Brainstorming on a Mole Beer. Chile Help!

i like the thought process, but when i think mole i think complexity and subtle nuances, which stem from ingredients beyond chile and chocolate. i would consider toasted seeds- sesame, cumin, coriander, pumpkin (maybe a tincture to avoid excess oils) and possibly raisins for more 'authentic' mole feel. what is the base beer?

 

If it were me I'd prefer to avoid the fresh Serranos in favor of more Chipotle or Ancho chiles. Or you could smoke the Serranos yourself. I've never made a beer like this, though.

 

bear in mind i'm neurotic and new to all-grain but i'd want to rule out any possible perception of astringency that might distract from your other flavors. not suggesting your recipe would yield that but i might be inclined to cold steep the dark grains or swap in some carafa iii dehusked for peace of mind.

that being said i've never used nibs or peppers, but my thought process would be to grill the peppers (and hell maybe an onion or two) to add to the end of boil, then secondary on nibs and nut extract.

sorry i can't speak from experience but your post intrigued me. best of luck.

 

This is a tough one. The beauty of Mole is in the delicate balance of spices and it seems like it would be hard to get it just right in a beer the first time around. Also, there are tons of different kinds of mole out there but I am guessing you are going for the Oaxacan mole that is dominantly chocolate and chili peppers.

I also think it would be good to try to replicate some of the mole like flavors using traditional beer ingredients. For example,

Instead of smoking the peppers throw in a touch of smoked malt
Instead of using almonds, maybe a more biscuity malt to give a nutty flavor
Instead of using raisins, some dark candi syrup
Instead of using onions or garlic, use a hop (Summit?) that might give you some allium flavors
Dryhop with some cilantro and/or oregano

A cinnamon stick or two and a star anise would probably add a good depth too.

As I said above I think the challenge is the balance, doing all of the above would likely result in a messy, trainwreck of a beer. You might split the batch with the various ingredients in different secondaries and then blend to taste, but that also seems like a lot of work.

Good luck and if it turns out great, tell me what you did

 

I agree that you need a lot more than chiles and chocolate to make a mole beer. You could always buy a good mole sauce and just use it, though the fat in it may kill head retention.

 

For all the reasons people mention above, I'd refrain from calling it a "mole" beer and just call it "chili chocolate". Real culinary buffs, particularly those with an affinity for rustic Mexican, take offense to people who reduce an incredibly complex and culturally relevant dish to "hey, it has chilis and chocolate", particularly since toasted nuts and seeds tend to play a much larger role in the flavor profile of real mole.

But anyway, I digress.

I've experimented a bit with chilis and chocolate in homebrewing. I think your recipe above is using both in GREAT excess and it'll be undrinkably spicy and bitter. What sort of flavor are you looking for? Do you want to taste the actual chilis, or are you just looking for heat? It's a 5 gallon batch?

 

Not to mention that "3 chipotles and 4 serranos" is meaningless. Weight in ounces of the prepped (dried? de-seeded and de-viened?) chile is what should be aimed for here.