aiptasia
Well-Known Member
To preface, our LHBC is having an all extract competition in April and i've been planning what to brew for this. I've found the Sculpin habanero recipe and that's what i'd intended to make.
Then, this past weekend, I went to our local weekly bottle share. The brew pub where we hang out and sample beers has an employee that loves hot peppers and anything spicy. He brought in some sweet vinegar relish he made with Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers, which currently holds the record for the world's hottest pepper. This pepper is typically anywhere from 2 million to 3 million scoville units (but can be as weak as 1.5 million).
In comparison, the typical market habanero is 350,000 scoville units at the hottest. Jalapeno's range anywhere from 3,500 to 8,000 scoville units.
Here's the kicker. I ate some of the relish, and the trinidad pepper was absolutely delicious. It had amazing fresh fruit and floral flavor that I hadn't really encountered in a dried pepper before. It's a deceiving little devil, too, as you don't feel the heat immediately. It takes 2-3 minutes before it really kicks in, and then the burn hits you all over. Very hot, with legs on it that last about an hour. It will make you sweat.
So, while contemplating the heat and how amazing the taste was from the pepper, the guy that brought the peppers whips out a gallon sized ziplock full of the dried Moruga's he's grown from seed. He brought them in to trade for some ghost peppers from another guy, but I was able to talk him out of three dried peppers for brewing purposes.
The recipe for the habanero IPA calls for 1.5 to 2.5 grams of habanero per gallon depending on desired heat. I've decided to use 1 gram of Scorpion pepper per gallon for my first attempt, so 6 grams for a 6 gallon batch. I will de-seed and de-vein the pepper before chopping/crushing it up and putting it in a hops bag, then soak it in the bag in no rinse sanitizer (idophor) before putting it in the fermenter for five days.
It's either going to be amazing or so fiery, it's undrinkable. I can't wait to find out!:rockin:
Then, this past weekend, I went to our local weekly bottle share. The brew pub where we hang out and sample beers has an employee that loves hot peppers and anything spicy. He brought in some sweet vinegar relish he made with Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers, which currently holds the record for the world's hottest pepper. This pepper is typically anywhere from 2 million to 3 million scoville units (but can be as weak as 1.5 million).
In comparison, the typical market habanero is 350,000 scoville units at the hottest. Jalapeno's range anywhere from 3,500 to 8,000 scoville units.
Here's the kicker. I ate some of the relish, and the trinidad pepper was absolutely delicious. It had amazing fresh fruit and floral flavor that I hadn't really encountered in a dried pepper before. It's a deceiving little devil, too, as you don't feel the heat immediately. It takes 2-3 minutes before it really kicks in, and then the burn hits you all over. Very hot, with legs on it that last about an hour. It will make you sweat.
So, while contemplating the heat and how amazing the taste was from the pepper, the guy that brought the peppers whips out a gallon sized ziplock full of the dried Moruga's he's grown from seed. He brought them in to trade for some ghost peppers from another guy, but I was able to talk him out of three dried peppers for brewing purposes.
The recipe for the habanero IPA calls for 1.5 to 2.5 grams of habanero per gallon depending on desired heat. I've decided to use 1 gram of Scorpion pepper per gallon for my first attempt, so 6 grams for a 6 gallon batch. I will de-seed and de-vein the pepper before chopping/crushing it up and putting it in a hops bag, then soak it in the bag in no rinse sanitizer (idophor) before putting it in the fermenter for five days.
It's either going to be amazing or so fiery, it's undrinkable. I can't wait to find out!:rockin: