Cayenne Capsimel

Origin: British      Period: Modern

A capsimel (or capsicumel) is a Metheglin (fruit mead) made with fresh chillies. We are so used to using dried chillies as a spice that we forget that fresh chillies are a fruit with a distinctive flavour all their own. Indeed, each chilli variety has its own flavour (but you have to suffer the heat to taste it). It was the Maya who first used chillies in brewing whilst making maize beer and this recipe uses chillies to flavour classic European mead.

I should say here that I love chillies and my wife is West African so I'm used to eating some of the world's hottest chillies every day. If you are not used to chilli heat then halve the number of chillies in the recipe (but do not reduce beyond that as you will not taste the chillies in the mead). This recipe uses cayenne chillies, and as a result does not have quite the same level of heat as the other capsimel recipes presented on this site.

Ingredients

6 large Cayenne chillies
1l white grape juice
1.2kg honey
juice of 1 lemon
100ml strong black tea (for the tannin)
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
5l unchlorinated water
1 Campden tablet, crushed
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 packet champagne yeast

Method:

As with most of the other recipes here, this has been gauged to make 5l of mead. Only a basic listing of ingredients is given, and for a brewing method please see here for a step-by-step mead brewing guide . Also I have a list of brewing materials you will need if you've never tried mead making before.

Combine the honey, white grape juice and 2.5l water in a pan and bring to a boil. Continue boiling for 20 minutes, skimming off any scum as it rises to the surface. Meanwhile, wash the chillies and cut off the stems then split the fruit lengthways and scrape out the seeds and sinews with a spoon.

Combine the chillies and 500ml water in a blender and chop coarsely. Combine the chopped sultanas and chillies in a muslin or nylon bag (do this over the top of your fermenting bucket so that the liquid flows in) then tie the bag and drop into the bucket. Add the lemon juice, tea and yeast nutrient then pour the honey mixture over the top. Cover and set aside to cool to room temperature then stir-in the pectic enzyme, re-cover and set aside for 12 hours.

Add the yeast and cover then set aside in a warm place to ferment for about 8 days, stirring every day until vigourous fermentation subsides. Remove the nylon bag at this time (but make certain you squeeze any liquid from it into the fermenting bucket before discarding.

Strain the liquid into a demijohn then make up to 5l with more water. Fit a bung and a fermentation lock and leave to ferment in a warm, dark, place for between 60 and 90 days (or until all fermentation has stopped. Rack the wine ino a second fermentation jar, add a bung and a fermentation lock and set aside for 45 days. Rack once more into a clean demijohn and set aside in a cool, dark, place for 45 days more. At the end of this time stabilize the mixture with a crushed campden tablet and potassium sorbate. Wait for 15 days then add 100ml clear honey and stir thoroughly to dissolve. Taste at this point and if the heat is too much for you add 60ml more honey. Keep adjusting the honey until you have a mead that suits your own taste.

Wait for 30 days more then rack the mead into bottles. Cork securely then lay the bottles down in a cool place and allow to mature for at least 6 months. This mead, however, will age and develop over 2 years if you can leave it that long.

Read: Recipe Articles and Reviews

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