Peppers for Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout

[kostohryz08]

So I'm going to brew a Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout next weekend which is going to be my first attempt with using hot peppers in a brew.
I'd like to have some back end heat but nothing that is super spicy but just has a little kick/zip to it and would like some input from people that have used peppers in a brew before.
I'm thinking about maybe 1 habenero at flame out and maybe some ancho or pasillia peppers in secondary.
Here's my recipe minus the pepper additions.

11# - Maris Otter
1# - Chocolate Malt
10 oz - Roasted Barley
10 oz - Cara-pils/Dextrin
10 oz - Caramel/Crystal 70
8 oz - Flaked Oats
1 oz - Warrior (60 min)
2 oz - Saigon Cinnamon (Flame out/Whirlpool)
?? - Pepper (Flame out/Whirlpool)
4 oz - Cacoa Nibs (Secondary 5 days)
1 ea - Vanilla Bean (Secondary 5 days)
.5 oz - Saigon Cinnamon (Secondary 5 days)
?? - Pepper (Secondary 5 days)

Est ABV - 7.9%
Est IBU - 44

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ehall]

I'll start by saying I don't believe in adding peppers amongst other stuff to beer, let alone spices... just not my thing. That being said, you will not notice 8oz of oats, either up it to at least a pound or more or just leave it out. You've got cara-pils going into take care of that mouthfeel you're prob looking for. That's also not enough cacao nibs if you want a chocolate flavor. I would remove that and the cinnamon and use those mexican hot chocolate 'pucks'. These: Robot or human?

I think with at least 2-3 of these for a 5gal batch would get you the 'mexican' flavor you're looking for. As far as pepper, serano is a popular one as well as chipotle. Habanero could be a choice too but I wouldn't be able to tell you how much you need. I'm not sure how much you'll get out of ancho/passillia either, they're pretty mild. I would try to look up recipes on zymergy site as to folks who entered competitions with 'pepper' beers and won. Good luck.

 

[hotbeer]

My first beer brewed was a Jalapeño Saison. On brew day my fresh jalapeños weren't so fresh and actually had mold growing. So I used some sweet banana peppers I had on hand. 1 good size pepper per gallon.

It was a good beer and the pepper taste did seem to come through. But I never brewed another. I've always wondered how much the heat of the pepper comes through.

My recipe called for the to be put in at flame out. I don't do much dry hopping anymore as I must be bad at it. Most of my dry hopped beers were failures and for me I can stuff in a bunch of hops at flame out and get all the hop flavor I desire.

So I'd also be leery of adding peppers in the FV. But mostly just because I was terrible about adding stuff to the FV.

The fact you said secondary FV is a whole new discussion. I don't use secondary fermenters for beers being bottled or kegged in less than 2 months. Might even go three months in the primary FV if I had to.

 

[maxr]

I brewed the chili wit beer from Denny and Drew's home brew all starts book. In a 5 gal batch, the recipe called for half of a habanero and three poblanos (edit: I added a whole habanero). All of the chiles get roasted, peeled, and seeded, then pasteurized at 200F for 20 minutes and added like a dry hop addition when fermentation is waning. The skins, which separate easily after roasting, have a soapy flavor that you probably don't want in the finished beer. This spice level was just enough to be noticeable but not overpowering.

 

[Brewsmith]

I would stay away from the habanero. They are so hot that it would be hard to control the amount of heat. I would say anchos are the way to go. Very little heat with good chile flavor. There is very little worse in the beer world than a chile beer that has too much heat. A little goes a long way.

I would also recommend the Mexican hot chocolate pucks. The blend of chocolate to spice is already done.

 

[maxr]

I would stay away from the habanero. They are so hot that it would be hard to control the amount of heat. I would say anchos are the way to go. Very little heat with good chile flavor. There is very little worse in the beer world than a chile beer that has too much heat. A little goes a long way.

I would also recommend the Mexican hot chocolate pucks. The blend of chocolate to spice is already done.

I can tell you from actual experience that one habanero in a 5 gal batch of beer does not produce something with "too much heat".

 

[Brewsmith]

I can tell you from actual experience that one habanero in a 5 gal batch of beer does not produce something with "too much heat".

Fair enough, but if Mexican hot chocolate is what he is going for, habanero is not it. Hotter chiles just make it easier to completely blow past the line from good to completely undrinkable.

 

[ssuhy]

How i got some flavorful heat in a similar beer:

In secondary for 3 days, add vodka soaked: 4oz cacoa nibs 1 vanilla bean, chopped 1 cinammon stick, 2 broken (2-4g) and dried ancho peppers, 2 dried and deseeded pasilla peppers, 1 dried and deseeded Guajillo pepper. Was wonderful in taste and heat.

 

[AlexKay]

I’d approach this with low-heat, flavorful peppers in secondary: dried in a tincture or fresh. Then get some million-Scoville extract and titrate heat right before packaging.

 

[Derp]

Copper Kettle's (Denver) excellent Mexican Chocolate Stout won a gold medal at GABF in 2011. Their website says:

Dynamic stout with cinnamon, local organic chocolate, and habanero, ancho and guajilo peppers!

 

[Kickass]

2-3 habanero’s de-seeded once fermentation is complete. Taste it every couple of days and package when you like what you taste. I did this in a cider recently. Even with very little substance to act as a spice buffer, the habanero never went careening past the taste threshold.

I’d avoid all hot side chili additions.

 

[anteater8]

Please do not use jalapeno or habenero for a Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout. You want ancho and/or guajillo in secondary for the pepper flavor and subtle heat that works so well in that style. Cigar City uses both in Hunahpu, Side Project uses ancho in Abraxas. 1 oz of dried ancho per 5 gallons of beer worked well for me.