Sweet stout with pink peppercorns

[whatsleftofyou]

I know this sounds like a strange one, but there's a reason for it. Every year one of the clubs I'm in has a "crazy stout" competition. It's not judged to BJCP guidelines, but more like a chili cookoff. I've had some outstanding beers when judging this, as well as some that are great ideas but not so well executed. In any case it's a blast to take part in.

This year I'm thinking about adding pink peppercorns and am looking for some feedback. The other day I was drinking a Founders Porter and ate a few peppercorns, so I know that the flavor combo works. Sweeter stouts always tend to win this comp and I think I have a solid base recipe that I've used before, as follows:

For 5 gallons:
OG: 1.062
8lb 2-row
1lb Chocolate malt
.5lb Roasted Barley
.5lb Caramel 40
.5lb Caramel 80
1lb Lactose
36IBU Fuggle @60min

I've done some research and it seems like people are mostly doing wits or saisons with pink peppercorns, at around 2Tbsp/10g per 5 gallons. I'm thinking about doing 12-14g at flameout and maybe doing a late addition of Belma hops to bump up the fruity notes. If it doesn't turn out "peppercorny" enough I figure I'll add some more in the fermenter.

I'd appreciate any feedback or thoughts that anyone might have.

 

[BorealBrewer]

Subscribed.

I've been looking at peppercorn use rates all over HBT and elsewhere this morning; though I'm coming from the other end of the this topic (how little pepper can I add but still add aroma and a bit of flavour), the idea of a pepper-loaded beer is...intriguing.

Let me know if/when you brew this!

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I've decided to brew this on Friday, with a slight adjustment to the hop bill:

25IBU Fuggles @ 60 min
10IBU Belma @ 15 min
1oz Belma @ Flameout

I'll let you know how it turns out!

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I did brew this yesterday, but since I was juggling 2 brews at once I forgot the 0 min addition of Belma hops and pink peppercorns (which smelled great together btw). They ended up being more of a whirlpool addition, so we'll see what happens.

 

[BorealBrewer]

What yeast and at what temp are you fermenting?

I'm wondering if some of the pepper aroma might get scrubbed away...coming from the "I want distinct pepper aroma, with possible pepper flavour" end of the spectrum...

Sounds like it should be good one way or the other...keep posting, please!

 

[clickondan]

Sounds amazing. This is completely random but I noticed an allergy warning about these when I was researching the flavor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_peppercorn. Worth mentioning I figure. You might not win if a judge goes down.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I'm using S-04 and it's fermenting in my basement, which is about 68F. You might be right about the aroma getting scrubbed, but I figured you could say that about any flameout addition whether it be hops, citrus, spices, etc. I'm thinking that I'll put more into the keg if the flavor/aroma isn't where I want it.

The allergy thing is interesting. I'll be sure to say something to the comp organizer about it just in case. I'd feel awful if something like that happened.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

This beer has been in primary for 9 days now, so I decided to take a sample. Judging the peppercorn on a scale of 1-10 I'd give it a 2. I attribute this mostly to the lack of contact time and not necessarily the amount. I can detect pink peppercorn, but if I didn't know for a fact that it was in there I wouldn't think too much about it. I just crushed and added another 15g into the fermenter. I'll taste it again next weekend and post my thoughts then.

 

[Brettomomyces]

Did you toast the peppercorns before crushing? Totally late input from me here, but that might help to really bump up the peppercorn flavor

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Did you toast the peppercorns before crushing? Totally late input from me here, but that might help to really bump up the peppercorn flavor

I don't know that I'd want to toast pink peppercorns. They're more delicate than white or black peppercorns and I'd be worried about destroying the fruitiness/aromatics of them.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I just kegged this today and it's tasting pretty damn good. I'm excited to see how it is with some carb on it tomorrow. If I were to make this again I'd definitely just do the peppercorns in the fermentor.