I was wanting to add habanero to a beer along with lime and cucumber, what ratio’s would you use for habanero, I want more of a flavor rather than a heat, but a tiny bit of heat. Also, i might sour this beer
If you want flavor with not a lot of heat, then there’s no way I would use habenero because it’s just way too friggin hot. I’ve used jalapeno very successfully a few times. The heat varies – one time it wasn’t quite spicy enough, the other time it had quite a spicy kick, so without knowing exactly how spicy it will be, I’m thinking I’ve got about the right amount, at 9 jalapenos per 5 gallons, to get the spice close to where I want it – enough to know that it’s there without it killing your tastebuds. You could try less if you know you want less.
The way I add mine is I chop them all up on bottling day, then soak half in vodka for 5 or 6 hours, while the other half I actually bring to a boil in a cup or two of the finished beer with a lid on, then let that cool for the 5 or 6 hours. This will smell up the house and sort of burn your nose, but it’s worth it. Then at bottling time, I drain off the liquid of each, add it to the finished beer, and it’s good to go. This creates a very pleasant peppery flavor and spice. I’m not sure which of the two soaking methods works better so I’ve continued doing it both ways half and half. I have won awards with this method.
i have to go along with the above advice. i’ve made a very good jalapeno beer by cutting up 6 peppers and soaking them in vodka for a week, and then adding the tincture at kegging. tried adding 1 hab. pepper once, not again, gave it an off flavor i didn’t like.
I’ve used jalapeños and chipotles. I coarsely chopped and steeped them in vodka for a couple days, then dumped the whole mess into the fermenter. 1-2 oz used in this way will give a definite, but not overwhelming, heat.
I think a tincture as others have suggested is the way to go. I have some fantastic chilli beers in Western Australia (Matso’s in Broome:
http://matsos.com.au/beer.php#ChilliBeer
and Bush Shack in Yallingup (formerly Wicked Ale Brewery whose signature beer was a chilli brew):
http://www.bushshackbrewery.com.au/brews.htm
) that are made that way.
I have, in past, made something closer to Cave Creek where I simply put a serrano pepper in each bottle and then let the beer absorb the flavour that way. I had very good results with that method, but depends on the pepper. A tincture would be a bit more consistent.
Good luck–these beers are often unique and very tasty.
just start very small amounts you can always add more, add to much and you may have something undrinkable
Is it best to use fresh peppers? or has anyone used dried peppers? I have a bunch of dried chipotles and it would be cool to throw a few in a brew. We usually throw them in chili as is and they add a great smokeyness. maybe it would be good to rehydrate them first
If it were me I’d make a tincture with vodka and add it to the beer after it’s poured. This way you can control the amount and avoid ruining a whole batch. Cheers!!!
I added a jar of this the last five minutes of boil on a 3 1/2 gal batch. Turned out perfect.
