Reviver Red IPA - Habanero
Starr Hill Brewery

Look. Looks like beer.
Sound. N/A
Other three senses. 5

It's great and I want 25 more of these. Enough hotness to tingle. Yet it captures that habanero flavor that is superior to jalapenos.

I created my account just to say this.

Other habanero beers tasted: Sculpin. Which is good but is too spicy to drink 26 of them

A little too much residual heat on the finish for me to rate this one any higher

 

This is utterly superb.

Pours a bright and clear reddish plumb color with a touch of off-white head.

Smells of pungent, smokey habanero with a nice blend of piney hops, and an underlying bready sweetness.

Wow. Just, wow. This is the ultimate pepper experience. As a side note, I have spent a lot of time and energy exploring peppers, and have discovered habanero to be a very tasty pepper, except that it is "hidden behind a veil of pain." For some reason, Starr Hill has managed to deliver the delicious, smokey flesh of the habanero into a beer with only a fraction of the pain. This is simply unreal. The IPA base is really a pedestal to hold up the pepper magnificence. A touch of sweet red ale malt pushes through and a touch of hops, but it seems to be an afterthought.

Feels delightfully clean, delivering its spicy payload.

I rate this hyperbolically because it is simply the best expression of peppers in a beer I have ever had, potentially that I could even imagine. As I left the bar after having this, I licked my gums the whole way home savoring the spicy delight. I'll head back tomorrow and grab a growler.

There is a nice burn on the back end. If you don't like spice, avoid at all costs. This is a step up from the base beer. If you love spice, like me, enjoy!

I tried this on tap at Grain + Verse poured chilled in a pint.

The color is darker red more like copper/bronze with light hazed look and tan head with fine bead and streamers of lace stick. The smell is like a fresh cut habanero -robust with spice yet not a lot of hop in smell just pepper but it smells so good it does have a light yeast ester too. The feel is totally worthy an fitting of the habanero label with spicy only a light malt texture and slight hop bitterness with lingering heat with moderate carbonation throughout.

This is bringing the heat! Not an inferno but warming habanero and hot taste toward the back with hops flavor present and peppery earthy taste with light malt and toasted flavor with light sweetness not quite caramel in the level of maltiness. The mild fruity and citrus from the blend of habanero +hops is enjoyable as the heat comes in mid palate. The flavor is not subtle yet it is not a rampage of heat either it has slight elements of yeast fruitiness while the heat lingers on. Overall I was surprised how well balanced this is for a habanero ale -IPA base is elevated with a supporting malt to showcase the great habanero focus well

Poured from the tap into a pint glass.
Aroma- Nice blend of hops and spicy heat
Appearance- A dark golden yellow with a small white head
Taste- Hops and some habanero heat, nice blend of flavors
Palate- A medium to light bodied beer with moderate carbonation.
Overall- A good specialty beer, worth drinking