Stupid noob question

Hey guys, I'm fermenting my first batch right now, and an having so much fun with this.
I love beer and I also love spicy things, on my next batch I'd like to combine the two. I had an awesome jalapeno beer in Weed, California, and would like to emulate that, but maybe with habaneros. Is this a totally stupid idea, and if not, when would I add them?
Thanks in advance for the advice, and I have thick skin so don't hold back if I sound like a moron.

Not a moron. People have done it before. Search the forum for pepper beer and ou will get some info.

Will do, thanks!

you can use the search funciton on the forum. Or just google type in hombrewtalk.com (press spacebar) extract pepper beer.

This is just the first link I found, didn't even look at it but this can be done although it is real easy to over do it.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/chile-pepper-beer-80869/

No, certainly not an odd request.

There are plenty of beers with peppers and spices in them.

I'd probably say to add them to secondary, start small and taste it in a few days. I like both spicy and beer, but I'm not a fan of them together so I haven't made it before.

I'd do them in an IPA, myself.. Or a Stout. Take half of one, and maybe add it in the last couple of minutes of the boil.

And/or rack one to a bit of it in secondary. Remember you can add more, but can't take it out!

I made a hot pepper beer really, really early in my brewing career.

Recipe - I took a can-and-kilo Pale Ale kit, fermented according to the instructions (including using the packet of yeast that came with the can...my, how I've changed!), a racked the beer onto crushed jalapenos for a two weeks secondary.

Racked off the peppers at bottling time.

Awesome with grilled anything. Even better if said anything was grilled on a campfire.

The point of this otherwise pointless anecdote: Not a stupid idea, and not difficult. No matter what stage of brewing you're at, this style is in your reach.

I agree with msujack - do a search, there's better recipes than the one I used...but definitely go for it if you want to!

A lot of folks do it, and do it different ways. Some roast the peppers, some don't. Some soak them in vodka to make an extract, then just add the liquid and not the pepper. Some only add the flesh, some include the ribs and seeds.

I'm planning to do a 5-way split batch Smoked Porter with varying degrees of heat (jalapeno, serrano, habanero, ghost, and then all four) some time in the next few months, and I'm still trying to get a good idea on how much to use (I plan on slicing, soaking in vodka, then adding the whole thing, seeds/ribs and all). Seems since people's preference for heat is very subjective, so there's not much agreement.

The only stupid question is, a question not asked...At least that's what I've always been told. Try it, you never know what your going to come up with, that's the fun part of home brewing....experimentation.

I might think about using a different variety of pepper... you get so much spice for so little pepper with habaneros, it'll be hard to get any pepper flavor at all without making it overwhelmingly spicy.

Unless a clean-flavored beer with a ton of capsaicin heat is what you're going for, in which case, carry on...

You guys were awesome. Thanks for all the quick feedback!

I'm thinking the spicier I make it, the less inclined my beer-mooching neighbor will be to stop by and drink a few beers, haha