Jalapeno and lemon zest

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robbyice

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I have a recipe in the pipeline that will need both jalapenos and lemon zest. almost all of the articles I read about putting chiles in beer have recommendations to add the chiles and lemon both into the secondary.

the problem I have is that I never ever use a secondary. does anyone have any experience adding jalapenos to the boil? I was thinking about 3 jalapenos with 3 oz of lemon zest in a hop spider bag with maybe 10 minutes remaining in the boil.

Habanero sculpin is far far hotter than I want to go with his one. I want a subdued heat with nice lemon nose and taste.

anyone got any experience here. im new to both chiles and lemon.

ps. I will also be using lemon pepper in this one... any tips there?
 
No experience, but why not just toss them into primary after the fermentation is over, that's what I do when I dry hop b/c I don't use a secondary
 
I made a mexican hot chocolate stout with ancho chilies and was fine tossing them into the primary. Its not like youre adding several pounds of berries or something
 
No experience, but why not just toss them into primary after the fermentation is over, that's what I do when I dry hop b/c I don't use a secondary
sounds great. so I just need to microwave them to kill any bugs and them throw them right in there... how long do you recommend "dry hopping" the chiles? 4-5 days?
 
sounds great. so I just need to microwave them to kill any bugs and them throw them right in there... how long do you recommend "dry hopping" the chiles? 4-5 days?

Now that I'm not sure, I would say let taste be your guide, you may consider soaking them in vodka instead of microwaving them, I would think that would give them a cooked taste..
Here is an article that may help
 
I threw 12 smoked jalapeno's in my pumpkin beer for the last 15 minutes of the boil. It came out great.
 
I threw 12 smoked jalapeno's in my pumpkin beer for the last 15 minutes of the boil. It came out great.
12? that's more than I was thinking would be necessary for some heat.. for some reason I was thinking 3 would be plenty for my beer. describe the spiciness of your pumpkin beer.
 
i used 3 ancho chilies in my stout I mentioned above. They are larger than jalapenos. Id try 5-6 and taste after a few days
 
Put them in your primary like mentioned. As for microwaving, not sure. I've read a few recipe posts since I'm planning on a watermelon jalapeño wheat soon and from what I've read most seem to say to wash them off, cut them into quarters lengthwise, cut slits in flesh, and add them to the fermenter. Don't recall seeing anything about cooking them, but I will keep on eye here to see what others have to say since I'd love to know myself.


Rev.
 
12? that's more than I was thinking would be necessary for some heat.. for some reason I was thinking 3 would be plenty for my beer. describe the spiciness of your pumpkin beer.


I left them whole so there is very little heat. I can tell its there but my wife can't. The heat is at the very backend. I smoked the peppers and the pumpkin for two hours using Apple wood. I put the pumpkin in the mash and the peppers in the boil (in a mesh bag) for the last 15 minutes.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1443050996.689362.jpg

That's after smoking them.
 
I make a chile beer every year (5 years running now) and have come up with a formula that works for me. I call it En Fuego Pale Ale.

I grow my own chiles and have found Sandia peppers to be a good heat for eating and brewing.

For a 5 gallon batch, I add 5 roasted chiles seeds and all (chopped finely) to the boil for last 15 minutes.

I use a secondary to add 5 more (roasted, no seeds) to finalize that smoky mild chile flavor. I actually am using a tertiary vessel to allow the beer to fully clarify after the chile stuff.

Good luck and consider adding a secondary vessel for clarification and adding those subtle flavors.

BannonB
 
I have used hot pepper (Fresno chile, in my case) and also citrus zest (grapefruit, in my case) during the boil. In both cases, they were in the wort for the last 5 minutes of the boil, and of course while the wort cooled to below 70 degrees. The 5-minute boil of course sterilysed them, and they were strained out when I transmitted the wort to the fermentor.

My batch was 1 gallon, so I used on Fresno chile, and the zest of 1 grapefruit for each batch.

The flavours seemed to steep throughout the wort very well. The jalapeno beer (a saison) had very noticible and nice spiciness with just the right amount of heat, and the grapefruit beer (an American pale ale) carried the grapefruit nicely, as well.

In the case of your beer, I would suggest that lime might go a little better with jalapeno, but that of course is your choice.

Good luck!
 
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I have used hot pepper (Fresno chile, in my case) and also citrus zest (grapefruit, in my case) during the boil. In both cases, they were in the wort for the last 5 minutes of the boil, of course while the wort coold to below 70 degrees.

The flavours seemed to steep throughout the wort very well. The jalapeno beer (a saison) had very noticible and nice spiciness with just the right amount of heat, and the grapefruit beer (and American pale ale) carried the grapefruit nicely, as well.

In the case of your beer, I would suggest that lime might go a little better with jalapeno, but that of course is your choice.

Good luck!
how much Jalapeno is appropriate in your saison? adding during the last 5 of the boil sounds so easy since I don't do secondarys
 
I used 1 for a 1-gallon batch, as per the recipe. For spicier, you can leave the ribs and seeds in, or for less-spicy, you can zap the seeds and ribs out with a stroke of the knife before adding.

Also, the chile was chopped roughly.
 
I dry hopped centennial blonde with 5 green de-seeded jalapeños and half of a pineapple in primary after fermentation and it was grand, if that matters. 5 days.
 
So those of you adding them to the primary/secondary, how many of you add them without cooking or sterilizing them with no issues?


Rev.
 
So those of you adding them to the primary/secondary, how many of you add them without cooking or sterilizing them with no issues?


Rev.


I soaked everything in vodka for about a minute....just to be safe. Was worried about a vodka hint in the blonde because it's so lite but there was none.
 
For what it's worth, I sampled my beer today, which used a red Fresno chile rather than a jalapeno. It was very good, and it seems to me that the method of:

adding it (chopped) with 5 minutes left in the boil, then

letting it steep while the wort cools, then

straining it out with the hops etc. before pitching the yeast

works very well. You can read about it here, if interested:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=530625

Hope this helps....

Ron
 
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