I created a mead with those little asian chilis and apparently Ive used WAY too much. Its rather hot and I think I need to mix it down a bit. When would be the best time to blend it? I've just put it into the secondary should I go ahead and blend it now? Will the hotness increase or decrease as it ages?
Asian Chili Mead
- Thread starter Cory
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I would think the heat would decrease with age. You could also try to make it more sweet as that will "mask" the heat a little.
Just for my own curiosity: What is your final gravity? How big of a batch was it? Do you know what the proper name for the pepper is and how many did you use (were they whole or cut up?)
Regarding blending, Ive never done it but until your mead ages out a bit you wont really know how it will taste. So I would wait at least 6 months (maybe a year) before I tried to blend with an equaly aged mead.
Just for my own curiosity: What is your final gravity? How big of a batch was it? Do you know what the proper name for the pepper is and how many did you use (were they whole or cut up?)
Regarding blending, Ive never done it but until your mead ages out a bit you wont really know how it will taste. So I would wait at least 6 months (maybe a year) before I tried to blend with an equaly aged mead.
I really couldn't even guess with mead, but the salsa my wife makes doesn't lose any heat over time, it just kinda... smooths out I guess one could say... We can it up and it sits in the basement usually a year cause we can a good bunch of the stuff and... well, it ends up sitting for a year or two while we finish off the previous year's salsa. But the stuff is just as hot as when we first made it, just easier to take I guess...
My boyfriend and I have made an ancho chilli and chocolate mead and I will tell you the heat doesn't decrease with age. It does however smooth out and become a back of the tongue flavor. (At least in our case) We haven't made a straight chilli mead so I can't help you with that but you could consider blending it with something else so your tongue has other tastes beside 'OMG HOT CHILLIES'. lol ;D
Capsaicin is pretty stable, so I'd doubt whether it will decrease with time. I'd just suggest that you make a second batch of the same recipe, except leave out the chilli, then blend the two and then leave it for ageing.
That way, you'd have a bigger batch with half the current capsaicin content.
regards
fatbloke
That way, you'd have a bigger batch with half the current capsaicin content.
regards
fatbloke
SG was about 1.009 last I checked, havent checked in a few days cause I broke my hydrometer and had to go grab a new one. The batch was a half gallon (just a little test batch) The peppers themselves I've heard called a few different things.... kung pao chillis, arbol chilis and just red chilis... They're small and HOT! I used about half an ounce of chilis but I broke them up to make sure the seeds got all their hotness out... probably should not have done that...
... and half an ounce was too much. However the mead really took on their flavor... Ill give it a few months and if it still makes smoke come out of my ears Ill blend it down a bit.Guinlilly: Good point... maybe when I mix it down Ill use another flavor... I did start a metheglyn at the same time... not sure how it will taste together tho... looks like more experimenting ahead.
Well I made a Jalapeno Mead last year using fresh peppers and I must say that it is still just as hot now as when I bottled. Granted, it doesn't sounds as hot as yours as mine just has a nice burn at the end.
One of the reasons I made mine was for cooking so even if you try to lower the heat down some I'd suggest keeping some full strength for marinating or adding for flavor.
One of the reasons I made mine was for cooking so even if you try to lower the heat down some I'd suggest keeping some full strength for marinating or adding for flavor.
