Honey habanero question

[Bigsage1]

I'm still in the extract/steeping stage of brewing.

Looking to start my 6th batch. Anyone have a suggestion on a base beer. ie. Pale Ale, Wit, or american IPA for adding such items.

Also, I'm thinking adding the habs to the secondary...or should i boil...thoughts?

Any advice would greatly be appreciated

Thanks!


Rusty

 

[Eugenio]

I just made a habanero stout, where I chopped the habanero and infused them in vodka for a month. 1 habanero for a 5g, and it came great, added it to bottling bucket.

I'm about to change my system tho, nightshift brewery makes a fantastic habanero beer, and after talking to them I'll adopt their method. What the do is they finish fermenting, and in the last day of conditioning pre bottling, they chop their habanero, sanitize it, and drop in in the Carboy. Again, 1 habanero per 5g, and stays in for only 1 day. I will be trying this in like 3 weeks and can let you know how it works.


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[jcoxen]

I made a Habenero Brown ale about a year ago and it turned out pretty good...but a bit hotter than I wanted. I used the meat of 4 peppers with the seeds and ribs carefully removed - I recommend wearing gloves for this. I put the peppers in a nylon bag and added them to secondary. I checked the flavor each day. I pulled them after 5 days. EDIT - I soaked the cleaned peppers in vodka for a couple of hours to sterilize them before adding them to secondary. The vodka - maybe 1/4 cup - went in, too.

The beer I ended up with has a nice taste and balance. The sweetness of the peppers comes through but it's just hot enough to be a 'one and done' brew unless you're a real Pepper Head. 'course, it's REALLY excellent with stuff off the grill in the summer.

My advice...go easy on the peppers and check the brew often. And try to err on the side of caution. You can always add more heat but once it's in you can't take it out.

 

[fuelish]

My advice...go easy on the peppers and check the brew often. And try to err on the side of caution. You can always add more heat but once it's in you can't take it out.

Excellent advice.....I've only made habanero meads, have used anywhere from 4 to 10 habs for 5 gallons (the batch with 10 was pretty over the top...17.5% abv, used a LOT of honey, it finished sweet, oaked on the heavy side .....made an EXCELLENT winter warmer on a cold Detroit winter night....but, yeah, habanero heat isn't for everyone, and a lil can go a long way....and it is indeed easy to add more if necessary.

 

[Bigsage1]

Thanks so much for the advice guys! Fantastic, really helpful and can't wait to get one started!


Rusty

 

[user 30639]

I made a mango habanero IPA last year. Used 2 chopped up peppers. Both were deseeded and one of them was deveined. I think it stayed in for about a week or so, I can't remember off the top of my head. Some good habanero flavor with some heat on the back end. It was a big hit.