[snowtiger87]

I want to add some freshly ground black pepper to my next Saison. Grain bill is as follows:

For 10 gallons

1 lb malted Wheat
2 lbs Vienna malt
17 lbs Pilsner malt
1 lb beet sugar

So how much black pepper should I add for a subtle contribution? Planning on adding it at knockout.

Thanks

[unclebrazzie]

I've used black peppercorns (unground) to the boil. About a teaspoon on a 5gal batch, 5' before flameout.

What pepper does in the boil, as far as I can tell, is deepen and round all other flavours, whilst contributing very little flavour of its own.

If it's pepper flavour (and the accompabning heat-kick) you want, I recommend dry spicing.

Knockout...I dunno. The yeast will do stuff to whatever's in your wort, and I've no idea how it'll treat the pepper.

[homoeccentricus]

I wouldn't add ground pepper after the boil, because it's impossible to have control over the amount/impact. What I did in a mead was to add some whole peppercorns in a bag after fermentation subsided so that I  could add/remove peppers over time. In this specific case it was a gallon+ of pear mead. I added eight pippali peppers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_pepper), tasted after a week, and added four more for another week. I think the result still was fairly subtle.

[unclebrazzie]

. I think the result still was fairly subtle.

I concur.

[snowtiger87]

I measure .5 oz of whole peppercorns, then crushed them, and put them in at knockout with the finishing hops. There was a pleasant orangey/peppery aroma coming from the wort when I transferred it to the primary. I will report back in about a month with the results. Maybe I will bring a couple bottles to the NHC to share.