Need help with adding ancho, guahillo and chipotle peppers

Beer Recipe Design
1

I’m brewing Northern Brewer’s Smoke Bomb Imperial Smoked Porter this weekend. The brewers notes say to add the peppers to secondary in a mesh bag. I ferment in glass carboys only. How can I add the peppers and be able to remove them when they’ve added enough flavor?

2

make sure fermentation is complete and the beer is ready to bottle. Then add the peppers to your carboy, and taste periodically until the flavor is right. When the flavor is right, rack the beer off the peppers to a bottling bucket (or keg), and bottle.

3

Tincture of vodka, added on bottling/kegging day. No need to add chunks of peppers to the fermenter! Chop them all up and soak in a few ounces of vodka for a few hours or overnight, then add just the flavored vodka to your beer. You can also cook some of them in a little beer then add just the cooked liquid. Works awesomely and I have done this many many times. See here:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=85174&p=792804&hilit=jalapeno+porter#p792804
4

[quote=“dmtaylo2”]Tincture of vodka, added on bottling/kegging day. No need to add chunks of peppers to the fermenter! Chop them all up and soak in a few ounces of vodka for a few hours or overnight, then add just the flavored vodka to your beer. You can also cook some of them in a little beer then add just the cooked liquid. Works awesomely and I have done this many many times. See here:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=85174&p=792804&hilit=jalapeno+porter#p792804[/quote]

I agree. Peppers are super easy to overdo and then you’re faced with blending back with un-peppered beer, which I have done out of necessity. Teas (simmer peppers in water or beer) and tinctures are a terrific and forgiving way to get things to your own tastes rather than somewhat blindly following a recipe. I’d carefully measure small amounts of tincture or tea to a carefully measured volume of finished beer and then scale up.

Knowing those peppers, I would also consider two teas or tinctures, one with the ancho & guallilos (milder flavors) & another with the chipotles (strong flavor). That is way to get a nice blend to your tastes if you want to go to the trouble to measure out and taste a bunch of variations.

Have fun with it- peppers are great in beer if done right!