[bluesman]

I was actually wondering about adding malt to my brine to get more lacto into the process.  Since malt is supposed to be covered in lacto (sour fermentations and all that right..?) my thinking is that it should help but who knows.  Maybe some runnings from my next mash collected after the mash tun has sat full of spent grain over night?

Interesting idea.

Another thought is adding Brett to the brine after it has cooled, but I'm wondering what the acidity from the acetic acid would do to the Brett cell walls. Maybe try blending a Brett beer to the brine of some pickles as an experiment. I believe the flavors would blend well.

[gmac]

I was actually wondering about adding malt to my brine to get more lacto into the process.  Since malt is supposed to be covered in lacto (sour fermentations and all that right..?) my thinking is that it should help but who knows.  Maybe some runnings from my next mash collected after the mash tun has sat full of spent grain over night?

Not a bad idea. I don't think there is much alive after a mash though. 140 * 30min is pasteurization temp.  You could put fresh malt in a thermos and add dme and hot water though.

Well, somethings gotta be making that smell

[euge]

I make my own fermented hot sauce and can testify that they will spontaneously ferment on their own without any help.

What I do is rinse the peppers, roughly chop them and then puree in a blender with water and about 6% salt by weight. Makes a pepper slurry that will be fermenting within 24 hours at room temp. I do this in a loosely covered mason jar leaving some headspace for expansion. You may have to rap the fermenter on the counter to knock solids back into the liquid as they will be pushed upwards by the fermentation. Any mold that forms can be scraped/lifted away before packaging- I can assure you that this does not ruin the product.

After 30 days or so in primary I puree again with about half it's volume of vinegar added. Strain any bulky solids remaining, package and store at room temp forever if desired. It only gets better...

[erockrph]

Thanks Euge! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

[gmac]

Me too although what peppers do you recommend?
I've got Hot Banana, Cayenne, Chile, Scotch Bonnet and Thai Bird Chile's going right now.  What do you think about just a blend of everything?  I've only got 4 plants of each so I doubt I'll have enough to do one variety only.

[majorvices]

I make my own fermented hot sauce and can testify that they will spontaneously ferment on their own without any help.

What I do is rinse the peppers, roughly chop them and then puree in a blender with water and about 6% salt by weight. Makes a pepper slurry that will be fermenting within 24 hours at room temp. I do this in a loosely covered mason jar leaving some headspace for expansion. You may have to rap the fermenter on the counter to knock solids back into the liquid as they will be pushed upwards by the fermentation. Any mold that forms can be scraped/lifted away before packaging- I can assure you that this does not ruin the product.

After 30 days or so in primary I puree again with about half it's volume of vinegar added. Strain any bulky solids remaining, package and store at room temp forever if desired. It only gets better...

And why are you just now getting around to sharing this? Sounds awesome. Guess I have a project for the weekend!

[euge]

Any chile pepper ought to work. I found jalapeno based sauce to be fairly mild and a combo of serranos and habaneros not as hot as hoped for. I eat a lot of hot spicy food so YMMV.

I figured the technique out after researching Tabasco sauce. They are very open about what they do so I condensed their method to a practical time frame. The sauce is green and awesome!

[erockrph]

Any chile pepper ought to work. I found jalapeno based sauce to be fairly mild and a combo of serranos and habaneros not as hot as hoped for. I eat a lot of hot spicy food so YMMV.

I figured the technique out after researching Tabasco sauce. They are very open about what they do so I condensed their method to a practical time frame. The sauce is green and awesome!

Tabasco is barrel-aged, right? Ever thought of throwing an oak cube or two in for an extended secondary?

[erockrph]

And back to the topic of fermented pickles, is it possible to make a sweet fermented pickle (i.e., gherkin-style) or would the additional sugar encourage unwanted bugs to join the party?

[bluesman]

I make my own fermented hot sauce and can testify that they will spontaneously ferment on their own without any help.

What I do is rinse the peppers, roughly chop them and then puree in a blender with water and about 6% salt by weight. Makes a pepper slurry that will be fermenting within 24 hours at room temp. I do this in a loosely covered mason jar leaving some headspace for expansion. You may have to rap the fermenter on the counter to knock solids back into the liquid as they will be pushed upwards by the fermentation. Any mold that forms can be scraped/lifted away before packaging- I can assure you that this does not ruin the product.

After 30 days or so in primary I puree again with about half it's volume of vinegar added. Strain any bulky solids remaining, package and store at room temp forever if desired. It only gets better...

Inspiring euge!

I have several varieties of peppers in my garden right now. (Habanero, Serrano, Jalapeno, Hot Cherry)

Guess what I'll be doing soon.

[majorvices]

Any chile pepper ought to work. I found jalapeno based sauce to be fairly mild and a combo of serranos and habaneros not as hot as hoped for. I eat a lot of hot spicy food so YMMV.

I figured the technique out after researching Tabasco sauce. They are very open about what they do so I condensed their method to a practical time frame. The sauce is green and awesome!

Tabasco is barrel-aged, right? Ever thought of throwing an oak cube or two in for an extended secondary?

I was thinking the same thing! Not sure how much oak flavor is in Tabasco though but be cool experiment.

[euge]

I think the oak really isn't needed. Probably just tradition as at some point they are decanted and stirred in big vats for weeks. 

[Delo]

I should try this. I have a bunch of scotch bonnets in my freezer. Have you ever tried it with smoked peppers or roasted peppers?  Would that work?

[euge]

I think it would work well. Maybe add a few raw chiles to kick off the fermentation. I suspect roasting the peppers would kill the bacteria/yeasties needed to start the action.

[Delo]

I would think so to about the raw peppers. I had hot sauce with smoked bhutjolokia and smoked habanero and it was awesome. It also was not as hot as i thought it would be.