Viva Habanera
Night Shift Brewing

Viva HabaneraViva Habanera
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From:
Night Shift Brewing
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Chile Beer
Ranked #19
ABV:
7.4%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,042
Avg:
3.74 | pDev: 13.64%
Reviews:
36
Ratings:
333
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 30, 2022
Added:
Apr 30, 2012
Wants:
  20
Gots:
  65
Rye ale with agave nectar and habanero peppers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of ryan1788a5
Reviewed by ryan1788a5 from Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
16oz can poured into a snifter.

A: Deep red-orange color with a mild but uniform haze. Fine-bubbled beige head builds to a finger and a half, but falls fairly quickly. Thin, broken rings and small spots of lacing.

S: Agave nectar and possible crystal malt are forward on the nose. With repeated whiffs, a faint coarse and spicy rye character is perceptible. Mild bubblegum/berry sort of fruitiness, but it's tough to tell if it's a byproduct more of yeast or malt. Soft apricot/floral hop notes. Pepper spice is buried pretty well, but it's there.

T: Follows the nose. It is more sweet-forward than I had anticipated, with a fat and almost candy shell sweet body that tastes like crystal malt. A lot of agave nectar too. Berry-like fruitiness, bubblegum. Green, floral, and tropical hops. Dries a little toward the back end, which is when the rye starts to kick in with its signature earthy spice. Habanero hits right about there too. The heat is actually fairly modest, but builds through the session. It isn't too tough to handle though, and probably easy enough to tolerate for all but the most sensitive. Rye spice and modest but even habanero heat on the finish, along with a kiss of roastiness, likely from chocolate malt or some other specialty malt.

M: Medium-full body. Round and full with a moderate sense of weight. Chewy texture, mildly coating. Carbonation is abundant, but gentle.

O: It's alright. There's a lot of sweetness in play counteracting the pepper heat. I wish it were more dry and I wish the rye came through a lot more than it does. The beefy and sweet nature of it drown out a lot of the nice fruity habanero flavor too, and leave only the heat. Not much complexity coming through. Kinda forgettable in the end. Habanero Sculpin is still the best pepper beer of all time.
Jul 30, 2022
Photo of Rug
Reviewed by Rug from Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Canned 2/16/22

This is a beer that I tried to find for a while when I first got into Night Shift since it seems to be so divisive. By the time I found out about them, they stopped releasing it. I forgot about this beer for a while, and then happened to see in the liquor store the orher day that they released a special 10th anniversary batch and had to grab some. Let’s see how spicy this thing is

Pours a ruddy brownish orange with 2 fingers of off white head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves decent lacing

The spice is pretty understated in the nose, but it’s definitely present. I’m picking up on aromas of caramel, dark toast, orange zest, rye whiskey, earthy hops, and light hot pepper

Oh wow, this one is a slow burn. It starts off quite tame and sweet but that spice really builds over time. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting rye bread, toffee, lemon zest, doughy malt, and light green pepper. The swallow brings notes of rye bread, mango, sweet agave, herbal hops, light whiskey, and a huge crescendo of habanero pepper that lingers long after the swallow

A medium full body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes very dry from the lingering pepper notes

This is so perplexing. I honestly don’t know why I like it as much as I do. It’s not supposed to be an accessible beer, and that makes me like it a little more. Cheers to 10 years of Night Shift!
Mar 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.06 by fitzy84 from Massachusetts

Feb 07, 2020
 
Rated: 3 by Fettpopps from Massachusetts

Jan 09, 2020
 
Rated: 3.88 by Beersilio from Massachusetts

Nov 23, 2019
 
Rated: 3.44 by Jonnybgood from Massachusetts

Nov 03, 2019
Photo of Ronl12
Reviewed by Ronl12 from Massachusetts

3.52/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
16 oz can into IPA glass. Dated 10/22/19.
Look is hazy dark red. Smell is yeasty. Taste follows with sweet taste a little pepper but not much. Feel is light. Overall disappointed. Would have like more pepper in it. Wouldn't buy again.
Oct 30, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Aug 18, 2019
Photo of Admiraldinty
Reviewed by Admiraldinty from Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Had this on tap in the brewery itself. Interesting. They may have changed the recipe somewhat, since what I had was 5.9% abv, not the 7% listed here. Pours a dirty, dark amber. Not much of an aroma. Habanero provides a little sweetness and heat up front, but appropriately, the heat doesn't linger. You're not going to be reaching for a glass of milk or anything. Lots of bitter earthiness.

I'm glad I tried it, but I don't know if I'd seek it out again.
Aug 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.71 by MI_beerdrinker from Texas

Jun 20, 2018
 
Rated: 3.28 by 32arden from Maryland

Jun 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by Heftklammer from Massachusetts

Jun 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Iski100 from Massachusetts

Jan 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.72 by Manfrombelmonty from Massachusetts

Nov 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.94 by Abe_Froman from Massachusetts

Aug 10, 2017
Photo of Sheppard
Reviewed by Sheppard from Massachusetts

3.67/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a mahogany-ish amber. Not terribly aromatic. Nice levels of heat with a bready undertoning that asserts itself on the finish. Kind of a sweet bread. Not getting much in the form of rye. This is fine and I'm glad I got to try it. The heat is actually really nice and the right amount, measured, I'd say. However, the underlying beer isn't great, like it's sweet and under-attenuated or something.
Aug 05, 2017
Photo of CDKing80
Reviewed by CDKing80 from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I opened my nearly 3 year old bottle (bottled June 9 2014) and its still a decent beer. Head was pretty thick but died down fairly quickly. Still has a spicy bite to it. Seems to taste like i remembered.
Jun 04, 2017
Photo of Stephenmheadley
Reviewed by Stephenmheadley from Massachusetts

3.81/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Intense drink due to the spicy kick so many folks may not be able to drink more than a single glass. For those who enjoy a spicy beer, this is a beer for you.
Mar 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.33 by Skwalk47 from Massachusetts

Jun 20, 2016
 
Rated: 3.51 by Gregoreaux from Massachusetts

May 03, 2016
Viva Habanera from Night Shift Brewing
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 333 ratings