I made a 5 gallon batch of an amber ale yesterday. I was thinking after the primary fermentation is done to rack off 2 or 3 gallons of it into 1 gallon jugs and dry hop with different ingredients...I was thinking Japaleno and coffee. Anyone had any experience doing this or any suggestions for other ingredients? Thanks.
DON'T dry-hop with coffee! You'll get all the stuff that makes day-old Starbucks taste like something out of an industrial vat. Instead, cold-steep it overnight then add the coffee to your fermenter. If you use peppers, make sure you find a way to pasteurize them prior to adding them to the fermenter. Raw fruits and vegetables carry bacteria that can make your beer do weird things.
You could always make a few differant teas then add a few drops to a sample of your brew. That way your not making galons of beer you wont like.
