AG Chili Spiced Stout

[Gibberoni]

Hello everyone. I do not post much on HBT, but I am a daily reader here. I am on a mission to design a spicy stout with roasted chile peppers. I am looking to gain the most flavor out of the roasted chillies, as they are some of my favorite! I dont have the equipment to roast these chillies (Never roast these inside! You could get burns in your throat and lungs!) so I have a very limited supply. I have to get these made when I visit my girlfriend's family.

I am not looking for it to be overwhelmingly spicy. I want the deep and complex flavor of the roast, with some of the spice. All of the chillies will have the seeds removed before being "dry hopped" and added to the mash.

This is a small scale batch, to help me get the flavor right. Once it is right, I will go up to a 6 gallon. I have heard the suggestion to add chocolate in. Thoughts?

Please comment and critique.

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP002
Yeast Starter: NONE
Batch Size (Gallons): 1.5
Original Gravity: 1.091
Final Gravity: 1.029
IBU: 44.58
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 39.92 (Morey)
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 15days/68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 20days/68F

Brewhouse Eff: 65%

Ingredients:
------------
5 lb American - Pale 2-Row 86.5%
8 oz American - Roasted Barley 8.6%
3 oz Belgian - Special B 3.2%
1.5 oz American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) 1.6%
.25oz Roasted Chillies

0.1 oz Tomahawk Pellet 15 Boil 60 min
0.4 oz Tomahawk Pellet 15 Boil 10 min
0.25 oz Roasted Chillies Dry Hop 5 days

Mash 151.0 F 60 min

 

[goingcamping]

I cannot help with the actual recipe for the beer, but I can try to impart some info regarding Chilis and the roasting of!

If you have a propane or charcoal grill and a spray bottle, you can achieve fairly good results?

Put the grill on high or allow the coals to get red hot...place the chili's over the grills and allow to start sizzling and browning/blackening, turn and spray (this helps separate the skin from the flesh. Repeat until the chilis are evenly colored and thoroughly roasted. Take from grill and place in a large plastic bag (1 gallon ziplocs work awesome) allow to cool in the bag. Once they've reached room temp, you should be able to peel the outerskin off under gentle running cold tap water.

I will add, I buy every chili beer I can and have plans to brew a chipotle once I dial in my gear/skill set, and I have yet to see a Chili Stout, but I am intrigued and bid you good brewing!

~Brett

 

[Gibberoni]

Thanks for the feedback Brett. These are not the kid of roasted Chiles that you are thinking of. These are Japanese chiles, very small and extremely spicy! Not sure why they are so extensively used in Mexican cuisine, but they are damned good!

They have a very distinct flavor when roasted, spicy but bold as well. Everyone that I have suggested this idea has said to add chocolate malt, or actual cocoa to the fermenting. I do not like chocolate though!

Thoughts?

 

[goingcamping]

Which family are the peppers from Capsicum Annuum (Jalapeno, Anaheim, Serrano) Capsicum Baccatum (Aji Amarillo, Bishops Crown..these are almost exclusively from South/Central America) or Capsicum Chinese (family of peppers including Habanero, Ghost, etc.).

If it's good in uncooked form, before you add it (anytime after boil) make sure it's been sterilized? While most peppers are naturally 'bug' resistant, doesn't mean that cannot harbor bacteria?

As far as balance goes, I would think just adding them to your favorite ale recipe would go well, like a wheat ale?

EDIT: Forgot you wanted a stout...I'd make a basic stout and add chilis? Get fancy after you see how they work together? I'd def. drink it!

Look up Billy's Chilis from Twisted Pine out of Boulder, CO?

Cheers,

Brett

 

[WorkBoots09]

I did a hatch chile porter last year that turned out phenomenal. Instead of tossing peppers directly into the mash or fermentor, I made a tincture by soaking the roasted peppers (seeds and all) in a sanitized jar with some vodka. I added a good bit of the vodka to secondary and then carbed it up in the keg. You got the roasted pepper aroma and a slightly vegetal but not unwelcome taste along with the robust porter profile.

Those hatch chiles were not particularly spicy, though. I think the chiles you are speaking of are called chile pequin? If so, those are hot little devils. I would be careful with how many you add. If you go the tincture route, you can always pour a little, wait a few days, sample the beer and add more if you need. Once the chiles have imparted their flavor, you can't take the flavor out. If it becomes too hot, you would have to brew more base beer and dilute the heat, and that's just a PITA.

 

[Gibberoni]

Well I think I have the exact recipe that I am looking for:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/243342/chilehawk-chocolate-stout

After speaking with so many people suggesting chocolate to be in the mash, I am going with some.

I guess we will see in about a month. Planning the brew this weekend.

 

[Gibberoni]

Well, I went ahead and tried this recipe this weekend. Here are a few pictures that I took.

For 4 gallons of total water, I thought 3 chilies would be appropriate.



Color is good, and there is a slight aroma of Chilies. Also threw in 1 chile, seeded and torn apart at 10 minutes into the boil.



Fermentation is going wild! One of the best ferments I have ever seen!

 

[Gibberoni]

Just an update for anyone interested:

I bottled this beer last night after allowing a few chiles to rest in it.

My only concern is that the beer is going to come out very dry. This was supposed to finish at 1.030, but it finished at 1.004.

Ill post another update in 2-3 weeks, and let you all know how it came out.

 

[m00ps]

It went from 1.091 to 1.004?!! Or did you undershoot your OG by a large margin? Something doesnt seem right if that's the case...

 

[Gibberoni]

I undershot the OG by quite a bit... this is my first <5gal batch so I assume I didnt account for something.

I hit 1.063

 

[m00ps]

Oh ok, then itll be fine, just like 2% less abv than you anticipated.

I made a mexican hot chocolate stout a while back during my first year of brewing and it turned out pretty well. The flavors have melded much better now than when it was fresh. So dont be discouraged if its a bit too aggressive at first.

 

[Gibberoni]

Alright, cracked one open with a few people this weekend.

This actually came out quite well!

This tasted just like a stout should (albeit a small bit thin, due to very low FG). Malty, chocolaty, dark, bold, roasted and a slight sting at the back of the throat from the chilies! Wow, I am very surprised by how well this actually came out!

The head is a little weak from the oils of the chilies getting into the beer during secondary, and it needs about 1 more week to carb up more, but other than that this was killer!!!

Thank you for everyone's input!