I've heard of, but never tried a spicy brew... does the capsaicin hold up well?

i made a habanero lager once, and all i did was boil some water, dropped in a dry-hop bag containing the chopped habaneros, and let boil for a few minutes, then removed from heat and put the dry-hop bag into the mash. definitely do not want to chance contamination or reboil the mash. hope that helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: fruitman's chili farm

The capsaicin holds up just fine. I found some good looking orange habs at the store last night and made a little mash using a dozen of them. Fermenting them mellows the flavor of the peppers and can give you a smoky smell and taste sometimes, as well as some saltiness from the salt used in the process. What you end up with is a perfect base for a hot sauce. If you've had hot sauce, you've almost certainly had mashed peppers at some point. Tabasco mashes their peppers in oak barrels for up to three years for example. I personally like Crystal better, but their peppers are mashed too. What got me started mashing is I want to make something similar to Silafunghi. Essentially a pepper mash with olive oil. I've found very little information on what's in it. All I know is it's a mix of five peppers (most likely Calabrian), mashed for one year and then olive oil is added. So simple, but sooo good. Can't beat it on pizza or sandwiches. I'll put it in sauces. I'll eat it with a spoon sometimes... but it's $42 for a big jar and almost always back ordered. I need to figure out the mashing process and then start trying out different peppers. In the meantime... HOT SAUCE!

I had a habanero lager at a beerfest. It was delicious and apparently it wasn't that popular because the small time brewer that made it was happy to see me come back for refills. I also brew beer occasionally and he was happy to describe the process previously mentioned, though I've never applied.

I've read that you can add peppers to a mash after it's started, but if I do, do I have to boil the jar again? And if I do that, won't the fermentation process need to start over again?

Simply stated, creating a mash is a two-step process. First, the mash ferments, then it ages. The fermenting process is usually completed in 2-4 weeks. The aging can take days, weeks, months or years. It's up to you.

If you add fresh peppers to a three week old mash, those "new" peppers will need to ferment for 2-4 weeks, making your original mash 5-7 weeks old. Now you have developed two different flavor profiles in the same jar that may blend nicely. ...or not.

Most folks don't keep adding fresh peppers to a mash that's already started. Rather, they'll start several ferments and then vary the aging time to achieve the "taste" they're looking for.

Remember, you can ferment peppers that have been frozen, so you could "accumulate" your harvest in the freezer until you have enough to start your next ferment.

Best of luck to 'ya. Let us know how it goes!

Rick

Thanks a ton Rick. I wanted to add the labuyos to the mash since it was mostly labuyos anyways and only started 8 days before. I figured I would have to age it an additional 8 days, but I never thought of the obvious solution of freezing them. I can't wait to try it, though I have to. Oh the irony... Thanks again. I'll give a full report when it's ready.