Brewing with chili / chipotle

[simpig]

I was at the Toronto Cask Days event last year (http://caskdays.com/brews ) and had a sample of the "Call of Brewty" offering from Black Oaks. It was not something I would drink regularly (actually it burned off a lot of my taste buds!) but I would like to try a 'hot' beer with some chili peppers in it. Ideally I would like to start by using some 'chili powder' that I usually use for tacos and such and wondering if anyone has some experience they can share, especially with using these prepared powders, but also looking for guidance around quantities per batch size. The powder I have lists the following ingredients: chili peppers, cumin, coriander, salt, oregano, garlic powder, and cloves - any problems in there?

 

[skorch11]

As we speak, my second batch of Habanero Kolsch is in the fermentor. The first batch was an extract brew (http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... ero-kolsch) and I was really pleased with how well it came out. As you can see in the recipe, I used about 1oz. of fresh Habanero chilis for a 3gal batch which I thought was perfect. You got the flavor and aroma of the chiles as well as a good amount of heat is the finish. Keep in mind that fresh peppers are an agricultural product and their heat level can vary from pepper to pepper.

If I were to use powders, I would stick with pure products so I could have complete control over the amount and freshness of each ingredient. A pure chile powder, cumin, coriander and maybe clove should be all you need. I think you can do without the salt, oregano and garlic. As for the quantity, that will take some experimentation as everyone's palate is different.

The second batch is AG and I will post updates once I've tasted it. (http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... ero-kolsch)

Good luck and please post any results of your own.

 

[Lee Tucker]

I experimented with a batch a few months ago. In the secondary I added two dried ancho chills, two dried chipotle, and one dried habanero. I sliced a hole in the ancho and chipotle peppers but did not for the habanero. They sat in the secondary for about weeks. I was hoping for a smokey chili flavor with just a hint of heat. It came close but was a little hotter than I had hoped for. Next time I will opt for a smaller habanero I think. One minor thing I wasnt expecting was how much it changed the color of the beer. It was a blonde I was experimenting with and it made the color much darker.

 

[sbaclimber]

I "brewed" a couple chilli beers quite a few years a ago with IMO a fair bit of success, by simply sticking a fresh chilli in each bottle before capping.
Obviously it was some variety that was long and thin (i.e. no scotch bonnets... )

 

[EvanAltman36]

This post has inspired me to create a recipe using chipotle peppers. I would think that with some chocolate and smoked malt, along with some hops that favor spicy, leathery notes. I would think that tossing 1 or 2 peppers into the wort with about 20 minutes left on the boil would be good to really get the full flavor diffused, and then adding 2 more after primary fermentation would give more of the smoky flavor without as much of the heat.

 

[simpig]

I was at the Toronto Cask Days event last year (http://caskdays.com/brews ) and had a sample of the "Call of Brewty" offering from Black Oaks. It was not something I would drink regularly (actually it burned off a lot of my taste buds!) but I would like to try a 'hot' beer with some chili peppers in it.

Well, I tried this using a "test batch", a 2 L bottle of "Big & Easy Bottle Brew" Brown Ale as a base (http://www.brewerylane.com/beer/Big-and ... -brew.html). I added 15 g of frozen and crushed Jalapeno peppers (the kind that come chopped up in a jar). It tastes very good, but the afterburn is a little too intense, so I want to dilute.
QUESTION: If I take my 2 L of Chili Beer that has finished fermenting and carbonating in this bottle, and combine it with a new unfermented 2 L bottle of Brown Ale - will I run into problems? I don't think so, but would like some feedback.

 

[simpig]

For those interested, I "diluted" the spicy Brown with another 2 L of the Big Bottle Red ale, and then another 4 L of an Amber I had going already. I now like it and the heat is good - so I can drink more than one at a time. So, for those keeping track, following the dilution it works out to about 2 grams of Old El Paso Pickled Sliced Jalapeño peppers per L of wort/beer gives a heat intensity that is noticeable but not overbearing.