How to add jalapeno to beer?

[Rev2010]

In the future I will be making a Watermelon Jalapeno Wheat beer. I don't care what you think of it so please don't post if you just want to say how disgusting you think it will be. I've gotten on watermelon jalapeno margarita kick recently and am going to do this.

So I have the watermelon wheat base figured out. I just want a light spice to it, I don't want it to be very spicy but I definitely want it there and not hidden. I see when they make the margarita's they just crush some jalapeno's but I would prefer to add the jalapeno at kegging time rather than fermentation to retain the fresh spice notes. I know this can be searched up on here and I did but there is just soooo much to read though I figured it easier to post and ask. Thanks in advance! Oh, and 5 gallon batch size by the way.


Rev.

 

[EcuPirate07]

I have a jalapeño beer fermenting right now. I just cut them in half, removed the white meat and seeds and roasted in the oven until charred, then removed the charred skin and put in the freezer on the bases that freezing will burst the cell walls just like fruit to help release more flavor. Then just tossed into the fermenter frozen.

 

[jekeane]

Depends how much flavor and heat you want. I find 4 large peppers to be sufficient. I would halve them all then take the seeds out of two. You can then char them in the toaster over if you want. I would and them to secondary when you add your watermelon purée

 

[Rev2010]

Depends how much flavor and heat you want. I find 4 large peppers to be sufficient. I would halve them all then take the seeds out of two. You can then char them in the toaster over if you want. I would and them to secondary when you add your watermelon purée

So is it necessary to toast them? When they are added to margaritas they just crush them up and out them in the drink. What's the difference between toasting and not toasting them? Also, how long should they rest in there for? Btw, I wasn't planning to add the watermelon juice to the beer until right before kegging. Having used fruit before I don't like that the yeast eat all the sugars as it leaves a tart taste. I figured the beer would cool fairly quickly which would stop the yeast from eating too much of the sugars.


Rev.

 

[jekeane]

I just did a watermelon wheat and I added about .75 gallon (1/2 melon) of purée to secondary for 5days at 60 degrees. It is a watermelon bomb in my opinion but my wife loves it.

As for the peppers toasting them gives them a slight smoky flavor which is barely noticed. I think it is primarily for killing potential bugs.
When I do my jalapeño raspberry wheat I leave the peppers in for 5-7 days or till the raspberries turn white.

You could just toss them in primary as well.

 

[Natdavis777]

Ive always added peppers to the fermentor. I keg, so after the base beer was done, I transferred to a keg, bagged my peppers, and suspended them in the keg for a few days. Then pulled the bag, carbed, and served. You should be able to do the same in the carboy/fermentation bucket. I would just wait until fermentation is complete.

For the record, I never charred my peppers. The most common pepper I use is Anehiem chile peppers. Ive thrown in jalapenos and habenaros in as well.

 

[treacheroustexan]

In the future I will be making a Watermelon Jalapeno Wheat beer. I don't care what you think of it so please don't post if you just want to say how disgusting you think it will be. I've gotten on watermelon jalapeno margarita kick recently and am going to do this.

So I have the watermelon wheat base figured out. I just want a light spice to it, I don't want it to be very spicy but I definitely want it there and not hidden. I see when they make the margarita's they just crush some jalapeno's but I would prefer to add the jalapeno at kegging time rather than fermentation to retain the fresh spice notes. I know this can be searched up on here and I did but there is just soooo much to read though I figured it easier to post and ask. Thanks in advance! Oh, and 5 gallon batch size by the way.


Rev.

I'm with you, watermelon jalapeno margs are fantastic. Had one at margaritaville the other day.

 

[catdaddy66]

I'm going to add Jalepeno pepper to a pale ale recipe I'm making soon. As far as freezing the deseeded/deveined peppers, how long can they stay frozen without ruining them? I ask because I'll probably have two or three other recipes to brew before the pale ale. Is 2 months too long? I wouldn't think so but better to ask, I think. Thanks!

 

[EcuPirate07]

I'm going to add Jalepeno pepper to a pale ale recipe I'm making soon. As far as freezing the deseeded/deveined peppers, how long can they stay frozen without ruining them? I ask because I'll probably have two or three other recipes to brew before the pale ale. Is 2 months too long? I wouldn't think so but better to ask, I think. Thanks!

Should be fine, most vegetables are good for 8-12months frozen.

 

[JBIII]

I've brewed a belgian wit with raspberries and jalapenos several times and it's always a hit. I add 1 medium sized jalapeno per gallon of beer. I basically remove the seeds, puree and add after primary fermentation is just about finished. I don't do anything to treat the jalapenos, like boiling, etc...I just add directly to beer and let sit for two weeks before carbing.

When drinking, you'll definitely get jalapeno on the nose, but the actual flavor profile is very nuanced with a touch of spiciness and no noticeable heat.

Hope this helps and happy brewing...

 

[user 62649]

I've made a Fire In Your Hole beer where it is a Mexican cervesa and once I added a whole pepper to each bottle, nice heat but a lot of it, and the other time I roasted the whole pepper on the grill then almost made a purée from the whole pepper and strained it. Nice flavor there as well but not asich heat, I used 4 peppers in 5 gallons mashed

 

[EcuPirate07]

Just an update. I took the jalapeños out at day 12 bc I was getting no heat just jalapeño flavor, so I added 1 habanero pepper roasted with the seeds for 2 days which gave me the heat I was looking for.

 

[828brewing]

I've brewed a belgian wit with raspberries and jalapenos several times and it's always a hit. I add 1 medium sized jalapeno per gallon of beer. I basically remove the seeds, puree and add after primary fermentation is just about finished. I don't do anything to treat the jalapenos, like boiling, etc...I just add directly to beer and let sit for two weeks before carbing.

When drinking, you'll definitely get jalapeno on the nose, but the actual flavor profile is very nuanced with a touch of spiciness and no noticeable heat.

Hope this helps and happy brewing...

May I ask how you get the rasberry flavor? Just add a few pounds in the secondary?

 

[mac_1103]

May I ask how you get the rasberry flavor?

You can ask, but he hasn't been seen here since December 20, 2016 so don't hold your breath. I think puree or extract would work. Or search the recipe forum.

 

[bwible]

One of our guys brewed a jalepeno beer as part of one of our little club competitions. If I recall it was a light lager. We put that one to taste last as we figured it would mess up people’s palates. I have to say the jalepeno flavor and especially the heat was not overdone and I thought it was one of the best beers. Like a very fresh green pepper flavor. I think he said he cut them up and used them like dry hops for something like 8 hours.

 

[dmtaylor]

Vodka (or tequila!) tinctures work great -- chop and soak, seeds and all -- but my favorite method for award winning jalapeno beers is to wait until day of bottling/kegging, withdraw a quart of the finished fermented beer from the fermenter and boil them for about 5 minutes, cool, then add the cooked pepper beer back into the main batch. I love the cooked jalapeno flavor, it's strong in flavor, aroma, and heat, depending how much you use. About 1.5 to 2 per gallon will give a medium-high character. If you want mild, just use 0.75 to 1 per gallon. But guaranteed to be noticeable, for those who like it to be noticeable and not subtle. I also like the method of waiting to the last day because you can also add a little at a time and taste it along the way to avoid it being too strong, AND you can even choose to split the batch and add jalapenos to some but keep some naked, or try different addition rates to see how they turn out after conditioning in bottles or kegs.

 

[Dgallo]

I didn’t read the reply’s so sorry if this is redundant but I would make a jalapeño tincture with everclear. The reason this is ideal is you can add it to taste. I’d dice 3 jalapeños in to 6 oz of everclear. Let it sit 3-5 days. If you’re kegging, keg the beer before hand. Then take a 12 oz pour of it and use a 10 ml syringe and add a ml at a time tasting the beer until you get the level of heat you’re happy with. Then scale up to the amount to add to the keg. For example if 2 ml is the pint glass is perfect for your target. Your rate would then be 1ml of tincture to 6 oz of beer. Then take the volume of the beer in oz (full keg 5 gallon is 640oz) then divide it by 30 for 30 ml per ounce, and then divide it by 6 for the 6oz of beer per 1 ml of tincture. You will get roughly 3.5 ozs of tincture to add to your keg.

Use the math above and plug in the numbers you get.

 

[Dgallo]

Oh and if your looking for the pepper flavor more then the heat, use poblano peppers. They have big flavor but lower heat

 

[Snuffy]

Has anybody tried jalapeno jelly as a late add? Is there anything in jelly that would cause issues?

 

[Dgallo]

Has anybody tried jalapeno jelly as a late add? Is there anything in jelly that would cause issues?

Need to check what it was made with but check for fats and oils which will ruin the head retention. Also, I would imagine there is onion and garlic in it.

 

[Brockness Monster]

Jalapeno jelly is sweet. Should just be Jalapenos, sugar, water, pectin, and maybe a citric acid

 

[Snuffy]

After thinking about it some, i would just cut a couple in half and throw them in a hop spider during the boil - seeds and all. They would get cooked and release flavor and heat. If you want less heat, then de-seed them.

 

[Gary Boone]

I make jalapeno cream ales to get mainly pepper flavor with minimal heat. I use one pepper per gallon. I gut all but one of them, which I just split down the middle to expose the guts, where the heat is. You can do the same with more than one pepper to adjust the spice level. Then I roast and then freeze them. On brew day, I put the peppers in a hops bag along with a magnet. Boil this with as little water as possible for a minute or so. After cooling, I pour the water in the wort, and suspend the bag of peppers in the headspace with another magnet on the outside of the fermenter. 3 days before transfer out of the fermenter, pull the magnet so the bag of peppers falls into the beer.

 

[homebrudoc]

From a commercial brewery known for their Tri-Pepper Pils:

The peppers in this brew were freshly picked by Pitts, then brought to the brew house, where Brusewitz and Zukas put them to use. Wearing gloves and safety glasses, the two brewers chopped and diced about five pounds (total) of the seven different peppers, then blended them into a juice that was added to about 100 gallons of beer.

Obviously this was a 7 pepper special beer not the Tri-pepper pils but the process is the same. You could try something similar. I'm not sure exactly how sanitary this is or if it would re-ferment but it is one of my favorite commercial beers ever.
homebrudoc

 

[Brockness Monster]

I would try adding fresh chopped jalapeno to the mash. I have added pumpkin to the mash with great results, and I'm fairly certain it would work for peppers.

 

[sembola]

I've recently drank a (delicious) gose + jalapenos in a small brewery , I asked the owner how it was made and he said that, after sanitizing with cheap vodka, he cut 4 peppers lenghtside so that the sseds were exposed but not free and added them to 20 L of freshly brewed gose.