Hot Chihuahua
Laughing Dog Brewing

12oz bottle purchased at Huckleberry's in Spokane for $1.29. I had this on-tap at the brewery about 6-7 weeks ago, but this is the first time I've tried it bottled. This is a blonde ale with dried chili peppers thrown in. I'm not a big aficionado of pepper beers, but I liked this on-tap.

Poured a golden bronze color, with a moderate white head. A ring of lace was left at the top of the glass, along with spots of lace all down the glass.

The nose is moderately floral at first sniff, but there's a faint whiff of dried peppers. As it warms up the peppers become more prominent.

The taste starts off malty with the peppers in the background. After the swallow they become more noticeable. Interestingly, each sip finds more of the pepper flavor coming to the fore. It's not an overpowering pepper burn, but it does give off a nice glow.

This is a rather light-bodied beer, but considering under the hood it's a blonde ale, that's no surprise.

I find myself in the odd position of being the only person on record as having liked this beer. All I can say is that I drank this with a dinner that consisted of some fairly robust tacos, and it complemented them admirably. I probably wouldn't want to drink a number at one sitting, but it's pretty good with hot food on a hot day.

Friend of mine that lives in Idaho brought me back a few beers from Laughing Dog. I thought that the labels were pretty cool. This beer had me expecting little going into the tasting of it. The appearance is actually very nice looking. Huge rocky foam head with hazy gold body. Looked like a nice Hefe. I assume this is just a NW Pale Ale body with some pepper added. The smell is very synthetic and plastic-like with a small resinous touch. Taste comes on like a funky pale ale, but not overly cloying until the taste begins to settle in the mouth. The spiciness is actually subdued enough for spice-averse people to try this. The hop presence is very strong on this and it doesn't seem to blend well with the heat. Maybe if they had taken a different hop profile, this would have come out a little better. The pepper stays on the tongue and makes you want to reach for a different beer. Is this a poorly crafted beer?...not at all, but I am standing with the opinion that chili peppers and beer are not the best combo. I have a bottle of Rogue Chipotle in the fridge and I am not really dying to try that one either.