Woe is Me!

The holidays worked me over.  I didn't brew the White Stout recipe. But I did consider that I should brew a barleywine. I also knew that I needed something to make as a starter, if you know what I mean.

Last Christmas, we received a ristra of chiles. I am not from New Mexico, though Satan's brother lives out there. I don't know how to use them in cooking.  (I am going to interrogate his wife, who was raised in El Paso to tell me how to use them.) But, while going through my Zymurgy and Brew Your Own magazines, if stumbled across a couple of recipes using dried chiles.

One recipes for a pale ale suggested using five, crumbled chiles used as first wort hops: tossed into the kettle as the sparge begins.

I decided to use the Pecan Porter recipe, but without the pecans. My plan is to crush chiles and toss them into the kettle, and sparge into it.

Then I plan to use use the yeast to ferment my barleywine.

Here's hoping things will work out in the next few weeks!