Any advice on making spicy (as in spicy hot) meads?

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UncHellMatt

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Cheers folks.

I just came into possession of a bag filled with Indian ghost peppers (AKA Bhut Jolokia, 1,041,427 SHU), and while most I'll use in chili and some curries, I got the idea to try some out in a relatively sweet mead. These are dried peppers, and I'm curious if anyone has advice on how to introduce the peppers to mead: In the must, or boil in water then mixed with honey, added to the fermenting carboy, ...?

A while back I was given a taste of some spicy mead at a small meadery in Portland ME, and it was quite tasty though not something I'd call particularly hot. I figure as long as I have these lovelies, I might as well do something fun beyond just cooking!
 
I would make sure you've tried the peppers before you make a mead with them, those are some nasty peppers you have there, it would be really easy to over do it! I'm actually growing some dorset nagas at home and have no idea what to do with them so would be interested to know what you end up doing! I would start with a tiny amount at the start and taste after fermentation and see if it needs any more at that point and add only realy, realy small amounts at a time.
 
Last night I just couldn't resist and took a nibble. Mind you, I go into Indian restaurants and essentially tell them "Make it hot for me like you would a Pisano", often getting looks like I must be a crazy American who has no idea what he's getting himself into.

It was like pouring molten lava in my mouth. I was in heaven.
 
It sounds like this won't be an issue for you, but make sure that you like how chillies/peppers smell and taste. I tried making a jalapeno capsicumel last July after reading the below thread on a habanero one. And it turned out OK, but the nose and taste is all pepper with no heat whatsoever. I'm going to save a bottle to see what it's like in another year or so, with any luck the honey will come back (it finished dry, .996 I think, which may be part of the problem) and the heat will develop.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/habanero-capsicumel-60272/
 
It sounds like this won't be an issue for you, but make sure that you like how chillies/peppers smell and taste. I tried making a jalapeno capsicumel last July after reading the below thread on a habanero one. And it turned out OK, but the nose and taste is all pepper with no heat whatsoever. I'm going to save a bottle to see what it's like in another year or so, with any luck the honey will come back (it finished dry, .996 I think, which may be part of the problem) and the heat will develop.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/habanero-capsicumel-60272/

AH! Thanks very much for that link!

I do like the taste of peppers, however that's why I was going to go for fairly sweet, high alcohol, say 36oz mesquite honey per gallon and a champagne yeast.
 
I loosely based my current Habanero off of that thread :D. Though I went with about a pound less honey and 3 habaneros, actually I just tasted it last night and its great! The current sweetness does cut down the heat though, but I plan to leave the peppers in the whole time, and will just cut it with my plain mead I'm doing if it ends up too spicy (but I'm thinking it still might not be enough).

I'm very interested in your results because I love spicy stuff, and want to try more capsicumels but am unsure about which peppers, personally don't like Jalapenos too much, they have heat but their "flavor" isn't something I like much of not that it stops me from loading them into food :p. I was thinking of trying the Thai chilies next, but might stick with the habaneros if it comtinues to impress me. I'm interested in doing a spicy mango mead, love those Mexican lollipops, and I might be able to get some avocado honey soon (which I think should go well with capsicumels).
 
Oh indeed, I'll post what I use for a recipe and some pics.

Actually I decided I'll use a few for something else. I figure I'll take a bottle of cheap, not too flavorful vodka, pour that into a jug with a few handfuls of of raspberries, some dark chocolate, and a couple of those peppers. Steep it for about 60 days or so, strain and bottle. Maybe add a little simple syrup. I figure the results will be something quite tasty just before your face spontaneously combusts.
 
I'm concidering doing a capsicumell at some point (though not yet, other things to make first!), I was vaguelly thinking of using "roquito", but it's a brand name, and no one seems to know what they actually are! Maybe Rocotillo, but it's realy hard to tell, either way, they are really sweet peppers that still have enough heat behind them. Maybe a couple of those along with half a scotch bonnet would do the trick.
 
My girlfriend has done a number of capsumels. She has used Habenero, Thai Hot, and Bhut Jolokia. The habenero has become a signature item at local beer festivals and homebrew events when our club serves and has a fairly rabid following. When she gets home, I'll see if I can get her to come comment and offer a bit of advice.
 
All you need to do is cut up your peppers and drop them in when before you pitch your yeast. I just tasted some Habenero Mead that we made during my big barleywine and mead brew day in September. We just bottled the habanero and the brochet (burnt mead.) The mead made with 50 year old honey turned to vinegar.

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All he did was slice one or two up and drop the pieces in.

He did a gallon seeded and one with the seeds left in, and the ones with the seeds removed was less hotter and a little more "fruity" tasting. It's not my scene, it was fun to taste but it was pretty much a novelty. I couldn't see myself drinking more than an ounce or so straight. It's a nice novelty but unless it was mixed in a mixed drink or something, it's not something I would drink a lot of.
 

Here is the pic I took when making my Habanero Cap, I put 3 cut in half, removed seeds (so when i rack/bottle they aren't annoying) but tried to leave some veins.

Sorry for my stupid shaky pic!
 
Hey, I've brewed some chilibeer using chilipeppers about a year ago, and i must warn you: Take it REALLY easy on the peppers, whichever drink you are making. My chilibeer contained only 2 or 3 peppers in 10L, and it came out so hot 'n spicey, it's impossible to drink more than one sip!
 
Last night I just couldn't resist and took a nibble. Mind you, I go into Indian restaurants and essentially tell them "Make it hot for me like you would a Pisano", often getting looks like I must be a crazy American who has no idea what he's getting himself into.

It was like pouring molten lava in my mouth. I was in heaven.

No. They were giving you looks cause they don't understand what Italian has to do with Spicy food.
 
I do a Habanero mead and use 9 peppers per 5 gallon batch. The Thai Chili mead I did was 12 peppers in 1 gallon and the ghost pepper mead I used around 3 peppers in a one gallon batch.

The meads are very spicy and VERY popular at the beer festivals we go to.

I have added pepper both when I pitched yeast and in secondary and it hasn't made a bit of difference.

I freeze the peppers first to rupture the cell walls. That helps bring out the flavor of the pepper, not just the heat. Each pepper has a different flavor and you can really tell the difference between them.

And I ALWAYS leave the seeds in.
 
I'm a hothead myself, grow superhots at home and make my own sauces. However, I'd go sparingly with the dried jolokias, or the smokey flavor will likely overpower any of the sweet notes of the mead. I think fresh peppers might be better for a capsicumel.

However, I've been thinking about doing a pepper vodka, and think the dried pnes will be perfect for that.

I've got a pound of dried jolokias downstairs, most of them will get mixed into sauces, but will probably make a vodka soon.
 
Sorry for the tangent here, but any good recipes for the sauces? Never made a sauce and need to do something with my nagas when they're ready!
 
No. They were giving you looks cause they don't understand what Italian has to do with Spicy food.

hehehe, I was kidding on the pisano :) I generally just tell them not to worry, that I like it as hot as any of them can eat it. Several times chefs have actually come out and admitted they made it hotter just to bust my chops, only to have me complimenting them if it was well made. Just spicy does not a good vindaloo make!

Thanks everyone for the advice on how to implement the peppers. I think I'm going to hold off on using the dried peppers because, as noted by usfmikeb, I've been reading that the dried ones impart a very smokey flavor. I might use a few chunks in there, but will try and get the most fresh hot peppers I can find, most likely habanero.

Insomniac, I'll dig up my recipes for Indian style sauces and get them to you. One was emailed to me by some women who make YouTube videos called "Show Me The Curry", and the other given to me by my downstairs neighbor's mom. One is a more Goa Indian style vindaloo, and the other a Mirchi Ka Salan, a sesame peanut sauce that's just brilliant.
 
hehehe, I was kidding on the pisano :) I generally just tell them not to worry, that I like it as hot as any of them can eat it. Several times chefs have actually come out and admitted they made it hotter just to bust my chops, only to have me complimenting them if it was well made. Just spicy does not a good vindaloo make!

I agree. My wife is Malay and I often put her to shame with my heat tolerence. A nice, super spicey, Beef Rendang (prepared properly) hits the spot everytime.

Anymore, there isn't much I eat that isn't adulterated with some form of pepper.
 
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