Szechuan Pepper BOMM

[loveofrose]

About a year ago, my Chinese friend introduced me to authentic Szechuan cuisine. Wow. It's was heavily spiced, but not with spices I was familiar with. One in particular was Szechuan peppers (which is actually a berry, but I digress). Szechuan peppers have a wonderful cooling/numbing sensation that starts on your tongue and continues to your stomach. It really is the most wonderful spice. I've been experimenting with it in food ever since. So why not mead?

Szechuan Pepper BOMM

Day 0

3 lbs Orange Blossom honey (SG 1.12)
1.5 TBSP Red Szechuan berries
1.5 TBSP Green Szechuan berries
1 tsp Tellicherry Black Peppercorns
1/4 tsp K2CO3. One time addition.

Add 1/4 tsp DAP and 1/2 tsp of Fermaid K. Add these again at 2/3 (1.08) & 1/3 (1.04) sugar break.

Water to 1 gallon.
Starter of Wyeast 1388.

I decided to mix the red and green to add some complexity to the flavor. I can make adjustments in secondary. This is very experimental, so I will be winging it a bit!


Day 2
Gravity 1.085. Degassed and added nutrients.

Day 3
Gravity 1.065. Degassed. Smells wonderfully potent.



Better brewing through science!

 

[fuelish]

Sounds interesting....very interesting....have made a few habanero or hababero/ginger meads, before, just may give this a whirl Thanks, Bray

 

[Renoun]

I believe the spice you refer to is also widely known as Szechuan Peppercorns. Very tasty, I hope fermenting with them works well.

 

[loveofrose]

Day 4
Gravity 1.054. Wow. This is really, really good. This maybe the perfect spice for mead. Let's see how it is dry.


Better brewing through science!

 

[loveofrose]

Day 12
Gravity 1.00. Racked off the berries as the spice is a bit intense. Backsweetened to 1.015. I'll let it bring that down as far as it can and repeat.

Very tasty now, but spiced a bit strong. I think it will age out great in a month or so.


Better brewing through science!

 

[loveofrose]

Day 14

Holding 1.015. Tastes very nice with no detectable off flavors. I'll let it stay for a week to make sure it's stable, then I'll cold crash it.



Better brewing through science!

 

[loveofrose]

Day 19
Still holding 1.015.
Started cold crashing. It's very good with the yeast in it. I imagine it will be phenomenal clear.
A small sip doesn't numb the mouth at all. I wonder if it retains the numbing effect after a glass or two...



Better brewing through science!

 

[loveofrose]

Day 40
Perfectly clear after cold crashing. Bottled. This stuff is just so good. I'm thinking of keeping this one to myself! Indescribable flavor.


Better brewing through science!

 

[fuelish]

Hmmmmmm....just might have to try this one.....I think I've got one 1 gal fermentor still open...just have to source some Szechuan peppercorns around here. Thanks for the thread, it sounds tasty to me

 

[loveofrose]

Everyone who has tried this one asks for more! I can't make it fast enough!


Better brewing through science!

 

[Spelaeus]

How'd it come out? I had a wacky idea to make an IPA with szechuan peppercorns a while back, wanting to get a bit of the numbing sensation to come through. But I found that it was tough to get the numbing sensation without the flavor of the peppercorns being grossly overpowering when experimenting.

 

[loveofrose]

It comes through with a strong citrus note followed by a tingling sensation. It doesn't go full numbing on your tongue, but it does make your head tingle. Despite the fact this is a sweet mead, the peppercorns make it taste dry. In fact, if the mead is dry, the Szechuan peppers are too much. Just like your experience. The sweet is required to balance it out.


Better brewing through science!

 

[Spelaeus]

Hm, that's really good to know. I thought the citrusy flavors would meld best with an IPA but you're right, something heavier or sweeter might help to prevent the szechuan peppercorns from getting overwhelming in the flavor department. Also thinking back, the peppercorns produce a fairly tart note that would really have clashed with the bitterness of the hops. This was back when I was still just learning, all I knew was that it tasted nasty. But you've given me some good directions to move in if I decide to revive that particular project.

 

[fatsuperman]

Hi I would love to try this. Would you change anything about your recipe? Tried szechuan food for the first time this past week and it was amazing!

 

[loveofrose]

Hi I would love to try this. Would you change anything about your recipe? Tried szechuan food for the first time this past week and it was amazing!

Here is the finished version: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Szechuan-bomm/

 

[fatsuperman]

Thank you!

 

[JAReeves]

Here is the finished version: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Szechuan-bomm/

Props to you for responding to your 10 year old thread!

 

[fatsuperman]

Thanks. I'm a brand new brewer. My interest is in learning to make unique things you can't really find at the store. Googled "mead made with szechuan pepper" and this thread was the first result.