Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Jalapeno Cream Ale

[crjpilot]

Few general questions about jalapeños and beer. If a beer is too hot will it mellow in a keg? How much jalapeño aroma should you expect? I obviously have made a beer that smells and tastes like liquid jalapeño...

I wouldn't expect to mellow a whole lot. Seems like the capsaicin is pretty stable. I think there's a pretty significant jalapeno aroma with the amount of peppers in this recipe. Make sure you're slitting them open so the vodka can get into the seeds and veins.

It's true that peppers aren't consistent, but I've found I can pretty much always get right on target over multiple batches. I always use the same boil amount, but I never use more than two in secondary and taste daily to gauge the heat.

 

[dbillingsby]

Few general questions about jalapeños and beer. If a beer is too hot will it mellow in a keg? How much jalapeño aroma should you expect? I obviously have made a beer that smells and tastes like liquid jalapeño...

When I added the jalapeños to a secondary, I tried it after about 4 days and it was like drinking a liquid jalapeño. I pulled them out and let it sit for a few more days before I bottled it. After a couple weeks in the bottle, there was only a slight burn left. Nothing unbearable and very drinkable.
So my experience is that it mellows out a lot. I think from reading through this thread you will find a lot of people say it mellows out after it sits I'm a bottle for a couple weeks.

 

[TheOrlandoGuy]

Agreed...I let it age for 4 months...jalapeño is just a aide note at this point

 

[jekeane]

I tucked the keg in the back of my keezer, Ill give it a pull every now and then to check. It's not completely undrinkable atm but I am terrified of having to use the bathroom after drinking it...

Update: Gave it a try after a week in the keg carbing. It's a different beer now. It was fiery liquid jalapeño and now it has the flavor but no real burn. Much better.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Cilantro, does it get infused? How long? Does it go in primary or secondary?

 

[magpiebrew]

Amazing beer! Very pleased with how it turned out. I believe that a cream ale style is the perfect match for a pepper beer. All who've tasted it, love it. Wish I could take credit for the recipe.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

why soak em in vodka and just toss em in roasted only?

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

getting closer to brew time, so why are the peppers soaked in vodka?!! and do the secondary peppers go in roasted only?

 

[icanbenchurcat]

The vodka soak draws a lot of heat out of the seeds, and a good amount of the pepper/smokey flavor. It allows you to control it easier.

For me, I did about 5 peppers de-seeded into the boil. 2 more soaked in vodka - seeds and all - to the secondary. I only added the vodka and it got me right where I wanted to be.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[tuelmen]

The vodka soak draws a lot of heat out of the seeds, and a good amount of the pepper/smokey flavor. It allows you to control it easier.

For me, I did about 5 peppers de-seeded into the boil. 2 more soaked in vodka - seeds and all - to the secondary. I only added the vodka and it got me right where I wanted to be.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I've brewed this beer 7 times. Making a tincture is best, and probably the only way you can get the heat where you want it. I don't add jalapenos to the boil. Put them on the grill roast and smoke. Put them in a large mouth jug and pour the vodka over them. Two days later you tincture is ready to use. I add when I bottle. As a bonus the tincture is GREAT in a Bloody Mary.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

I added 4infused peppers in the boil. I tasted the wort just before pitching the yeast and it tastes delicious with some heat which may be good enough for me. I'll taste again after fermentation is complete and add tincture or a couple of peppers. I was and still am confused why to infuse the peppers when recipe calls for them to go in the boil.

 

[magpiebrew]

i muddled the cilantro a little bit, then let it sit as i chopped the jalapenos for the vodka tincture. so far, though, the heat has not subsided enough for me to even taste the cilantro. if i were to do another herb infused beer, i'd make sure to pair it with less overbearing flavors. maybe soon the cilantro will become more noticeable? i think i used a 2oz package of cilantro.

How did this turn out? Did you add it to the secondary?

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

It's been 13 days in the fermenter, it's @1.014 right now. I tasted it and it has just a tad bit of heat to it, which is a good thing for me. I'll roast another 3 peppers today and toss them in, along with some cilantro soaked in Star San for a few minutes. Just tasted my pepper vodka,,,,it's frickin awesome! I'll wait til bottling day to see if I want to add any of the vodka to my bottling bucket.

 

[crjpilot]

Make sure you taste it daily once you add the secondary addition of peppers. The heat can rise rapidly. If you're pretty close on the heat level you want right now, I'd expect 2-3 days will be sufficient.

It's been 13 days in the fermenter, it's @1.014 right now. I tasted it and it has just a tad bit of heat to it, which is a good thing for me. I'll roast another 3 peppers today and toss them in, along with some cilantro soaked in Star San for a few minutes. Just tasted my pepper vodka,,,,it's frickin awesome! I'll wait til bottling day to see if I want to add any of the vodka to my bottling bucket.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Make sure you taste it daily once you add the secondary addition of peppers. The heat can rise rapidly. If you're pretty close on the heat level you want right now, I'd expect 2-3 days will be sufficient.

good idea. will taste it tomorrow

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Day 2 of dry hopping. Tasted the wort and I think I will have to do a day by day taste test. So far so good. No cilantro taste, yet. If none tomorrow, I may toss in some more.

It's still at 1.014......which puts the ABV @ 5.51%

 

[icanbenchurcat]

Any cilantro taste shine through?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Nope. Need to toss in the entire bunch next time

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

seems like I'm losing the hotness and aroma of the pepper after a couple of weeks. Is this normal? Maybe next time I need to add more peppers?

 

[sloanfamilydsm]

Mine have taken several months before the pepper flavor or heat fades. I'm using 4 at 5 min. & 3 in secondary seeds & all.

 

[dbillingsby]

seems like I'm losing the hotness and aroma of the pepper after a couple of weeks. Is this normal? Maybe next time I need to add more peppers?

I'm still drinking some I bottled in April and it still has good heat and flavor.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

a friend of my SWMBO, gave us some roasted New Mexico Chilli Peppers.....was thinking of maybe using them instead of the jalepeno. yes or no?

 

[kirbcheck]

Do it. I like this beer but personally I think chilli peppers make better beer.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

my previous post was meant to go in this thread......
.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/my-2-time-gold-winning-american-ipa-81478/

 

[Shenanigans]

Hi All,

I'm planning my brew schedule for next year and will brew this in a few months. I mash in a cooler and can easily collect 10 or 15 gallons of wort.
However I don't want to have 10 gallons of the same beer.
After mashing I would like to split it in half. Brew one half like the OP and the second half without the peppers, different hops and possibly a different yeast.

I have never tried a cream ale before anyone have any suggestions what I could do with it?
Do any of the fruity/citrusy hops go well with this type of wort?

Thanks!:rockin:

 

[tmendick]

Not really, but see what the BJCP says is "to style", the IBU's in this recipe are way too high to be considered a true cream ale. If you do want to split the mash, the grain bill could make a good pale with some fruity hops.
When I make my jalapeno, very loosely based off of this one I've used cascade (better with wlp001/us-05/1056) and northern brewer(better with s-04/1098/wlp002) my favorite though was amarillo with WLP080 Cream Ale Blend.

 

[BigPicture]

OK,

Here is my HANDS-ON Experience. I brewed this beer twice according to the OP's original recipe. But both times I scraped out the insides, per a post instructions later in the thread. It was good, just needed more of a punch.

1) Used 5 jalapenos in the brew, scraped the insides and roasted in the oven. The beer had a very mild taste of jalapeno & it was no-way hot.

2) Used 9 jalapenos in the brew. Did the same thing per instructions and it was nicer............. but not hot enough. Most of the heat came through in the aftertaste. The beer is excellent though.

I took the beer to our local brewery/restaurant that just opened in town. The owners are really nice and they've even given a presentation to our brew club. I brought over a growler of the stuff but wasn't expecting much. They each had 1 glass, then another, then another. They quickly emptied the growler between the 2 of them. Both commented how good it was!

Now I just received a commercially available jalapeno beer from Weed California.............. some of my friends (that tried mine) brought me it...................... it's VERY hot. The aroma is over the top jalapenos, it almost blew my head off just from the smell. The beer underneath is not as good as sundowner's, but I LOVED all the jalapeno's.

So now I'm ready to try this again. I could up the count on the roasted jalapenos, but I'm thinking back to my cooking 101 and remembering the heat is all in the seeds. What if I use 9 jalapenos, slice 'em, roast 'em & just leave the seeds in? Will this be drinkable?

When & if to add Jalapenos to:
1) Mash
2) Boil
3) Primary
4) Secondary

Please help, oh you beer gurus. I'm just thinking of trying Sundowner's original recipe without the scrape!?

I like it hot! Fire! My Mexican Step-Father makes a salsa that is HOT!!! It's full of seeds. 3 days after you try it, you're still burping up the hot stuff!!!

Yup. Read back a few pages and it's all there. The heat is in the seeds.

The jalapeno seeds and core are what add the heat. If you strip the insides, you will eliminate the heat.

I brewed this using the original recipe, except for the hops, a few weeks ago and thought I would share my experience. I like spicy things but was a little scared about a spicy beer. I added 4 jalapeños to the boil. The beer had a nice little kick after the boil. Waited 10 days moved to secondary and it still had about the same spice. So far so good. Added 3 more jalapeños to secondary and tasted about 4 days later. Holy crap! It was like drinking a liquid jalapeño. Way to hot. Pulled the jalapeños out of the secondary and let it sit for about another week or so. After bottling the hotness went down a lot and was drinkable. Tried one last night after about 1.5 weeks in bottle and it is very very yummy. Just the slightest spice in the aftertaste. So far this is my favorite brew I have done.
For those of you worry about the spiciness of the beer it is not that bad and as time goes it gets better.

 

[Shenanigans]

Not really, but see what the BJCP says is "to style", the IBU's in this recipe are way too high to be considered a true cream ale. If you do want to split the mash, the grain bill could make a good pale with some fruity hops.
When I make my jalapeno, very loosely based off of this one I've used cascade (better with wlp001/us-05/1056) and northern brewer(better with s-04/1098/wlp002) my favorite though was amarillo with WLP080 Cream Ale Blend.

Thanks.
I might give the Amarillo a go.
I did a search on here and found an interesting cream ale with Belma and Mittlefrüh. That would be another possibility.

 

[np2011]

Love this beer brewing it right now!

 

[dford]

Brewing a 11 gallon batch right now.

View attachment 1420323132772.jpg