Chili Beer 10 Gallons Brewed

It's been a long time since I've thrown together a brew. Far too long.

The chili beer (still unnamed) was first brewed in April of 2004 by Billy and I. We did 5 gallons cooked with jalapeno and serrano peppers, and the other 5 gallons without. In the end, the pepper brew was far superior to the brew without. Bill and I decided to brew the chili beer because we were inspired by The Old Market Brewery - Hot Tamale Ale.

We created the recipe with our own ideas on how to go about it. It's got the jalepeno and serrano peppers as well as starthistle honey and some Cascade hops. The end result was this incredible smelling and tasting beer with a spicy hot kick that hits you shortly after sipping. It's just the right amount of spice that makes you want to keep drinking the beer. Nothing wrong with that.

I spent 2 evenings brewing 10 gallons of this chili beer with slight modifications. The original brew was done with 2 pounds per 5 gallons of chilis - deseeded. This one was made with only 1 pound, but with seeds included. Also, I used a mix of Cascade and Willamette hops from my homegrown collection instead of the original Cascade-only recipe.

If you've ever wondered if you can pitch only 1 vial of White Labs yeast upon 2 5-gallon carboys over the course of 2 days.... the answer is yes. Yes you can.