Fresh ghost chili IIPA

[unionrdr]

Well, my #2 son finally went & did it. We've been talking on Facebook PM's about the chili beer he wants to brew. He grows several exotic hot chilis. So we'll be putting ghost chili's & maybe scorpions in 5 gallons of IIPA based on my Cougar Country IPA recipe. Depends on what other exotic chili's he's adding to grow this year. Got the IIPA in BS2, but need to know how many peppers to use with 14.25lbs of malts, 11.3ozs hops & 2 packets of US-05 rehydrated?

 

[dobes]

Never used the ghosts for beer, the hottest I've used was habaneros.
You can impart different amounts of heat using the same amount of pepper depending when you put them in the boil. The longer in the boil the more heat will be boiled off.

My last one I did I used 2 habaneros with 10 minutes left in the boil for a 10 gallon batch. The heat is there but not to hot for someone who doesn't like heat.

As far as a ghost pepper I would say a 1/4 to 1/2 of pepper would give the same heat result. I usually chop them up pretty small.

Also it depends if you want to add some actual pepper flavor or just heat. For adding flavor roasting the peppers and throwing them in the fermenter gives an extremely nice flavor. I've done that in a light hopped pale ale and a porter and both were really good. For this I used jalapeños didn't add much heat but a lot of flavor. I don't know how much I used I just pulled off the plant what I had and used that probably around 20 peppers or so for a five gallon batch.

I made a porter and just put crushed cumari peppers in the primary after about two days into fermentation. Probably used 100 or so in a five gallon batch and it was pipin hot and a ton of flavor.

Sorry I started rambling getting back to the ghost, the actual pepper flavor I don't feel is overly sweet like a habanero, a bit more neutral. Not sure what other peppers you have but you may want to use something else to impart the pepper flavor if you want the flavor and use the ghost for a nice punch in the gut!!

One tip be careful the steam in your boil will have the oil in it and it can burn your eyes or make you choke a bit def do this one outside.

 

[unionrdr]

Thanks for the tips. He says he's going to plant them in March & keep'em inside till the weather allows outside. I'm curious what other peppers he's gonna grow besides Ghosts & Scorpions. Interesting how BS2 doesn't have any pepper adjuncts listed? I guess they're not real popular brewing choices yet? Anyway, he sent me a cartoon sorta pic of himself to use on some label designs I worked up in beerlabelizer;



I like #2 myself. Beer will be an IIPA @ 9.4% so far...

 

[dobes]

Little torn between 1 and 2 but all of them are better than mine. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421183788.719223.jpg

I thought you already had the peppers, since your son is going to grow them if he can tell him to try growing the cumari peppers. These are one of my favorites. They are about the size of a corn kernel and about as hot as a habanero. They also pack a ton of flavor. I usually get 2000+ peppers off of each plant. They go great with everything and make a bangin hot sauce.

 

[unionrdr]

Cool, thanks for the suggestions. Those cumari's remind me of those SA bird peppers. little colorful beaks of death! Yeah, I like the color of the top lettering in #1. but I also like the way you see more of the pic/art in #2? So maybe half a ghost in the boil @ 10 minutes left & maybe 10-15 roasted peppers total in primary for some flavor? He doesn't want too much heat that you can't enjoy a couple.

 

[Eugenio]

When I did my stout I added 1 habanero extract (soak 1 habanero in vodka for about a month, add the vodka at bottling). And, even with a very high abv and complicated recipe, i feel like the 1 habanero was alot. Thing was I wanted a slight tingle, not a fire bomb, so depends on what you want.

Those things are strong, id be careful with the ghosts.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, half to one ghost last 15-20 minutes might even do it for heat. But I'm like the roasted peppers for flavor thing as well. Just need to get a feel for the right amount the first time...

 

[dobes]

I think you will be in for a nice beer!!

 

[unionrdr]

We thought the IIPA would stand up to the peppers better than a regular one. Just torn on how much heat I'll get from half or a whole one in the boil & a dozen or so roasted, seeded & deveined in secondary?

 

[ktblunden]

In my experience you get more heat in secondary than in the boil. When I add chiles to secondary I taste every day and rack it when the heat is just past where I want it.

 

[unionrdr]

So do you think I'd get more flavor than heat putting them in primary?

 

[ktblunden]

Every time I've brewed with chiles I get the majority of the flavor in the boil (15 minute addition) and the majority of the heat after fermentation (I add them to the primary, I never secondary). There is some heat from the boil and some flavor from fermenter additions, but that's been my experience.

 

[unionrdr]

So far, I thought half or 1 for heat & maybe 10-12 roasted, seeded & deveined for flavor. It's just a question of when to add which it seems. I have plenty of time to figure this part out. I've got the rest of the PM IIPA recipe virtually done.

 

[dobes]

Just going with using ghosts using 1/2 pepper or so in the boil say for 10 mins is gonna be a decently hot beer if not a bit over the top. Half of pepper is gonna leave little flavor. If u put a raw pepper in early on the boil you will get pepper flavor but it will be a vegative flavor, not the most appetizing as well a bit of the heat will boil off (ever fry a pepper?) As well the ghost flavor is not the best. That's why I would say to use a different pepper for roasting and adding flavor.
You can get heat when adding to the primary if u chop the peppers up. But if u roast them and leave them whole you will get the roasted pepper flavor without the heat(not breaking the wall). Now if u have breakdown in the wall the heat will leach but it depends on how much the wall is broken down and how long in the fermenter.
You can be safe and pick a flavorful pepper with not to much heat and add it to the fermenter. I would be hesitant to add too many ghost to the fermenter just cause of their potency, even whole. (Hard to see breakdown in the wall)
One thing you could do if you wanted to use all ghost is pick the peppers young, before they turn. They will have a slight bitterness to them, before they turn, no heat and I would think if roasted would be fairly appetizing. Never tried it with the ghost but I have roasted quite a few peppers young and mature and all are good. Add them to the fermenter and add additional mature ghost if not up to your standards heat wise.

If you could add a bunch of peppers to your boil obviously you would get more flavor but only adding 1/2 of pepper will get you not much flavor. But using the ghost will get you heat say a lot more than if u used 20 jalapeños in the boil were you could get pepper flavor.

It really comes down to the pepper and what ur looking for. If u want heat last 10-15 minutes with 1/2 of ghost heat and very little pepper flavor.
If you want the raw pepper flavor with the ghost you can add 20 or so to the boil and have an inferno on your hands.
If you want ghost flavor raw add them young to the fermenter before the heat is there. I would not recommend this personally. (Taste it you can see why). Roast them young no heat a bit on the sweet toasty side will rock ur beer.

 

[unionrdr]

Good information. Looks like I've got some more thinking to do. He wants good pepper flavor & decent heat, but not over the top. He also wants the hops to go well with the pepper flavor. So I've got quite the balancing act to do here. I thought early on to him to use a mix of peppers, the ghost for heat & a mix roasted for flavor?...

 

[rokfreek]

A traditional habanero is 100-300k scoville units while a ghost pepper is 1-1.5million. Some people have ended up in the hospital from eating 1. So if you really want to use ghost peppers I would go easy on it. You could easily make an Undrinkable beer.

 

[unionrdr]

My sentiments exactly. We agree that we don't want much heat. But a good balance of heat, flavor from the peppers to blend nicely with the hops & other flavor complexities. This is going to be my biggest beer ever, let alone the balancing act with the peppers versus other flavors. He wants decent heat & pepper flavor, but not too much. And as an interesting aside, this is the label he picked out of the few examples I worked up. Pretty good caricature of him too;

 

[unionrdr]

I also spent some time adding the new safbrew abbaye yeast to BS2 earlier. Just to compare what some different yeast give that can handle 9.4% ABV. The abbaye came in @ 8.9%, while US-05 gave 9.4%. Will use 2 packets of dry yeast regardless, rehydrated. Bjorn B at Midwest agreed that US-05 should do it at this ABV level @ 2 packets.
Sweet Jebus! He gave me a ghost chili he grew to taste for flavors to go with citrusy hops. Oh my Damn! I used my razor knife to cut off an 1/8" piece near the tip of the pepper to taste. Holy shiznits! It just about choked me, made the crook of my throat go dry/hot with the spiciness like white lightnin. My eyes are burnin'. He claims they have a citrusy taste. Just tastes like veggie/pepper to me? Damn, it hurts to swallow!

 

[JordanKnudson]

Yeah, am I the only one thinking that with ghosts, more than 1 or 2 is going to just destroy this? I'd do a small amount in the boil and leave it at that. If you de-seeded and de-ribbed 2 peppers (both of which I'd either roast or dry, personally, as these processes bring out the more interesting flavors rather than just tasting vegetal) and added them like a late hop addition, I think it would be plenty to get noticed, but I'd be wary of adding more at any point in the process, since you could end up with something undrinkable. I use ghost peppers in one of my home-fermented pepper sauces, and it really doesn't take much, even for something that is supposed to be hot!

 

[unionrdr]

After chatting with Bjorn B at Midwest, he says to add them in secondary & keep tasting for the amount of heat & flavor. May do that with half to one in the boil for last 15 minutes or so? I'm just not getting the citrusy flavor son says it has? But it's more like spicy dryness than mere heat from about the middle of the tongue on back to the crook of the throat. I texted him about maybe adding some other peppers roasted for flavor with the ghosts for heat? I'm still thinking that & citrusy hops will be the way to go. Kinda like a beer version of Hot pica de gallo? But not like Michelada either...

 

[user 30639]

I've always added hot peppers in the secondary and then tasted a sample every few days. Never used ghost peppers but I've made a couple batches of a Mango Habanero IPA that was a big hit. I'd use 2 habaneros in the secondary. Both deseeded and one de-vained. You got the flavor of the peppers with just enough heat. It didn't melt your face, but you knew it had peppers in it.

 

[unionrdr]

Oh man, I ate it about 2 1/2 hours ago & my stomach still hurts. I want a fresh one for heat, but roast them & maybe some other hot peppers for more flavor. Not sure yet if we'll just stick with ghosts. I think it'll be good if I get the pepper & hop levels right?...

 

[treacheroustexan]

I have no input to this other than i would really enjoy trying this beer!

 

[IslandLizard]

Why make one large batch that maybe undrinkable or too lame?

Brew up a 5-6 gallon batch to a certain point where you want to start adding your peppers. Then take a gallon out and dope it with what you think would be a nice pepper addition. Finish it and put in a small fermentor (bucket). Repeat for the other 4 gallons but dope with different amounts, for example 4x, 8x, 1/2x, and 1/4x. Or take the series into any other direction. You can then blend them to taste at bottling time. Or drinking time.

 

[unionrdr]

I don't have small fermenters to use for that. Besides, he wants a 5 gallon batch & he's paying for the ingredients. I'm sure I can get this nailed down though. Gonna kill ghost killa!...

 

[IslandLizard]

I don't have small fermenters to use for that. Besides, he wants a 5 gallon batch & he's paying for the ingredients. I'm sure I can get this nailed down though. Gonna kill ghost killa!...

I'm sure you can. I was offering a research oriented approach.

You can make fermenters from anything, even plastic bags with the opening tied off around the airlock.

 

[unionrdr]

I may just do that on my own, maybe in 3L bottles or something? Try different combinations of peppers & hops. Peppers added at different times & such. Getting a good balance is important of course. Especially since he wants the peppers to add to the other flavors, hence my dilemma.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, my son planted the ghost chili's & devil's tongue. Never heard of the later one. But they're inside where it's warm getting started. Any of you ever had this "devil's tongue" chili?