Chocolate Chipotle Ale

[EvanAltman36]

I've got my brew going nicely in primary right now and I'm going to rack onto some Hershey's syrup and Special Dark syrup after primary is complete. I had 2 chipotles w/out seeds in the boil for 10 min and I've got 3 with seeds taking a bourbon bath too. I know that dry hops should not be added prior to the completion of fermentation due to aroma blowoff, but what about flavor additions? I'm thinking about tossing the chipotles and bourbon into the secondary, as the rackng and subsequent restart of fermentation with fully mix the flavors. BTW, after only 24 hours, the chipotle bourbon smells so good!

 

[Nosybear]

Add the syrup at the start of secondary to give your yeast a chance to consume all the sugars.

 

[EvanAltman36]

Yes, that's the plan. But should I just put the bourbon and chipotles in as well? Since it's flavor and not aroma I figure it won't matter as much.

 

[Nosybear]

Save the bourbon/peppers for later. And do taste it as you're adding it to the beer. You won't want to add too much heat to the beer.

 

[EvanAltman36]

Good call. I just used a dropper to sample some of the bourbon and just a couple drops lit me up. Great smokiness and flavor, but whoo, was it strong. I may avoid using the actual peppers at all and just add the bourbon, since it's got all the flavor now anyway. Now comes the decision as to how much to start with. Gotta go small and then sample, I guess.

If all goes well, I can keep the peppers and the remaining bourbon and then dilute it and use in cocktails.

 

[EvanAltman36]

Now that I think about it, I'll probably dilute the bourbon a bit more. That way I can put more of it in and allow the flavor to mix more evenly.

It's tough to judge the impact though, as 5 gallons of beer will absorb quite a bit of the heat. I mean, what's strong on my tongue in one drop won't even show up in the beer. But I'll be careful with it so as not to go overboard.

 

[Nosybear]

You'll be surprised how little heat the beer soaks up.

 

[DanC]

You'll be surprised how little heat the beer soaks up.

+1 on the heat. I made an extract from dried habanero and vodka and let it set out for a couple days before I strained the solids and put it in the fridge. I made a 2 gallon batch of pale ale with citra hops and added 1 shot glass to the bottling bucket with the priming sugar. It was evil hot but I thought it would mellow during conditioning. Nope. It is not really drinkable but it makes a great beer batter for chicken strips.

 

[EvanAltman36]

All good stuff, all good. Chipotles are really more about the smokiness than the heat, but I'm taking it easy nonetheless. The beer's been in secondary for a while now and am adding about 10mL at a time of the bourbon. I tasted it last night and got some smoke and just a little heat at the back of my throat in the aftertaste. That was after about 30mL, so I put in 15 more and that will probably just about do it. Pretty good on the whole and the chocolate comes through from the syrup addition, which is nice.

 

[Nosybear]

Wish I could e-mail you one of mine for comparison....

 

[EvanAltman36]

Wish I could e-mail you one of mine for comparison....

Yes, that would be very nice. I sampled again last night and I'm pretty happy with where it's at right now. I don't believe I'll add any more chipotle bourbon, as there's enough to get the smokiness of the peppers and to give you that slight burn at the back of your throat. The heat isn't right up front and assertive, but you get it in the aftertaste. I am really looking forward to getting it carbonated and getting the aroma of the chipotle in there too. The syrup did a really good job of imparting flavor; I used a 16oz can of regular Hershey's and then 22oz of Hershey's Special Dark, so it's got a pretty deep, rich flavor to it. I'm planning on kegging Saturday, so it should be ready to go in a couple weeks. If I had split the batch, I'd probably add even more of the chipotle bourbon into half of it. But I guess I don't want outright heat. Rather, the impression of heat is more what I'm going for. You want to drink a beer to cool you after eating spicy foods, not add to the fire.

The chocolate does a good job of mellowing the flavor and I'm really happy with how the bourbon and chipotle flavors all blend in too. Nothing seems to be fighting for supremacy and the taste is smooth; you get the smokiness of the peppers, followed by the richness of the chocolate, and then the tingle of heat at the end. I even dry hopped with Delta to give a little bit of spicy aroma with a bit of citrus too. I fear that the hop aroma could get lost in the heavier stuff from the beer, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. The downside of this brewing? Had to buy a 4th keg. Wait, that's not a downside!

 

[EvanAltman36]

Kegged and pulled small sample the other day and it's pretty darn good. Will definitely be aided by carbonation (okay, what beer isn't), as the aroma from the chocolate and the peppers will really come through in the head. The best thing about chipotle peppers is the smokiness, not the heat, and that's what really comes through in this.

 

[EvanAltman36]

Okay, so after some adventures, it's finally fully carbonated. I kegged it realizing that I was near the end of my CO2 tank, but no big deal. Tank emptied, I exchanged it. However, issues with 2 of my disconnects resulted in me blowing through my new tank in 2 or 3 days (crack and loosely-screwed-on connection). That happened on Christmas, so the brew ended up being kegged for 4 or 5 days before I actually got it under consistent carbonation. I was able to purge it and everything, so not a total loss.

In any case, the initial samples were a bit much, the spice hit the back of the throat in a weird way and the beer really wasn't that good after more than a few sips. However, now that it's had a few weeks to mellow and carbonate, I'm very pleased with it. Great chocolate aroma with more than a little smokiness from the peppers. The heat is very mild and not at all unpleasant, very well balanced with the chocolate. Nice foamy head, good retention and lacing too. I was really worried that I'd be forced to just choke one of these down each night because I'm too proud to dump beer, but I think it's really going to be money.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

Ive had the same issues with co2, frustrating, replacing the popit oring and connector, also adding Teflon tape to all joints now