Chilli Peppers in bottles?

[RobWalker]

I'm a home brewer and a grower too, and I have a huge haul of chillis this year. Specifically, I've grown some Facing Heaven chillis, which are very small in size.

I'm about to bottle up a ginger ale (1 gallon batch,) and I want to add a chilli to each bottle. However, I don't want the chilli to degrade or anything, just remain whole if possible. Flavour is not an issue, it's ornamental.

I'm considering dipping them in hot wax as a coating as the beer will be kept in the fridge. Any other ideas? Don't want to ruin the beer obviously

 

[GodsStepBrother]

Not sure how that would fair.

May be if the beer was a very alcoholic beer with loads of hops. But its definitely worth a try! I would make sure and run a lot of water through these peppers, then soak them in star san over night. I wouldn't scrub them down as that might scratch the peppers and give a breading grown for bacteria. The peppers are going to float in water so make sure and put some kind of container in the container of star san to make them sink.

I would cut some peppers i half with a sanitized knife, just to see if it makes a difference, even if its only 1 or 2 beers.

Let us know how that turns out.

 

[eastoak]

i would guess this won't work, just not enough alcohol in beer to keep the chile from turning white and mushy after about a week. no harm in trying though, take a picture every few days and post them up.

 

[Heidenweizen]

I don't know exactly how they do it, but it can be done.

I guess you would really have to like chilis to drink that beer. I got through about a 1/2 sip, gagged, coughed and spit it out...

 

[onipar]

I think I remember reading that Revvy makes a chili beer, though I don't know if he puts a whole chili in it. Still he might be able to help with this.

I haven't done anything like this, but I imagine it *could* be done. *How* it could be done is another issue entirely. :cross:

EDIT: I wonder if soaking the peppers in vodka or some other hard liquor for a week or two before putting it in the beer would help? Just a shot in the dark... That might also help to extract some of the chili flavor (especially if you weren't looking for much of that flavor to come out in the beer).