
Messages
6,657
Reaction score
2,294
Why? Beer is good. Peppers are good. Peppers and many, many other foods are good. Peppers and beer are good. Beer with peppers in it is horrible. I know this is all subjective. Obvisouly lots of people disagree with me. HBT could probably start a pepper beer sub forum.

So pepper beer brewers, unite. Tell me why you brew it and what appeals to you about your beloved pepper beers.
 
IPA + habanero = epic

The mix of bitterness, & citrus flavor/aroma from a properly balanced IPA; coupled with and a bit of heat/flavor from the habanero is wonderful.
 
Think hops-ibu's but SU-(scovie units?-i think it is) I like em on about the same level,like where you can still taste things. I like hot sause but I like my mouth to not be numb and still taste everything else as well. And I dont like hiccuping-for some reason this happens to me with some peppers.So I stick to the jalepeno's (but these can seem hotter sometimes)or cayenne peppers.Maybe a little ghost pepper or habenero but they can just overtake everything including your underware maybe.
 
Sculpin Habanero IPA is fantastic and I'd love to brew a clone. When are the peppers typically added? During boil, primary or secondary?
 
Revvy said:
Mexican Chocolate + Porter + Peppers = Chocolate Mole Porter (Also epic.)
Click to expand...

This. When done right peppers add a fruity and smokey flavor to malt forward beers is delicious. IMO dried chiles in malt forward beers are the best way to incorporate chiles in beer.
 
Ran face-first into a light Mexican-type beer with a whole jalapeno in the bottle. You could only tasted the heat. It was just painful. I guess it was in there 'cuz someone thought it was cool, like, are you tough enough for this.

Perhaps with good balance, and esp. with chocolate, hot pepper would be great. This one was not. Meh, sometimes you hit the wrong key.
 
Brewed an amber ale with jalapeno. While I think it's good, I'm also not the biggest fan but my wife thinks it's the best beer ever. Keeping her happy makes it easier for me to commandeer the kitchen for brewing, so yes, I guess it truly is the best beer of all time.
 
Epimetheus said:
Ran face-first into a light Mexican-type beer with a whole jalapeno in the bottle. You could only tasted the heat. It was just painful. I guess it was in there 'cuz someone thought it was cool, like, are you tough enough for this.

Perhaps with good balance, and esp. with chocolate, hot pepper would be great. This one was not. Meh, sometimes you hit the wrong key.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's not a good example...

BrewBear76 said:
Sculpin Habanero IPA is fantastic and I'd love to brew a clone. When are the peppers typically added? During boil, primary or secondary?
Click to expand...

Here ya go...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/habanero-ipa-360249/
 
Are these have a half pint with dinner 'condiment' beers or do you have a few pints?
 
I haven't brewed any beers with peppers, but have had a couple with peppers. The results can either be fantastic or terrible. first one I had was a cream ale with just a hint of pepper heat, and it seemed to bring out the flavor of the beer and was very good. the other was a chipotle pale ale that had so much pepper, you might as well have just been biting into a chipotle by itself. the heat overpowered everything, and it was terrible. maybe if you just like heat you would like it, but I couldn't taste much of the beer, and that ruined it for me. so I guess it boils down to balance. don't over do it with the peppers.
 
Because everything is better with fire.

Some time next year, I'm gonna do 5 gallons of smoked porter, that'll get split into separate 1 gallon secondaries. One gets jalapeno, one gets serrano, one gets habanero, one gets ghost chili, and one gets all 4. Still working on the exact amounts for pepper additions.

I got a bottle of Twisted Pine Ghost Face Killah on a swap a while back. Quite enjoyed it. I'm intrigued to try Elevator's Ghost Scorpion (if it's still brewed, I don't know).

Balanced pepper beers are for wimps :D
 
The jalepeno ale I made had good raw veg jalepeno flavor,but lacked the heat. Its not always about burn,I seriously could taste actual jalepeno pepper veg taste rather than heat with mine,which I was slightly dissapoited-only by lack of heat. So like late hopping do the same with peppers add them last 10 min and go by how hot.Guess you do have to know 'how much"- well I use about 1 large one small for a 1.5 gallond batch if that helps. MIne just were not hot enough, I just got a nice real-jalepeno flavor to it though. Im really glad I brewed mine also,its a good beer-just not packing much heat-oh well-next time.
"
 
I love to make chili with pepper beers as well as stews and even soups.
I enjoy a pint or two of a well balanced pepper beer as well.

The key to it is balance.
 
I make a great Green Chile Agave blonde ale. Even got a bronze medal for it. The judge even commented that he loved the beer because he felt that he could drink more than one and not be burned out on the chile flavor. My friends also love it!!
 
We love pepper beers because were pepper heads. I grow my own Trinidad Scorpions and I love the feeling of my mouth burning like hell until Im teary eyed. Peppers, hot sauces, and spicy foods is a bigger scene and hobby(per say) than most people realize. I also feel if done right in a beer, the combination of flavors are great and provide a nice change up to a style of beer.

AZ_IPA said:
IPA + habanero = epic

The mix of bitterness, & citrus flavor/aroma from a properly balanced IPA; coupled with and a bit of heat/flavor from the habanero is wonderful.
Click to expand...


Totally agree.... The citrusy floral qualities of Habanors perfectly match the qualities of a hoppy IPA.


jonmohno said:
Think hops-ibu's but SU-(scovie units?-i think it is) I like em on about the same level,like where you can still taste things. I like hot sause but I like my mouth to not be numb and still taste everything else as well. And I dont like hiccuping-for some reason this happens to me with some peppers.So I stick to the jalepeno's (but these can seem hotter sometimes)or cayenne peppers.Maybe a little ghost pepper or habenero but they can just overtake everything including your underware maybe.
Click to expand...

Hiccups are your bodies way of trying to reject the food because of the heat. Your stomach is actually trying to make you puke in defense but your body makes you hold it down. Young kids will actually puke because their body cant handle it. The higher your tolerance for spicy food the less likely you are to get hiccups.
 
I made a hot peppered cream ale and added a bunch of mangos, some strawberries and other tropical fruit. It was called the Ricky Ricardo because it was supposed to be a hot cuban ale. The heat and sweetness of the fruit when well. I wish I had better notes about it.
 
Epimetheus said:
Ran face-first into a light Mexican-type beer with a whole jalapeno in the bottle. You could only tasted the heat. It was just painful. I guess it was in there 'cuz someone thought it was cool, like, are you tough enough for this.

Perhaps with good balance, and esp. with chocolate, hot pepper would be great. This one was not. Meh, sometimes you hit the wrong key.
Click to expand...

Here's a great example of why when it comes to peppers or many other flavors, what one man hates is another mans treat.

I can't imagine a jalapeno making something too hot. Fresh Jalapeno's are something you eat like candy.

I haven't made pepper beer yet, but I don't plan on starting with the ratio of a jalapeno per beer when I do.
I may end up there, but I haven't had pepper beer yet so I'm going to start off a little lighter than that.
 
45_70sharps said:
Here's a great example of why when it comes to peppers or many other flavors, what one man hates is another mans treat.

I can't imagine a jalapeno making something too hot. Fresh Jalapeno's are something you eat like candy.

I haven't made pepper beer yet, but I don't plan on starting with the ratio of a jalapeno per beer when I do.
I may end up there, but I haven't had pepper beer yet so I'm going to start off a little lighter than that.
Click to expand...
Well especially with peppers, the heat can vary from one jalapeno to the next (or any other pepper) its something u gotta decide on qhile making it and taste your ingredients.
 
I have made a few brews that had black peppercorns in them and I like them plenty good, so have most others. Maybe this is included, maybe it is not.

Lucky for me I have a nightshade allergy; that means I can eat no potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant or any variation of them. Lucky me it gets worse in the winter so I can not even eat deep fried foods, unless I do it at home, because of all the potatoes that were cooked in the frier before my food got there.

So when I say "I can't drink your beer/wine because it has nightshades in it." please do not get upset. The worst part is I REALLY used to love hot spicy foods...
 
I make a smoked porter with a hint of chipotle...comes out very nice when the peppers aren't overdone.
 
A local brewery here makes a fantastic Jalapeno Pale Ale. Not a lot of heat but tons of flavor. I tried something like it and even with my novice brewing abilities it came out surprisingly well.

I had a buddy do serrano pepper porters and it came out fantastic - I think he even got a medal for it at a competition.

After I perfect a pale ale recipe I'm working on one of the first things I want to do is experiment with different peppers for secondary.

So I guess to answer your question of "why?" - it's fun and it makes an awesome beer. Why add chocolate? Why add vanilla? Why add oak chips? It's all the same.
 
Man I wish I didn't live in a virtual craft beer wasteland.
We can get a very few around here, but everyone is always talking about so many styles and brands of beers and I can't try any of them!

I would love to try anywhere from one to a half dozen pepper beers before I make some just to get some ideas of how the heat and flavor come through, what feels overpowering.
It's going to be strictly trial and error.
To make it better, being able to find specific peppers that I want is pure luck at our one local store.
 
Peppers in beer are great, some people know how to make them better than others.
I have made a Jalapeno cream ale that has won many awards that i just love to drink.
Ring of Fire by Dragon Mead is a killer beer.
 
KeyWestBrewing said:
We love pepper beers because were pepper heads. I grow my own Trinidad Scorpions and I love the feeling of my mouth burning like hell until Im teary eyed. Peppers, hot sauces, and spicy foods is a bigger scene and hobby(per say) than most people realize. I also feel if done right in a beer, the combination of flavors are great and provide a nice change up to a style of beer.




Totally agree.... The citrusy floral qualities of Habanors perfectly match the qualities of a hoppy IPA.




Hiccups are your bodies way of trying to reject the food because of the heat. Your stomach is actually trying to make you puke in defense but your body makes you hold it down. Young kids will actually puke because their body cant handle it. The higher your tolerance for spicy food the less likely you are to get hiccups.
Click to expand...

I disagree that tolerance means you won't hiccup. I add peppers to almost everything I eat, besides drinks and desserts. Sometimes certain peppers make me hiccup even when I don't think the dish is particularly spicy.

As to the peppers in beer thing. I keep the two separate. Don't see a need to add pepper flavor to beer.
 
Gameface said:
I disagree that tolerance means you won't hiccup. I add peppers to almost everything I eat, besides drinks and desserts. Sometimes certain peppers make me hiccup even when I don't think the dish is particularly spicy.

As to the peppers in beer thing. I keep the two separate. Don't see a need to add pepper flavor to beer.
Click to expand...

The tolerance and hiccups thing is an observation I have made from eating super hots and something my friend that trains for super hot pepper eating competitions noticed. I also mentioned that hiccups are your stomachs way of trying to make you stop eating whatever's so spicy and reject the food. Eat raw Trinidad Scorpions and Bhut Jolokias(800,000-1,100,000 scoville)then eat some habaneros. Once you get used to eating crazy high scovilles, peppers of only 200,000 scoville like habaneros won't even come close to giving you hiccups anymore. At that point eating peppers like jalapenos (2,500-8,000SU) is like eating candy.
 
I have never had a pepper beer and while it doesn't sound good I didn't really like the thought of chocolate stout or porter until I tried one and it was pretty good so I would try it. I have thought of making a small batch of pepper wine or beer for cooking.
 
Ugh. Not a fan. The only way I'll drink another is with tomato juice. A good bloody beer in the morning is spectacular. So to each his own, I guess.
 
I remember cave creak chili beer that I tried once 20 years ago. It was too hot to be fun to drink. And that comes from a blair's 3am fan. I do love habaneros though and the right dose might be an idea.
 
granpooba19 said:
Forgive my ignorance, but is the beer spicy because of the pepper, or does it just have the flavour?
Click to expand...

Technically it being spicy or tasting like peppers dont have to be one in the same. You can have a lot of capsaicin in the beer which would make it spicy but it not taste like peppers. Or have a good pepper flavor with little to no heat. Or you can have both.
 

Similar threads

Clint Yeastwood
Can you Make a Really Good Lager with Corn?
Replies
15
Views
1K
DuncB
D
D
My liver getting a 2nd fermentation !
Replies
4
Views
502
Drunken Monkey
D
seatazzz
Hiatuses.
2
Replies
47
Views
2K
mac_1103
mac_1103
iiizuluiii
Newcomer question on 2nd batch
Replies
6
Views
578
redrocker652002
R
flipster
Hello from the Bavarian alpine foothills
Replies
14
Views
551
flipster
flipster

Latest posts

Back
Top