Using chipotle chilies in an amber ale

[RockTheGoodAg]

Howdy y'all,

I'm making an amber ale for my roommate's wedding reception in June. I'm using AHS's Texas Red kit with WLP007 Dry English Ale yeast, and I added 1.5 lbs. of local raw honey with 5 minutes left in the boil.

I'd like to add a smoky heat to complement the earthy sweetness of the amber ale and the honey, so I'd like to use chipotles. I've already acquired the peppers, but I'm stuck on how to incorporate them. In keeping with the Tex-Mex spirit of the beer, I had thought I might steep the chilies in tequila anejo for a week or so, and then add the liquid to the fermented wort an oz. at a time until the desired flavor is achieved, but I wasn't sure if the tequila would add any weird flavors to the beer. I've read of similar practices with vodka or whiskey, but not tequila.

Any thoughts? Thanks y'all!

 

[scottballz]

I like where you head is at. A good way to experiment and see what you like is to soak one batch of chipotle in vodka and one in tequila while you beer is fermenting. for this batch, Don't add it to your fermented wort at all, just keg or bottle as you would normally. When it is finally ready to drink, pour yourself a couple cold ones into a pint glass and use an eyedropper to add some of your chipotle extract into the glass until it reaches your desired heat and smokiness. This also gives you the luxury of essentially having 3 beers in one. It will also ensure you don't have a big batch of something you do not like and will allow you to correctly measure out your additions. Just keep good notes and weigh everything out.