There are quick ripening red varieties like King Arthur ( use to be Fat'N Sassy) Ace, Bell Boy, Lady Bell, Merlin, La Bamba, Redknight. Still takes patience tho and temps in the 80's. At cool temps 50's- 60's none of them will ripen. Like tomatoes there are green when ripe varieties. Not popular tho. some varieties are yellow or orange when ripe.

Do you have experience with fermenting? Just need to know how much detail you need. And what fermenting equipment do you have access to? Basically it boils down to remove stems, chop the peppers (food processor works good), press the mix into a fermenting crock or large glass jar, dissolve 3 T of canning salt (no table salt) per each 5 lbs. of peppers in just enough boiled and cooled water to cover the peppers, pour it over the peppers, and cover/seal the jar (how you seal it off all depends on the types of container you use) and set it in a cool dark place for 7-10 days. Meanwhile I linked a couple of good discussions on fermenting peppers for you with lots of info. Fermenting hot peppers fermented pepper sauce Dave

Lets talk about the chilitepin if they (pepper pod) are not growing true its possible they are crossed with another variety. The green to brown spots then shriveling could be blossom end rot but pics needed to determine if that's the case. Tabasco since they are young leaves may not be protecting the fruit thus they get sunburned. Please post pics Mark

cojen, If you are worried about burning your fingers when picking, wear vinyl food service gloves, and certainly wear them and eye protection when processing/pureeing any hot chili. I have had several tabasco plants in the past, and have not found the peppers to be full of juice by any means, however they do seem to have a high moisture content. If you like tabasco brand sauce, you will love them, but beware as they are quite hot and the burn is long lasting. I usually pick them for two distinctly different reasons: first, when green to pickle in some white vinegar, water, sugar and salt (like the bottle at one of my favorite diners- Steak and Shake, TAKHOMASAK!) and second when very ripe. The very orange, almost red very ripe ones by in large fall out of the cap, and will do so if you shake the plant, this was undoubtably selectively bred for by the largest commercial grower of this pepper- MacIlhenny. I have used the ripe ones to make sauce immediately, or dry them on strings hanging in my kitchen, but my favorite is to simply mash them with a pestle in a jar and add a small splash of vinegar to speed up the process of breaking them down. I don't refridgerate it, I simply keep it in a cool dark place and add peppers to it as they ripen. I currently have two large peanut butter jars full, one with one-year old pepper mash and another with two-year old. Both are outstanding, and i can tell you that it only improves with age. Good luck, and hot chilis.