Looking for help with insanely hot Capsicumel

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Duskmoon

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This is a gift for my GF, she is a psychopath for extremely spicing things, she will add tablespoons of Reaper powder to a serving of food. The heat is supposed to be the main flavor here with the fruitiness of the two chosen peppers and the white chocolate secondary.

I am a new brewer and am looking for advise on my recipe, should have asked before starting but I got over excited to start.
I’m not sure if I should add something and/or change my pacing to create the best flavor profile.

I will sample it when I’m adding the syrup to get the flavor and sweetness right but chances are after that I will be unable to sample it do to my own intolerance to such heats.

Done already:
Rehydrated 5 Carolina Reapers
Oven roasted 5 Carolina Reapers
Shredded 5 Carolina Reapers in a food processor
Bocheted 4lbs of Kirkland wildflower honey and the shredded Reapers for 1.5 hrs
Added 1 gallon of water
Added honey till SG was around 1.14
Added 2.5g Lalvin 1118
1tsp nutrients
1tsp energizer

Plan:
In secondary:
Add Torani white chocolate syrup (to flavor)
Backsweeten if needed after adding syrup
Add in another 5 roasted shredded Reapers

Let sit for 1 month:
Rack over and add in 5 roasted shredded Dragons Breath peppers

Let sit until November:
Filter out all pepper parts by siphoning into a bucket lined with a brewing bag
Siphon back into glass carboy

Let sit until December:
Bottle
 
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I’m familiar with the traditional sting ring but pee hole sting ring might be something entirely new. Good luck...
 
I’m familiar with the traditional sting ring but pee hole sting ring might be something entirely new. Good luck...

You'll generally only get pee hole sting if you're not good about washing your hands after handling the peppers; Capsaicin is barely soluble in water, (The alcohol will fix that.) it's more oil soluble. That means it will easily hang around in your intestines for the full ride, especially if not part of a fatty meal, but it's practically impossible for it to reach your bladder.

The worst is peeper sting; God, I'd have sworn I washed my hands like a dozen times after cutting up those Thai peppers!
 
Personally I would chop up the peppers raw, including seed and the pith (hottest part of the pepper), and then soak them in a very high alcohol solution (see if you can find 95% ABV or 190 proof grain alcohol, some vodkas go that high). I would steep them in that alcohol solution for as long as the mead takes to make, and then add that alcohol steeping (squeezing out all the pepper juice) to the mead at the end.
 
Personally I would chop up the peppers raw, including seed and the pith (hottest part of the pepper), and then soak them in a very high alcohol solution (see if you can find 95% ABV or 190 proof grain alcohol, some vodkas go that high). I would steep them in that alcohol solution for as long as the mead takes to make, and then add that alcohol steeping (squeezing out all the pepper juice) to the mead at the end.

I've never done a steep before what volume would you recommend?
 
I've not done it before either, but considering you're looking to capture the capsaicin or whatever it's called, and it's soluble in alcohol, that's where I would start. High-proof food-grade alcohol (ethanol), doing an infusion or tincture type deal. It just makes sense to me.
 
You'll generally only get pee hole sting if you're not good about washing your hands after handling the peppers; Capsaicin is barely soluble in water, (The alcohol will fix that.) it's more oil soluble. That means it will easily hang around in your intestines for the full ride, especially if not part of a fatty meal, but it's practically impossible for it to reach your bladder.

The worst is peeper sting; God, I'd have sworn I washed my hands like a dozen times after cutting up those Thai peppers!
Gloves!😂
 
I like the tincture idea better. Keep the heat separate, then you can add in however much you need.
|Basically all you'd need is enough spirit to cover the peppers.
 
Can't you just use capsaicin extract? They sell it at 15 million Scoville. Enough to make it as hot as Scarlett Johansson.
 
Can't you just use capsaicin extract? They sell it at 15 million Scoville. Enough to make it as hot as Scarlett Johansson.
Because if you can weather the heat Reapers supposedly have a fruity flavor and that would be lost. I say supposedly because I can't weather the heat
 
I've been making capsicumels/metheglins for decades ... your recipe is going to scaary spicy ... if that's what you're going for, I'd add a few cloves (5-6 for a 5 gallon batch - a few go a loooong way) about 3" cinnamon stick (for 5 gallons) and s 1/2 dozen whole cardamon seed pods to balance out the overwhelming heat from the reapers ... also, question the need to add more reapers in secondary ... you're going to be coming out of primary with a capsicumel that will debur cast iron pipe ;-)
 
I've been making capsicumels/metheglins for decades ... your recipe is going to scaary spicy ... if that's what you're going for, I'd add a few cloves (5-6 for a 5 gallon batch - a few go a loooong way) about 3" cinnamon stick (for 5 gallons) and s 1/2 dozen whole cardamon seed pods to balance out the overwhelming heat from the reapers ... also, question the need to add more reapers in secondary ... you're going to be coming out of primary with a capsicumel that will debur cast iron pipe ;-)

Question: Are you saying this because you believe I won't get any more heat with the 2nd set and waste them or because you believe it doesn't need to get hotter?

It's about 1.5 gallons now hoping to get 1 gallon of final product in the end.

I like the idea of the spice pallot you've reccomend, thank you
 
Question: Are you saying this because you believe I won't get any more heat with the 2nd set and waste them or because you believe it doesn't need to get hotter?
At a certain point, adding more capsacin to the mix is a waste ... do you want a mead (with under/over notes of honey) or liquid capsacin heat? ... My .02 is that, with the recipe you related in your OP, you're already at the extreme edge of enjoyably drinkable ... you may want to go further on the heat if that's your goal/preference ... there are certainly a few folks who would enjoy this, but not in my circles (and I love spicy food, drinks, etc...)

It's about 1.5 gallons now hoping to get 1 gallon of final product in the end.
I like the idea of the spice pallot you've reccomend, thank you
Welcome ... I typically try to balance out the spices when making Metheglins or Capsicumels in order for there to be a balance between the spice/heat-forward initial hit and the lingering aftertaste ... taste & aroma need to be appealing but where that level is, is a highly subjective personal opinion
 
Update:

I added an extra 1/2lb honey about a week ago because the fermentation had finished and it ate through all of it.
Today I tasted it and it has excellent flavor and is defiantly at the limit of my spiciness, I added 260ml of torani white chocolate which mellowed it nicely then added in the 5 Carolina reaper and the 5 dragons breath everclear extractions. At this point I refused to taste it but my GF did and she gave a very happy "spicy" response.
I didn't have any of my spice bags available but when I do in a week I'm going to add the suggested spices.

So, so far it looks like this is a viable recipe, if your a spice fiend
 

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