Jalapeno Ale?

I'm about to start my 3rd batch - a Blonde Ale, and really want to add some flavor to it. Anyone have any advice on how to get some bite into it(jalapeno) without overdoing it? What to add and when?

I believe the most spiced ales like this have done dry powdered peppers or have secondary with the peppers

I made a chili pepper beer by taking 6 fresh chilies, freezing them, then putting them in the oven at 350F until the skin started to brown. I added them straight from the oven into primary after the krausen had dropped. I really liked it and will be doing one this summer.

I can vouch for a slice during bottling.

My old man brews a wicked habenero light ale from his groups second runnings.
The first time he did it he put one whole pepper in a filled two liter. After a day it was awesome, but then it got REALLY hot as it aged.

His next batch, he put in a quarter slice of a pepper into each bottle. That seemed to be the magic ratio cuz after three weeks it was delicious.

I've heard of people putting the pepper in during secondary. Ive never done it though.

I was reading a recipe earlier this morning. It's not something I want to make, but here is the link.......

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/jalapeno-cream-ale-131294/

mpayson Here's a good link. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/5x-pepper-beers-172082/
It inspired me to use 2/3 ounce each of dried Panca and smoked Serrano Chiles in a Mr. Beer (Fire in the Hole) kit. I waited for day 10 of a three week primary, put it in a hop bag (after chopping them up of course.) Nice smokey peppery taste with a slight burn at the end.

mpayson said:

I'm about to start my 3rd batch - a Blonde Ale, and really want to add some flavor to it. Anyone have any advice on how to get some bite into it(jalapeno) without overdoing it? What to add and when?

Click to expand...

Strangely enough, my third batch was a chile pale ale. For a 5 gallon batch I bought one habanero and two jalapenos. I halved them, seared them in a pan and let them sit in vodka to kill off any nasties. I then added them into my primary bucket for 3 weeks and bottled. It came out great although I prefer it with a meal rather than just by itself. The flavor from the jalapeno was there and the heat from the habanero made it through as well. It was not overbearing at all.

I used chili peppers in a NB American Wheat Kit. Used 5 chillies with all but one's ribs & seeds scrapped out. Dropped them in w/ 5 minutes left in the boil. The net result was a very pleasant, not hot chili taste. Next time I would up the non-scraped ratio to 2 out of the 5 peppers to make it just a little hotter.

I've done two batches with chipotle peppers, one a kolsh and one a dark amber. I think that most of the heat comes through from the boil and most of the flavor comes through from fermentation additions. I used about 6 peppers-2 in mash, 2 in boil, and 2 in ferm and have a full chipotle flavor, but very little heat. When I tried again, I left the 2 from the mash in through the boil and kept the other additions the same. That batch is far more balanced and has a very enjoyable pepper element.

Also remember that the heat levels of no two peppers are the same, even within the same species. Sometimes the heat can vary so much it's impossible to predict the impact on the beer.

I slice up some jalapenos. Steeped them in tequila for a week in the fridge. Added them right into the bottle with lime juice at bottling time. Turned out super. Night hint of spice with a little lime acidity. :rockin:

This sounds very interesting. I think using a lime with the Pepper Ale would be fantastic summer drink. I love this hobby!!

Throw in some Absolut Peppar.

mpayson said:

I'm about to start my 3rd batch - a Blonde Ale, and really want to add some flavor to it. Anyone have any advice on how to get some bite into it(jalapeno) without overdoing it? What to add and when?

Click to expand...

I did this...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/any-chili-flavoring-experience-out-there-13271/

I just made my second batch of habanero ale. Secondary.

I made a batch with habaneros and some dried anchos. I chopped them up, seeds and all and put them in a hop bag. I did not rack to a secondary but after primary fermentation completed I just popped the bag in, secured by a string. My thought was that the EtOH in the beer would be disinfectant enough. I tasted every so often until it was hot enough - which did not take long - about a week.

But the flavor does fade quickly. Another issue I had was head retention. I read elsewhere on the net that some guys will roast chilies just to get the skin off and report that this aids in head retention.

Why do people soak the peppers in anything? Seems to me that this will steal the flavor and spice unless you also add the liquid.

Thanks for all the great info everyone - lots of options to explore here. If I pull it off I'll report back on how it came out.

i made a pineapple ipa a few weeks back, used serrano peppers, i added them at flame out. smoked three peppers and pureed them with three unsmoked peppers, add at flame out then strain into fermentor.

If you want insane heat, go for some dried, crushed ghost chiles in the secondary. Your colon will thank you!

Nobody else could take the heat, but my girlfriend and I thought this was a nice level of heat for a 5 gallon Amber Ale:

0.5 lbs Serrano peppers
2 Anaheim peppers
6 Habanero peppers
4 Jalapeno peppers

I cut them in half and then seeded and cleaned them of the inner membrane. Then I threw them in the boil for long enough to sterilize them and then added the boiled chilies directly into the carboy for the whole fermentation. Pretty tasty. I think it would have a nice, mild pepper taste if you dropped the Habeneros and Jalapenos. The Serranos are roughly half as spicy as Jalapenos, and they add a nice amount of that pepper flavor (not the spicy part, the vegetable part). The Anaheims add a nice bit of that flavor too, but aren't very spicy. Maybe keep one or two Jalapenos or a Habanero for a little more kick.

Be sure to wear gloves when dealing with this amount of chilies. I learned the hard way!!

So - I've long since finished this beer, but wanted to share - it came out great. A friend of mine named it The Hot Blonde. I ended up roasting 3 Serrano peppers for 1/2 hour, removed the seeds, but left the veins, and put them in secondary with the beer for 10 days. Perfect amount of heat, a mild hot flavor after taste that dissipated quickly.