Pepper in Beer.

[Dexter]

I recently had the pleasure to try Dieu du ciel's:

Route des épices (Spice route)
Bière de seigle au poivre - 5% alc./vol.
341 ml (11.5 fl. oz.)

Routes des épices (French for "Spice Route") is a rye beer brewed with both black and green peppercorns. Initially, the beer reveals flavours of fresh grain and malt, which give it notes of chocolate, caramel, and fruit. The pepper flavour and aroma is fully revealed in the finish, which leaves a pleasant, spicy, tingling sensation on the tongue.

I think it's awesome - I really enjoy the spicy bite in the aftertaste that this beer provides - has anyone else tried it? I've seen a bunch of info on making beer with chili peppers, but not so much with black peppercorns. I'm interested in brewing up a batch, and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with pepper - how much to use, how to use it etc.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[beerking]

Sounds very interesting, I have not tried it. Brewer's Art (Baltimore) makes a Green Peppercorn Tripel that is pretty good. I was surprised how subdued the peppercorns were.

Edited for clarity: I have not had the Dieu de Ciel, but have had the Brewer's Art.

[markaberrant]

At a Dieu de Ciel tasting session, I filled out the Flavour section as follows:

"too much F'n pepper"

And for Mouthfeel:

"too F'n hot"

This wasn't an overly serious session, but from my comments I think you can deduct my opinion of this beer.

By the way, Dieu de Ciel makes great beer, I just don't like this one at all.

[Dexter]

At a Dieu de Ciel tasting session, I filled out the Flavour section as follows:

"too much F'n pepper"

And for Mouthfeel:

"too F'n hot"

This wasn't an overly serious session, but from my comments I think you can deduct my opinion of this beer.

By the way, Dieu de Ciel makes great beer, I just don't like this one at all.


I guess I like all that F'n pepper, I'm not sure if pepper in the background would really do that much for a beer like smokey nuances can. I'd rather have it up front. And I respectfully disagree - I think the bite on the tongue is great.

[Beaver-Brew]

Shorts makes a peppercorn beer. It's different but I'll leave the pepper to my food.

[markaberrant]

I'm not sure if pepper in the background would really do that much for a beer like smokey nuances can.

Many saisons and tripels (a few witbiers too) have awesome peppery notes that don't slap you in the face and burn your tongue like this beer does.

[beerking]

Many saisons and tripels (a few witbiers too) have awesome peppery notes that don't slap you in the face and burn your tongue like this beer does.

A soft white pepper character is the "trademark" of many Belgian yeast strains. No pepper added, just the type of phenols expressed by the yeast (at the right temperature).

[Mill Rat]

A couple of years ago Two Brothers Brewery in Warrenville, IL brewed Incinerator Blonde Doppelbock as a one-off. It was well balanced and did have a nice, but not overpowering peppercorn finish. I think it takes a good malty base beer to make this work. Thanks for bringing this up. I hope to add a beer like this to a series of beers with WLP802 Budvar yeast.

[Trashman]

Furthermore makes Knot Stock which is a pale with pepper, nice and smooth with a hint of pepper at the end

[steppenwulf]

Many saisons and tripels (a few witbiers too) have awesome peppery notes that don't slap you in the face and burn your tongue like this beer does.

Not meaning to be disrespectful, but I really think these comments by Markaberrant are uncalled for.

There are a lot of opinions on tastes, and especially on hot spices - what is great for one person is too much for another. That is fine, and is personal taste.

What Dexter asked for on this forum was some ideas on the amount of pepper he would want to copy a beer he liked . Now I totally understand if Mark didn't like that beer, but I don't really see how it was helpful to flame the beer Dexter liked, instead of providing hints on a recipe, on this particular thread.

Personally, I like spicy beers, have never complained about a bit of afterburn on the tongue, and I will be looking for this one.

[corkybstewart]

When I brew my spiced saison I use about 15 grams each of white peppercorns and green peppercorns, coarsely crushed added for the last 5 minutes of the boil. This is 30 grams for a 10 gallon batch. It gives the beer a nice peppery undertone-you know it's there but it's not the predominant flavor of the beer. If you want the pepper flavor to dominate, add 30 grams per 5 gallon batch.
The problem with these kinds of beers is that that taste is great for a couple of beers, but not something you'll want to drink often, and you can easily tire of the flavor long before you run out of the beer. Maybe start out with a 2 gallon batch and see if after 25 bottles of it you still love it.

[markaberrant]

Not meaning to be disrespectful, but I really think these comments by Markaberrant are uncalled for.

Dexter felt that a mild pepper note would not do much in a beer, and I disagreed, suggesting several styles that have subtle, but still noticable pepper notes.

Have you tried this beer? It's hot. It slaps you in the face with pepper (just like some IPAs slap you with hops). Some like it, some don't. I think it would be a great beer paired with the right food dish, but it's not something I want to sit down and drink solo. There is a cajun restaurant in Edmonton that serves a pepper beer, and the food itself is not overly hot... so instead of adding hot sauce to the food, I have a pint of pepper beer with my meal... works wonderfully!

I have added peppercorns to several of my beers. Usually around 15-20 peppercorns, freshly ground and added in the last 5 minutes of the boil. You'd want to at least double or triple this amount to get a bold pepper character.

[Mill Rat]

steppenwulf, while I do appreciate the more laid-back nature of this forum in which flames are deemed to be in poor taste, I took mark's response to be strictly of a "this is my opinion" nature, and as long as mark made it clear that these were his own opinion and did not imply that dexter was wrong for failing to agree with him, that's certainly within this site's de facto etiquette.

[steppenwulf]

Dexter felt that a mild pepper note would not do much in a beer, and I disagreed, suggesting several styles that have subtle, but still noticable pepper notes.

Have you tried this beer? It's hot. It slaps you in the face with pepper (just like some IPAs slap you with hops). Some like it, some don't.

I have added peppercorns to several of my beers. Usually around 15-20 peppercorns, freshly ground and added in the last 5 minutes of the boil. You'd want to at least double or triple this amount to get a bold pepper character.

Sorry, I may have over-reacted. Apologies and carry on :)

[beerking]

Sorry, I may have over-reacted. Apologies and carry on :)

Thanks for keeping to the cordial, open nature of this forum!

[jonlouisville77]

I like anchovies in my beer! Anybody wanna fight about it?!

[Otis_The_Drunk]

I like anchovies in my beer! Anybody wanna fight about it?!
No I'm cool with it, but don't put them on my pizza

[jonlouisville77]

You should try it. Have an open mind, Otis! I put an anchovy in the bottom of every bottle. It's just like the worm in a tequila bottle!

[MrNate]

I like anchovies in my beer! Anybody wanna fight about it?!

Why would I want to fight about it? It's not like it rhymes with "Caddy Manager" or anything. :D

[iahebert]

I made a black pepper IPA about a year and half ago. Put 1/4 cup of black peppercorns (uncrushed) in 2.5 gallons of secondary. It was spicy and made me sneeze, but definitely mellowed out over time. I'd say somewhere beetween 1/6 cup and 1/4 cup in 5 gallons will get you a nice peppery spiciness, but maybe decrease to 1/8 cup in 5 gal. If it's just subtlety you're looking for.

And make sure it's secondary.

[Mad Scientist]

I like anchovies in my beer! Anybody wanna fight about it?!

I'll be your huckleberry....

[Otis_The_Drunk]

this one http://students.ou.edu/D/Joshua.A.Duvall-1/HUCK.jpg
or this one? http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/cartoons/cartoonsIMAGE/cartoons2.JPG

[Mad Scientist]

The first one.....

[Otis_The_Drunk]

As he said it in the Movie...... "Thath justh ma game!"