Chili Beer

Do'nt think I've posted on here but can't find an answer for this Question?
I would like to brew A Chili beer (using Habanero chilis (VERY HOT)).
I do not use all grain.
The question I have is:
What would you recommend for a Basic Recipe? Would a basic Pale ale recipe work?
I understand that I would have to Dry Hop the Peppers, How would I sanatize the peppers (or do I need to?).

Thanks in advance for any info.

Clayton79

something light like a APA would be good. if you are doing it dry then give the chiles a quick boil, or sanitize them in hot water. you can addd them at the end of the boil though.

I have been thinking about something along these lines for my next project. What about using one of those little four or five ounce bottles instead of actual peppers? I suppose the bottle would have to be checked to make sure there are no preservaitves. I have a ton of them (everyone knows I like them so they turn up all the time) and this seems like an interesting beer.

are you speaking of the bottles of hot sauce (like tabasco or whatever). the p[roblem with those is that vinegar is the primary ingredient, and i wouldnt be putting vinegar in beer if it were up to me.

I've made chilli beer using dried capsicum (sp?) chillies. Dried chillies seem to give up their heat better when boiled. I boiled them with the priming sugars in a little bit of beer before adding to the bottling bucket.
I like very hot food but my advice would be to forget the macho I eat chillies for breakfast and rub the seeds in my eyes as a pick me up attitude and start with a small quantity, I started with 3 per gallon but when I make it now I'm down to 1 per gallon in order to let the flavor of the beer come through.

I was thinking of adding my jalapenos when I go from primary to secondary for a week. I figure the alchohol content will help kill any bacteria that may be riding on the peppers. And 7-10 days in secondary will give it a good kick if I slice them long ways and leave the seeds in tact. What do you think? I am also using a good APA recipe for the beer.

the jalapenos might give off more of a green flavor than heat, other than that it sounds good if youre not that worried about contamination. i'd at least run them over a quick flame.

So how do you think I should add them? Primary?

True. Jalapeno's will give off a green pepper flavor and not much heat. I've cured that though.

Here's what you do if you just want the heat:

Cut 2 medium-large peppers into really thin slices (leave the seeds in). Add to 2.5-3 C water and boil for 5 mins. Strain.

My current chili beer has 10 oz of peppers added to the boil. All I really tasted was the "green". I made a tea similar to what I've described and added 1.25 C pepper tea to 5 gals and there is some noticable heat. Doubling up on the tea should be enough heat for anyone. Be sure you don't add any more than 1.5 C initially and mix it in thoroughly before sampling. Add more to taste after that.

Habaneros are known to lose a lot of that unique flavor they have with even brief cooking: I might be more inclined to try soaking them in a small amount of vodka, then putting them in the secondary (vodka and all?).

I love habanero chiles and I love beer (duh), but I'm not sure the combination sounds that appealing to me: it could easily become wickedly hot.

The brewery makes a chile beer that won 2 GABF medals. The recipe is a crisp, clean golden beer (our's is a lager, but a golden ale would work) It is lightly hopped just for bitterness (no flavor or aroma) The chile (we use fresh roasted New Mexico Green Chile) is added to the secondary and soaks for about a week to ten days before racking and clearing.

By putting it in the secondary you get tons of flavor and aroma from the chile. We also often use chile that is frozen just prior to use. The freezing breaks the cells of the chile and you get better flavor and aroma.

I have had dark chile beer, but I think it loses something. I also like a subtle heat and not a ring-o-fire brew that burns in and out.

I have attached a image of the label below.

Has anyone ever tried it with banana peppers? I love the liquid that comes in the jar with banana peppers, but i'm almost sure its full of vinegar. You think there is any way to achieve this saltiness and spice and preserve the taste of the beer as well?

Brewpastor said:

Click to expand...

i have a sticker of the anniversary maibock on my mash/lauter-tun

Would smoked red chilis (chipolte or adobo) be a better choice for a dark beer? I once had a wine out of Wash state that had chipolte overtones to it and it was great with mex food. A chipolte chocolate (mole) porter or stout sounds kind of interesting to me, as least on paper.

MP Wall

I like the smoky character of roasted chile and I think chipolte would make a great choice. I can see how the smoky character could add a little zip to a porter, but balance would be the important thing. As much as I love my spicy food, I do like a balance in beer, so many of the chile beers I have had are just plan old hot.

me and someone else wre talking about a mole brown the other week. the hard part would be achieving that perfect balance that is present in mole. would be hard in a beer, but i think i'm going to give it a shot sometime. as far as chipotles (my personal favorite chile)- at least one person on here has made a chipotle ale ( a porter maybe), and i believe it turned out well. i think a amber ale with chipotles might be ok, like a chile rauchbier. don't use adobo though, get some regular dried ones.

Hi
THANKS for all the Input, I now have some ideas to try. BTW, it's NOT for me, I don't like Chili Beer, it's for my Girlfriend who "LOVES" chilis, She grows her own (Habernaro, Serrano, Pepins, Tobasco..etc.) She dries them in a dehydrater(sp).
I was wondering if I take the dried habernaro and let it soak in Vodka for a few minutes, drain them, crush them, then dry hop?
What does everyone think, or is there a better way? (I'm worried about contamination from the peppers).
I decided to do a Blonde or a Pale ale for the beer? (Will Cheat and get a kit then when I go to the secondary, dry hop the peppers).

Clayton79

-------------------------
Kegged: Pale Ale, Amber Ale
Secondary: IPA
Fermenters: Notta

drengel said:

me and someone else wre talking about a mole brown the other week..

Click to expand...

I = someone else (nice to be memorable).

JK--I'm still thinking something like an american red ale or a sweeter brown as a foil for this concept. My target would be for the chiles (and any other flavoring) to be just noticably there, and just noticably warm as far as chile heat.

I'm liking the vodka sanitizing idea. Has anyone tried this? It seems to me that just a few minutes might not be enough time, though, to really do the job. What about a few hours or over night? What would be sufficient to kill off the baddies?

This is a pretty old thread but I came across it and just wanted to add that we are actually working on a recipe for this concept but it will be a Red Ale...something that goes with the color of the chille...I like the idea of useing 1 dried chille for every gallon during the boil...I am assuming will be tasting as we go to get the right heat...