I grow some every year too, but they’ve been moving down the Scoville scale. Used to do Ghost peppers and the like, but only did cayenne this year.
I haven’t done a fermented one in quite awhile, been too lazy! Do you test yours for ph? I have some left over testing strips I use. I find if it’s 4 or under ph it lasts pretty much indefinitely in the fridge. In fact I blended some leftover basic ghost pepper sambal into the sauce that’s been sitting in the fridge for at least 6-8 months that still seemed fine.
Nice tip about the xanthan gum, I keep meaning to pick some up to try stabilise smoothies, now I’ve got more reason to!