Chilli Beer How To ?

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I need some advise from the brewers that have made chilli beers.I have a heap of dried Asian Birds eye chilli and want to put some in a beer.I am thinking a lager style with just enough chilli to make it noticable on the throat but a session beer with some chilli aroma and flavour..With the possible additions of root ginger and maybe lemon grass.So when should the chilli's be added and how many? I saw one recipy on BYO mag site that called for 48-52 chilli's per 5 gallons, sounds dangerous.
Cheers GB

 

[Barramundi]

i have made a chilli beer in the past , used 6 supposedly hot chilis from the fresh food section at woolworths , cut them with scissors after washing then threw them into the primary ferment , racked and them bottled as normal , worked ok , but after time got extremely gassy in the bottle , was fine to begin with though, dunno if there was some reaction with the chili and the sugar or what the case , i havent tried to make another but i wasnt unhappy with the way it turned out not too nasty but with a chili after bite...

hope this helps

 

[skb]

I am doing the same for my next beer, got this from elsewhere on AHB site

can of coopers draught malt
bag of brew enhancer #2
5 'hot' chilis ( from the fresh food section of woolies, franklins, coles etc)
cut with scissors into rings all but the stems into primary fermentation , ferment till finished , rack for 4-5 days and bottled..

Do like the Lemon Grass Idea, how much and when do you plan to add that.

 

[Barramundi]

That was my recipe SKB .. well found ..

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I am doing the same for my next beer, got this from elsewhere on AHB site

can of coopers draught malt
bag of brew enhancer #2
5 'hot' chilis ( from the fresh food section of woolies, franklins, coles etc)
cut with scissors into rings all but the stems into primary fermentation , ferment till finished , rack for 4-5 days and bottled..

Do like the Lemon Grass Idea, how much and when do you plan to add that.

Yeh 5 chillis sound better than 52 , what were they thinking ? I think some in the boil will add some flavour and then in the fermenter so the alcohol can draw out the chilli oil for heat.Lemon Grass I think would be just the right match for chilli, I would use one medium stalk, the bottom bit cut thin in slices and added to fermenter.A little salt addition to the kettle would be nice as well. I think the chilli in the bottle would look great but would be unpredictable.Ay chilli tied around the bottle neck would be a great touch.
GB

 

[lonte]

Another option is to brew a base beer (I used a German style ale) and then open some of the bottles after conditioning and place one whole, uncut birds eye chilli in each bottle and recap. I then tasted them over time to determine the optimum chilli taste - turned out 2-3 weeks for my liking. Note this was for competition so I didn't want to overdo the chilli I wanted it subtle. This is a great way to not be lumbered with 23L of chilli beer and also adjust the chilli impact as required.

 

[Guest Lurker]

I have used 4 or 5 lemongrass stalks and it was still quite subtle. I tried steeping some in vodka, didnt extract much flavour at all. So I think I smashed them, boiled in some water briefly and added that to fermenter.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I have used 4 or 5 lemongrass stalks and it was still quite subtle. I tried steeping some in vodka, didnt extract much flavour at all. So I think I smashed them, boiled in some water briefly and added that to fermenter.

Was that in a lager style ? I was thinking along a Mex style with little IBU"s and just balance the chilli if there is such a thing, and the lemon grass to replace aroma and finish hops.I know it will be hard to achieve but worth a try.The top end of me loves chilli but the bottom end is not so keen.
GB

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Another option is to brew a base beer (I used a German style ale) and then open some of the bottles after conditioning and place one whole, uncut birds eye chilli in each bottle and recap. I then tasted them over time to determine the optimum chilli taste - turned out 2-3 weeks for my liking. Note this was for competition so I didn't want to overdo the chilli I wanted it subtle. This is a great way to not be lumbered with 23L of chilli beer and also adjust the chilli impact as required.

How did it go in the comp? Judges comments aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh grab the milk :lol:
GB

 

[lonte]

How did it go in the comp? Judges comments aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh grab the milk :lol:
GB

5th place and a Bronze medal. It was in the "Speciality Beer" class - I guess the judges brace themselves for anything when it comes to judging that one

 

[winkle]

I did a similar thing to a batch of chocolate oatmeal stout. Laced a few bottles with a sanitized birdseye each (fresh) that were pierced a couple of times and dished them up at a case swap after three weeks. Went down reasonably well, warm to hot mouthfeel (and throat) but not burning. Might do another few in winter.

 

[Jaeger]

Based on a recipe made by a colleague, I've just made a batch of Brigalow alcoholic ginger beer with one fresh, red "birds eye" chilli added to the fermenter (deseeded and sliced length-ways into three.)

I didn't want to overdo the chilli, and it worked - fermentation finished in a week (rather than two as I had expected), and even the traces of ginger beer on the (removed) chilli slices didn't have a chilli kick to them! Next time I'll add more chillis (five or six?)

For the record, my colleague added slices of chilli to the bottles, and may have added some root ginger to the brew for extra pep (I'll have to confirm that.) The extended contact with the chilli probably extracted more "heat", but I was worried about the contamination risk. Even without the extra bite, the ginger beer will be very welcome this summer.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

First beer for the year is going to be a chocolate chilli stout. (for Easter consumption) Basically I'm after a beer version of the insanely good chilli hot chocolates you can get at the good chocolate shops around Melbourne.

I' thinking chocolate malt, Cocoa powder, some real dark chocolate added to the boil. Fairly roasty so it doesn't get cloying. Then just steep some really hot chillis in vodka and add the essence of chilli to the keg till I like the level of heat.

 

[Jaeger]

I' thinking chocolate malt, Cocoa powder, some real dark chocolate added to the boil. Fairly roasty so it doesn't get cloying. Then just steep some really hot chillis in vodka and add the essence of chilli to the keg till I like the level of heat.

The weather is finally cooling off again (yay!), so I'm moving away from pale ales and "lawnmower brews" towards hoppy dark ales, stouts - and perhaps the new Coopers European Lager kit once it is cool enough for "real" lager brewing. A chocolate chilli stout would go down a treat in the colder weather, too.

How did your chilli beer turn out, Thirsty Boy?

 

[Thirsty Boy]

The weather is finally cooling off again (yay!), so I'm moving away from pale ales and "lawnmower brews" towards hoppy dark ales, stouts - and perhaps the new Coopers European Lager kit once it is cool enough for "real" lager brewing. A chocolate chilli stout would go down a treat in the colder weather, too.

How did your chilli beer turn out, Thirsty Boy?

As a matter of fact its one of the best beers I've ever made. I'm really happy with it.

Made pretty much the way I said above, but I decided to add some actual chillis to the boil.

For a 17litre (into fermentor) batch I used 35g of chopped birdseyes (I think, little ones from the asian shop) in the boil. I thought that would be a lot less than I needed, so I also made the extract I was talking about - another 50g of the chopped birdseyes and 2 dried habaneros soaked in 100ml of vodka while the ferment happened. Planning on adjusting in the keg if needed.

Didn't need it, the balance came out just right from the kettle addition. Slight chilli flavour and a nice gentle back of the throat heat.

 

[tdack]

I just put down what I would call my first adventurous batch:

Coopers Mexican Cerveza kit
250g Maltodextrin
250g Dextrose
500g Pale Malt

I boiled 5 chopped hot chillies (including seeds) with about 250g of the mixed dry ingredients and the rind from 1 and a half limes (that's all I had) for about 10 minutes.
Threw that into the fermenter with the can of goop and 2 de-seeded chillies.

Had a little bite at the back of the throat when I tasted it before I pitched the yeast, but not too overpowering and a distinct fresh citrus smell, hope it lasts.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Just tried a chilli beer from one of the tradies working on my house. Bloody great! :icon_cheers: Made with a coopers Canadian Blonde then one big (4 inch+ chilli slit) jammed down the neck of the long neck.They open with a real fizz as the chilli lets go of all its gas points.Tastes of raw chilli flavor (yum) and then backed up with what I would call a good bite.I love chilli and this is possibly too much for the non chilli freak but I want more. Others were impress as well.He has made another batch just for me as well. Got to love a good tradie with chilli beer. :beerbang:
GB

 

[waynec]

well Ive made several chilli brews and the prob im having is that they wont keep a head.Doesnt seem to matter if I use fresh or dried chilli or whether its 50gm or 300gm.Even when I mix some of the chilli beer with a beer that has very good head retention the head will dissapear from the glass almost instantly.
This is very frustrating as I have been brewing for 15years and have always had good results. Can any one throw some light on this for me? My dream is to make a fuul flavoured malty beer with really good chilli afterburn YUM

 

[Tony]

Has your mate the Hippie Chilli Co fella that eats all the chilli on U-tube been onto you mate?

I have done a lot of thinking of how to make a chilli beer. I think fresh chillis will lend a vegtable flavour.

Did you say they were dry?

Matbe make chop them up and add them with 10 min to go in the boil. Will steralise them too then.

cheers

 

[Daawl]

Just dragging this back up as I wish to put down a Chilli beer.

Trouble is I am having trouble getting hold of any sought of chilli's out here even Woolies. I do have a jar of dried Chilli's in the cupboard. This stuff has the seeds and the chilli's are chopped to about the size of the seeds. Now I know that this stuff has bite so there is no problem there.

I am after a beer with a bit of bite, I am not known to shy away from chillies.

The issue is How Much?
Has anyone got any suggestions?

Cheers
Daawl