Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Jalapeno Cream Ale

[mclight]

Sounds like a great beer, going to start with the original recipe.

what do you guys think about adding Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L for color.

 

[mclight]

Hello

first batch at this brew, hit my numbers. also let it sit in primary longer until rack to secondary. added 6 chilies soaked in Vodka light roasted. smells and taste great. family loved it.

two weeks going to mexico see how family likes over there.

 

[BigPicture]

I hate it when I double post.

 

[BigPicture]

Now I'm on my 3rd batch of this stuff. I'm simply trying to zero in the heat on my jalapeno additions. Previously my stuff was just too weak. This time I left all the seeds in. The beer underneath is fantastic! Sundowner has an excellent recipe here to start with and the beer has never lasted more than 1 week in my keg. Weak & all.

From this months Brew Magazine & Carlos Sanchez:
I use 4 varieties of peppers & I roast them before I add them to my brew. Habanero, Jalapeno, Serrano, Anaheim or Anchos. I use 1 lb. of each variety per 5 gallon batch and roast them to bring out a sweetness and aroma I'm looking for. After roasting, I run the peppers through a food processor and add them to the kettle, seeds and all. I add them later in the boil, usually after 60 minutes along with any hop additions. I have also tried adding them in steeping bags and placing them in the secondary fermenter for a few days, but have found it is far better and more consistent to add them to the boil. If you're planning your 1st chili beer, err on the side of caution. You can always make a hotter batch later or increase the heat by "dry peppering" in the keg or secondary. Whatever you do, don't get it in your eye.

 

[100amps]

I have the opportunity to 'doctor' a 10 gal cask of blonde ale at a buddy's brewery in a couple weeks. After reading this thread, I'd like to try dry-peppering the cask with smoked jalapeños. How many do you folks think I should use?

I was thinking of prepping about 15 as the OP described, trimmed and soaked in Vodka to remove heat, then smoking them a little as someone later described.

My goal would be noticeable pepper flavour more than just smoke or lots of heat, but a little kick would be nice.

As you probably know, casks give you one blind shot at getting it right. After adding the adjuncts, you're committed to the 2-3 weeks of conditioning until the cask is tapped.

Advice?

 

[BigPicture]

The beer was excellent. The 5 gallon batch only lasted 2 weeks in the keg. 2 gals who hate beer loved the stuff. The beer itself was smooth & creamy, delicious all by itself. But then the aftertaste was hot, hot, hot. It would have you breathing fire. Quite the contrast.

The big difference was........... keeping the seeds ............... and adding the additional peppers to the secondary. I put 5 roasted jalapenos with the seeds into the secondary. It was HOT, HOT, HOT. It even got hotter with time in the 2 weeks of kegging. Next time I'll add even more. Now I'm thinking of adding the above 4 different kinds of peppers to give the heat some complexity.

The aroma was lacking jalapeno. I need to bump up The Aroma of jalapeno. That jalapeno beer from Weed had aroma in abundance. My head would even snap back when I took a big sniff of the stuff. If I remember correctly, I only added 3 jalapenos to the boil & removed them in the primary.

Per this thread:
Add the 4 roasted jalapenos to the boil at 15 minutes left. Strain them just like your excess hops = no loose jalapenos in the primary fermenter. Then add the 2-3 more roasted jalapenos to secondary............................ depending on how hot you want it. Peppers vary from crop to crop so I'd advise tasting samples of the beer in the secondary to get it spot on before you keg it.

Any additional suggestions?

 

[shortyz]

The beer was excellent. The 5 gallon batch only lasted 2 weeks in the keg. 2 gals who hate beer loved the stuff. The beer itself was smooth & creamy, delicious all by itself. But then the aftertaste was hot, hot, hot. It would have you breathing fire. Quite the contrast.

The big difference was........... keeping the seeds ............... and adding the additional peppers to the secondary. I put 5 roasted jalapenos with the seeds into the secondary. It was HOT, HOT, HOT. It even got hotter with time in the 2 weeks of kegging. Next time I'll add even more. Now I'm thinking of adding the above 4 different kinds of peppers to give the heat some complexity.

The aroma was lacking jalapeno. I need to bump up The Aroma of jalapeno. That jalapeno beer from Weed had aroma in abundance. My head would even snap back when I took a big sniff of the stuff. If I remember correctly, I only added 3 jalapenos to the boil & removed them in the primary.

Per this thread:
Add the 4 roasted jalapenos to the boil at 15 minutes left. Strain them just like your excess hops = no loose jalapenos in the primary fermenter. Then add the 2-3 more roasted jalapenos to secondary............................ depending on how hot you want it. Peppers vary from crop to crop so I'd advise tasting samples of the beer in the secondary to get it spot on before you keg it.

Any additional suggestions?

Jalepenos can be judged at the store when you buy them by looking at the vertical white lines on the pepper. the more little white lines on the jalepeno the hotter that baby will be (means its older). The young peppers are firm and are without the white lines, they are crisp and fresh. Have a peek at the jalepenos your store sells and use it to flavor your beer in the way you like.

hopefully this helps out some people who didnt know this. cheers.

 

[stealthfixr]

42 IBUs seems excessive for a Cream Ale. Does that somehow better balance out the Jalapenos?

 

[sundowner]

42 IBUs seems excessive for a Cream Ale. Does that somehow better balance out the Jalapenos?

Yes the IBU's are high for a cream ale but they balance out very well in this recipe.

FWIW...My health is not the best, so I apologize for not answering my private messages on a timely basis...

 

[benco]

I think my 3rd time to make this brew or a version of it. I love this beer!

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

I plan on making this tomorrow night for National Homebrew Day if I get a chance, as a partial mash/partial boil, and I have a quick question:

When you roast the peppers that go in the boil (or elsewhere), do you remove the skin after the roasting? Does it matter?

 

[tmendick]

I usually do, I think it would give you a burnt flavor if you left the skin on

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

I usually do, I think it would give you a burnt flavor if you left the skin on

Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately I've been MIA for the last 36 hours and will have to brew this (maybe) Wednesday. Glad I have an answer though!

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

Almost ready

 

[BobbyNacho]

I sat here and read every post from 1 to 314..I cant wait to try this beer. Its now at the top of ,my list!
Big thanks to Sundowner, and I hope things are getting better for you, as last you posted that your health wasnt good.

 

[OmegaRed]

Kegged this have drank a few. Pretty good on the taste, my batch personally turned out a little on the weak side as far as spicy bite. I'll be increasing a few peppers next time.

 

[bikingman82]

So I have been wanting to do this recipe for awhile and I finally got around to it. I used 8 peppers. I roasted them on the grill then soaked them in vodka. I used 4 in the boil and 4 in the secondary with some of the vodka to give it extra heat. I just moved this to tertiary last night, so I got to taste it. When I first opened the carboy I was hit with a wave of jalapeño smell. The taste was sweet and spicy with just a tiny bit of heat at the end. The more you drink of it the more you feel the heat. I think this one is going to be awesome. I can't wait to bottle it.

 

[Megacab]

I tried to ready through this whole thread but maybe someone can answer my question, Why roast the peppers first? I am slightly new to homebrewing. Made a few batches, all grain, and upgraded to kegging. I would think adding straight raw jalapenos to the boil last 15 min it would but a huge flavor burst to it but maybe to much of a produce taste and not a beer taste. Help elighten me on the subject.

 

[Dabruman]

Megacab, as I recall from this thread (or maybe I read it elsewhere) you would get more of a vegetable flavor if you don't roast. I've never tested that, I know that by roasting I got the flavor I wanted.

 

[BobbyNacho]

I just brewed this one up yesterday and im pretty excited after reading all the posts
I made a couple changes, and ill post them here for all to read. My changes wete because the two brew shops in my area didnt have certain products.

 

[BobbyNacho]

This was about two hours into fermentation

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[BobbyNacho]

24 hours into fermentation

View attachment 1451369756761.jpg

 

[BobbyNacho]

Here is my ingredient list

View attachment 1451369822266.jpg

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[Shenanigans]

I have a meet up with some friends in April after about 3 years and would love to surprise them with this beer.
However I'm not sure if I can source fresh Jalapenos here in the next few week. Does this also work with canned/jarred Jalapenos?
I'll avoid the soggy ones that have been soaked for a few years. I know a few good brands that still have a bit of bite to them.
If so how much should I use?

Thanks!

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

I'm not sure how well jarred jalapenos would do, because those are usually pickled. Could cause of issues. If you want to try it, I'd try it on a small batch of a larger beer to make sure it doesn't get weird.

 

[Shenanigans]

I'm not sure how well jarred jalapenos would do, because those are usually pickled. Could cause of issues. If you want to try it, I'd try it on a small batch of a larger beer to make sure it doesn't get weird.

Thanks for your reply.

I just thought about it myself, if they are pickled they will probably have some salt on them even if I wash them thoroughly.

I'll wait until I can get some fresh ones.
There's enough other fine beers on here I can impress my friends with

 

[Shenanigans]

Thanks for your reply.

I just thought about it myself, if they are pickled they will probably have some salt on them even if I wash them thoroughly.

I'll wait until I can get some fresh ones.
There's enough other fine beers on here I can impress my friends with

I couldn't wait and ordered some peppers online.
I also ordered some seeds and a mini green house with a heating pad so I can have my own peppers this summer

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

I couldn't wait and ordered some peppers online.
I also ordered some seeds and a mini green house with a heating pad so I can have my own peppers this summer

So I have to ask: where are you from that getting jalapeno's in the winter is so difficult? Must be pretty off the grid in USA or northern canada/alaska/scandanavia. If so, kudos to your commitment to the recipe! I really enjoyed it.

 

[Shenanigans]

So I have to ask: where are you from that getting jalapeno's in the winter is so difficult? Must be pretty off the grid in USA or northern canada/alaska/scandanavia. If so, kudos to your commitment to the recipe! I really enjoyed it.

Hi.
I'm from Ireland but live in the countryside in Germany.
It's actually difficult the whole year to get fresh jalapenos and believe or not fresh coriander. None of the normal local supermarkets normally have these because nobody buys them and the supermarket has to buy a minimum quantity so they would probably have to throw a lot of them away.

I was at a few Turkish and Indonesian shops and coriander is no problem to get there but Jalapenos are not part of their cuisine so no luck. Lots of other types of peppers though.

I'd probably find something in one of the bigger cities near me but to driving there costs more money and time than ordering some on the internet.
Plus I got free shipping.

Hopefully everything arrives before Friday

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

Hi.
I'm from Ireland but live in the countryside in Germany.
It's actually difficult the whole year to get fresh jalapenos and believe or not fresh coriander. None of the normal local supermarkets normally have these because nobody buys them and the supermarket has to buy a minimum quantity so they would probably have to throw a lot of them away.

...

Hopefully everything arrives before Friday

Hopefully! I forget sometimes that we're so spoiled in available foodstuffs in the suburbs of the USA.

Good luck, and happy brewing!