Ring Of Fire
Dragonmead Microbrewery

Tastes like peppers. No spice at all.

 

not hot enough

Did someone put peppers in a keg. THIS ONE GOES BOOM, BING, POW, ZAP and insert fire emoji here too! WOW this is packed full of savory spice flavor that gives way to a palate experience that is excellent again. A lip smacker that will make you reach for a glass of water!

 

Good but just a little too much heat for me. It was suggested to mix it with other beers. I did and it was better.

 

Great balance of spice and taste, that's all that needs to be said!

 

 

 

 

 

This brew was served on tap at Dragonmead in Warren, Michigan. It arrived in a standard tasting glass, showing a pale peachy coloring. It held a half finger tall head of egg white colored foam, showing okay retention. There was a slight chill haze against clarity, but no sediment was noted. Carbonation appeared to be moderate. The aroma gave notes of sweet cream, pale and lighter amber malts, white corny adjuncts, tobacco leafiness, melty plastics, cornbreadiness, faint citric hops, light caramel sweetness, and soft warming heat of cooked and oiled jalapenos and habaneros. The taste followed with that same cream ale based sweetness of lactic milkiness, cornbread, adjuncty metallics, and caramel sugars, but this was slowly and subtly taken over by a creeping heat of authentic and meaty habanero peppers. Towards the end and aftertaste of the sip this really effectively cut all other flavors out, especially by the bottom of the glass, but otherwise you do get peeks from ceramic, clay, and mineral, pale grain toast, white sugar sweetness, synthetic strawberry fruitiness, black pepper, and booze. The body was medium, and the carbonation was lightly medium. Each sip gave decent slurp and smack, with a creamy but oily coating left around the mouth to perpetuate that warmth. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank back well for the style.

Overall, we’ve been very, very excited to get our hands on this beer. Were it not due to the instance of a buddy who wanted to grab some drinks, it may have taken much longer to reach that goal of finally making the brief trek over to Dragonmead. We adore spicy chili beers, and since moving to Michigan, many of the native locals have pointed us towards Ring of Fire. The intrigue has been built, and expectations made. Keep in mind, this was predominantly before the times of Crime and Punishment, so no real precedent had been set. What we encountered here was a nicely flavored chili beer. At no point did it approach the scalding, melting heat that we had prepared for, but again, by the bottom of the glass you definitely began to feel the burn and sweat just a touch. This does not ruin the palate, and was our first taste of the night after which we were just fine to continue tasting. The real prize here is in this beer’s authenticity. The flavors presented are real and palatable for the most part, and you can tell real thought and care went into developing this recipe. To base the chili on top of their standard cream ale is definitely unique, and adds a biscuity and fruity sweetness that is not often encountered in this style. Ultimately, we are pleased to have tried this beer, and believe it is a must-try for those that can’t get enough of the style.

Found this to be unique and refreshing. Not for the faint hearted. Pepper presence definitely there. I enjoyed a couple at this very laid back brewery.