Habanero in Secondary

[Rochesterbrewer]

Has anyone tried adding peppers to beer? I am going to give this a try and rack my beer onto some habanero's in secondary. Let me know your thoughts or insight.

Zach

[Tim DHBC]

Spicy beer isn't my favorite, but the capsaicin that makes the heat is found mostly in the seeds and pith from what I heard, so cutting them open and exposing surface area I would think would lead to higher levels absorbed. just make sure everything is clean and sanitary. Also the capsaicin is alcohol soluble so a stronger beer may dissolve more capsaicin. Just my thoughts, let me know how it comes out.

[beerguy1]

Habanero is pretty strong pepper that will impart much heat and very little flavor. I like the heat in the beer as long as it goes away quickly but usually 1 of them is enough for me. I think you should add some other spices as well as the beer releases CO2 its great to smell the peppers and other goodies that put in the beer. We like to use birds eye chili peppers a nice flavor with respectable heat and nice aroma

[hallertau2000]

Thats how we do it. We do remove the stems and seeds then blanch the peppers quickly in hot water to remove any nasty critters that may be lurking. Put the peppers in a mesh bag and just rack the beer onto the peppers then continue to sample for a few days until you get the right heat/spice your looking for then keg it off. I would concur that Habanero is a one hit heat wonder try using a blend of peppers so you get something besides just heat.

[eoconnor101]

Make a tincture. Dose a small amount into a pint (500 mLs). Multiply out and add to your brite before carbonating. The bubbles will mix it. Invest in a lab grade pipette if you don't have one. I would not just rack beer onto something with Scolville units that high. We use Ghost chiles for heat blended with other chiles for flavor. Chiles vary a lot depending on year and time in the season, so your sweet spot with one batch won't be right for the next. Unless you are just going for a burning hot beer like Habanero Sculpin (sorry, but way too hot to drink more than a taster).