Brewing with Chilis

[pegasusherd]

Hello all,

I'm going to brew an all-grain chili porter, but I've read some wildly differing opinions on how many chilis to use. I plan to throw them in towards the end of the boil.

2ish chili's or 10ish chili's?
Seeds, or no seeds?

I'm thinking of using mostly chipotles with one or two habaneros.

Want to taste some spice and hotness, but not have it be overpowering.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Chris

 

[shaggybudd]

Im really interested to see what other people have to say about this as well. I recently judged in a homebrew competition and one of the other judges that was judging the vegetable category wanted me to try a hatch chili beer. It was amazing. Very well crafted. I was told that the brewer grilled his chili before hand and threw them in late in the boil. But that's all i know. It had a great chili nose and flavor but not overpowering. It was sublime.

 

[johnlindgren]

I do a jalapeno IPA where I use 5 Jalapenos. I take the seeds and the placenta out and dry hop with them. I have found that it is better to have the taste, but not necessarily the heat.
I'd be careful with the Habeneros

 

[CTownBrewer]

I split my 5 gallon batch of Smoked Rye Ale & used 10 dried Thai chili peppers in 2.5 gallons (peppers were very small).

First, I chopped them up & removed the majority of the seeds, but left a few in there just to add a little heat. Then, I soaked them in vodka for 24 hours prior to adding pepper solution to my secondary & racking beer on top. It sat for 7 days before I bottled.

A quick note, don't freak out if the heat is overpowering at first. Mine tasted just like my original Smoked Rye Ale going down, but had a pretty heavy heat finish/aftertaste in the back of the throat. After bottle conditioning for 4 weeks, the flavors have really meshed well together & the heat has faded to the perfect level.

 

[Airborneguy]

I do a version of my porter where I add 2-5 chilis directly to the fermentor after primary fermentation is finished. I cut the stem off and toss them right in. My boss grows the chilis in his garden, so the amount differs depending on how hot they are with that crop.

 

[Lan]

I made an amber ale with 50g Chipotle and 15g Morita peppers at flameout, added them whole with seeds and stems and all. After cooling the wort and straining out the hops, I retained all the peppers and dumped them into the primary to sit there for 10 days. Ended up with a nice well-rounded smoky heat...it took a good month of bottle conditioning before I found the flavors to smoothen out however, so I wouldn't get discouraged if you find it isn't to your liking right away.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Im really interested to see what other people have to say about this as well. I recently judged in a homebrew competition and one of the other judges that was judging the vegetable category wanted me to try a hatch chili beer. It was amazing. Very well crafted. I was told that the brewer grilled his chili before hand and threw them in late in the boil. But that's all i know. It had a great chili nose and flavor but not overpowering. It was sublime.

I make a hatch chili beer but I add the chilies in secondary. I do a mix of roasted and fresh with the seeds, veins and stems removed. It's a great chili for flavor and aroma but I got zero heat in it. I am happy about that but I know some people want that heat.

 

[Kaleco]

I just bottled a chili beer on Saturday. We grilled 2 poblanos, 3 hatch, and a jalepeno till the skins were blackened. We stuck them in a paper bag for about 30 minutes and then de-skinned them. We took the seeds out of the poblanos and two of the hatch. We froze all of them and waited a week for primary fermentation to stop and dropped the 2 poblanos and 2 of the hatch (de-seeded) into the fermenter still frozen. After about 5 days, we were able to taste a good smokey pepper taste, but no heat, so we added the jalepeno and the third hatch that still had seeds. By that night, we were getting a burn in the back of the throat, by the next morning we had a burn all over the mouth that seemed just right, so we decided to bottle.

If you're leaving seeds in the peppers and looking for heat, I would recommend tasting the batch at least every day so it doesn't go overboard. It surprised us how fast the batch got spicy.

 

[cjb]

I've done a Chipotle Ale in the past - hard to remember, but I want to say I used around 5-6 chipotles (the kind in adobo, not dried) in the primary. Was aiming for something like Rogue's Chipotle Ale and got pretty close - a fairly subtle smoky heat.

I also popped a habanero into one of the bottles just for kicks...it was like napalm. I'd be hesitant to use habaneros at all in a batch - I think you're just going to get overpowering heat without much chili flavor.

 

[Brewpastor]

I like roasted hatch in a light base beer. Add chiles to the secondary to get aroma and flavor. I don't like too much bitterness to compete with the chile character. I also don't want too much heat. I believe it makes the beer less drinkable.

Been a successful combination for me.

 

[J-Luc]

My brew club is doing a chili cook off in November. I want to make a beer with peppers in it for that day. I have in mind a milk stout with 5 jalapenos and 2 habeneros added to the boil the last 30 minutes. Also, wanted to add them to the secondary. I am a relatively new home brewer and wanted to give this a try. Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks

 

[xjmox14x]

Not sure how a milk stout will taste with the heat on the back end...

When I think of a chili beer, I lean more towards a more crisp beer, like a pale ale, or even ipa.

As for how much to add, search "habanero beer" and "jalapeno beer". It's been tried before with some variable success.

 

[J-Luc]

was kind of going for the creaminess/sweetness of the milk stout and then a punch of heat and the end.

 

[xjmox14x]

was kind of going for the creaminess/sweetness of the milk stout and then a punch of heat and the end.

Certainly worth trying. Never really know until you try... there are countless beers you hear about where at first thought, you're like "no WAY that'll work", then it ends up being a fantastic blend.

 

[smalliewader]

I make a cream ale with Chipotle chiles. I smoke my own Jalapenos in my smoker and put them in a minute or two before flame out. I use 4 whole Chipotles, skins, seeds, everything. I just cut the tops off. I leave those in primary for two weeks, then rack to secondary to get the beer off the seeds and peppers.

The final product has good heat at the back of the throat that quickly dissipates, it does not linger. At first sip, you really get the smoked Jalapeno in the nose and taste the sweet, fruity Jalapeno pepper flavor.....which is really what I was going for.

If you only want the heat and not the pepper flavor in a stout, I would probably roast the peppers in the oven to really activate the capsaicin in the cores & seeds and use the seeds only in your process. IMO, Habaneros would be too much unless you just use 1 hab and no other types of peppers.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Habaneros will impart LOTS of heat.

I prefer to roast them slightly and toss them in secondary.

I say 1 habanero. Chipotles in adobo??? I would think twice or use powder.

 

[smalliewader]

My brew club is doing a chili cook off in November. I want to make a beer with peppers in it for that day. I have in mind a milk stout with 5 jalapenos and 2 habeneros added to the boil the last 30 minutes. Also, wanted to add them to the secondary. I am a relatively new home brewer and wanted to give this a try. Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks

I can pretty much guarantee that 5 jalapenos and 2 habs, PLUS adding more to secondary will leave you something so hot, it is undrinkable. Just 5 jalapenos and 2 habs will be undrinkable. You are seriously underestimating the power of these 2 peppers. 1 hab alone is more than plenty, or 3-4 jalapenos and no habs.

 

[J-Luc]

Not sure what adobo is... OK. I know it's going to be hot, but will the dark malt help to bring out some of the smokieness of the peppers without smoking them first?

Should I just use 1 habenero for the last few minutes of the boil and then secondary with the jalapenos? The guy I'm collaborating with on this is really pushing me to use 5 jalapenos and 2 habaneros in the boil then 5 and 3 in the secondary. That sounds lime it's going to be way to hot. Never tried this one before.

 

[J-Luc]

I can pretty much guarantee that 5 jalapenos and 2 habs, PLUS adding more to secondary will leave you something so hot, it is undrinkable. Just 5 jalapenos and 2 habs will be undrinkable. You are seriously underestimating the power of these 2 peppers. 1 hab alone is more than plenty, or 3-4 jalapenos and no habs.

Saw this after I made my last post... If I use one hab in the boil, would it be OK to add some jalapenos to the secondary? What do you suggest as far as when to add it to the boil? Last 15 minutes or wait even longer?

 

[smalliewader]

If you're going to go the route your brewing partner suggests, I'd get him to pay for all the ingredients so when you have to dump the fire water you're not out any money. That is way too much heat. Now you're talking 10 jalapenos and 5 habs in the total process. God help you when try the first taste. You might as well eat a raw hab to prepare yourself.

 

[smalliewader]

Saw this after I made my last post... If I use one hab in the boil, would it be OK to add some jalapenos to the secondary? What do you suggest as far as when to add it to the boil? Last 15 minutes or wait even longer?

If you want to play with habs, drop it in the boil 2-5 minutes before flame out. You'll probably want to rack it off the hab to secondary as soon as FG is reached, and I wouldn't suggest any more peppers to be added after that.

Taste your gravity reading and decide then if you really think adding more to secondary is needed.

In terms of Scoville Units, a typical Jalapeno is 8,000 to 10,000 units. A typical Habanero is 100,000 to 350,000 units.

Personally, I would stick to Jalapenos. I brew with them and know the heat they can provide and still keep a beer drinkable. A little Habanero goes a long, long way.

The best thing you can do is taste along the way and add as needed. You can't remove the heat once it's in there.

 

[J-Luc]

If you want to play with habs, drop it in the boil 2-5 minutes before flame out. You'll probably want to rack it off the hab to secondary as soon as FG is reached, and I wouldn't suggest any more peppers to be added after that.

Taste your gravity reading and decide then if you really think adding more to secondary is needed.

In terms of Scoville Units, a typical Jalapeno is 8,000 to 10,000 units. A typical Habanero is 100,000 to 350,000 units.

Personally, I would stick to Jalapenos. I brew with them and know the heat they can provide and still keep a beer drinkable. A little Habanero goes a long, long way.

Ok. Btw, I'm going to really enjoy being on this forum.

Next question. If I skip using the habs and just use jalapenos, would you suggest using 3-5 and just slicing the long ways and dropping them in? How long before flame out should I add them?

 

[smalliewader]

I completely laid this process out in my first post.

 

[Biiru]

I made this twice this summer and it turned out great both times. It definitely has a spicy kick and a great chipotle nose. Great pairing with BBQ and seafood.

Chile Wheat Ale

Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer OG: 1.055
Type: All Grain FG: 1.014
Rating: 0.0 ABV: 5.37 %
Calories: 180 IBU's: 21.28
Efficiency: 70 % Boil Size: 7.00 Gal
Color: 4.0 SRM Batch Size: 6.00 Gal
Boil Time: 60 minutes

Fermentation Steps
Name Days / Temp
Primary 14 days @ 68.0°F
Secondary 14 days @ 72.0°F
Bottle/Keg 14 days @ 74.0°F

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
1.00 lbs 7.41 % Rice Hulls 60 mins 1.000
7.00 lbs 51.85 % Wheat Malt, Ger 60 mins 1.039
5.50 lbs 40.74 % Pale Malt (2 Row) US 60 mins 1.036

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
1.50 ozs 21.28 Hallertauer 60 mins 4.80

Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.00 pkg American Ale Wyeast Labs 1056

Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
6.00 oz Peppers 07 days Secondary
***After racking to the secondary, let it settle for a couple days then dry hop the peppers

Mash Profile
Medium Body Infusion In 60 min @ 154.0°F
Add 15.62 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 171.9°F
Sparge
Sparge 20.88 qt of 170.0°F water over 10 mins

Carbonation
Amount Type Beer Temp CO2 Vols
7.89 oz Corn Sugar - Bottle Carbonation 74.0°F 3.20

Notes
About 6 small medium heat peppers, 3 large medium heat peppers, 2 chipotle, 2 hot peppers. Throw them in a food processor, seeds and all.

Medium heat peppers:

1) Anaheim Chile = California Green Chile = Long Green Pepper = Chile Verde (When Mature And Red - Chile Colorado =California Red Chile)

2) Mirasol Pepper

3) Jalapeno Pepper

4) Fresno Pepper

5) New Mexico Pepper

6) Poblano Pepper

7) Aji Cristal

8) Peperoncini

Special:

1) Chipotle

Hot peppers:

1) Cayenne Pepper; Finger Chile Pepper; Bird Pepper

2) Serrano Peppers

Super hot peppers:

1) Habanero Pepper, or Scottish Bonnet Chile

 

[J-Luc]

I make a cream ale with Chipotle chiles. I smoke my own Jalapenos in my smoker and put them in a minute or two before flame out. I use 4 whole Chipotles, skins, seeds, everything. I just cut the tops off. I leave those in primary for two weeks, then rack to secondary to get the beer off the seeds and peppers.

The final product has good heat at the back of the throat that quickly dissipates, it does not linger. At first sip, you really get the smoked Jalapeno in the nose and taste the sweet, fruity Jalapeno pepper flavor.....which is really what I was going for.

If you only want the heat and not the pepper flavor in a stout, I would probably roast the peppers in the oven to really activate the capsaicin in the cores & seeds and use the seeds only in your process. IMO, Habaneros would be too much unless you just use 1 hab and no other types of peppers.

How do I smoke the peppers if I don't actually have a smoker? Can I put them on the oven for a few minutes, or boil them in a bag?

 

[myersk27]

How do I smoke the peppers if I don't actually have a smoker? Can I put them on the oven for a few minutes, or boil them in a bag?

you can use your grill as a smoker if you need it....cook with indirect heat, soak a bunch of wood chips in water for 30 minutes, then put them in a foil pouch, poke a bunch of holes in the foil and throw that directly on your burners on one side of the grill, then put your peppers on the other side of the grill and let them smoke till done.....

i tried a Serrano Pepper Ale from the Saugatuck brewery in Michigan last month and it was so good that it has inspired me to make my own serrano pepper ale....it was an amber ale and the Serrano was, IMO, the perfect pepper for the job....hotter than a jalapeno, not as hot as a habanero....

 

[pegasusherd]

Thanks everyone for all of the replies -- it's been very interesting to read everyone's approaches to this. I ended up throwing 8 chipotles (seeds and all) into the boil for the last 15 minutes and then removing them when I strain the hops, etc.

I racked the porter to secondary yesterday and gave it a try -- very interesting. Good flavor, and noticeable heat at the back end... not overpowering... but noticeable. I think it will be very interesting to see how this turns out once cold and carbonated... also wouldn't mind if it mellowed out a little bit, which I understand that these beers tend to do.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Thanks everyone for all of the replies -- it's been very interesting to read everyone's approaches to this. I ended up throwing 8 chipotles (seeds and all) into the boil for the last 15 minutes and then removing them when I strain the hops, etc.

I racked the porter to secondary yesterday and gave it a try -- very interesting. Good flavor, and noticeable heat at the back end... not overpowering... but noticeable. I think it will be very interesting to see how this turns out once cold and carbonated... also wouldn't mind if it mellowed out a little bit, which I understand that these beers tend to do.

Thanks again everyone.

Let me know how this turns out. I tried a spicy chocolate a while back and was going to try and replicate the taste of it into a chocolate porter. Chipotle sounds like the job. Are you getting any flavors from the chipotle chili itself, or is it mainly spiciness?