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Hot Box
Indeed Brewing Company - Minneapolis
Beer Geek Stats
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- From:
- Indeed Brewing Company - Minneapolis
- Minnesota, United States
- Style:
- Chile Beer
- ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.89 | pDev: 14.91%
- Reviews:
- 19
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- May 28, 2018
- Added:
- Feb 28, 2013
- Wants:
- 12
- Gots:
- 20
Good friends. Good beer. They are what get us through these insanely long winters in Minnesota. That’s why we teamed up with our friends at Northbound Smokehouse Brewpub in South Minneapolis to bring you Hot Box Imperial Smoked Pepper Porter. This collaboration beer is brewed with hickory-smoked peppers and malt cold-smoked over alder, maple and apple woods. Sweet and smoky, with hints of dark fruit and coffee, Hot Box provides just enough heat to keep you thawed during the coldest winter months. This beer may not be for everyone, but then again, neither are Minnesota winters!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by tomloops from Minnesota
4.58/5 rDev +17.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.58/5 rDev +17.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a chilled 750 ml bottle. I think I bought this from the brewery 3+ years ago, and today was the day to open it. Beautiful, rich brown tone, per a porter, with a minimal head and some lacing. I had expected more heat from the poblano/jalapeño chilis used in the aging process, but you only get that in the finish. An excellent porter, nice balance overall.
May 28, 2018Reviewed by spacecake9 from Illinois
3.85/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.85/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A - Pours a murky reddish brown.
S - Smells like peppers!
T - Flavor is smoky, charred, some pepper but no heat.
M - Average carbonation and mouth feel.
O - I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Good beer Indeed.
Mar 15, 2017S - Smells like peppers!
T - Flavor is smoky, charred, some pepper but no heat.
M - Average carbonation and mouth feel.
O - I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Good beer Indeed.
Reviewed by soze47 from Massachusetts
3.79/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Really smokey. I actually think they should've picked either smoked malts or peppers. Not both.
Sweet smoked nose. Sweetness isn't too specific. Taste is really heavy of the smoke up front and some licks of spice toward the end. Some welcomed coffee bitterness comes out as it warms to make it a little more complex. Sweetness gets a more refined role as I drink it too - almost a bittersweet chocolate quality.
Mouthfeel is great. It is just fluffy and light enough to not be oppressive with very strong flavors.
It grew on me as I drank it - at first I thought it was a borderline drain pour, but it really opens up and presents some in expected nuance toward the end.
Apr 10, 2016Sweet smoked nose. Sweetness isn't too specific. Taste is really heavy of the smoke up front and some licks of spice toward the end. Some welcomed coffee bitterness comes out as it warms to make it a little more complex. Sweetness gets a more refined role as I drink it too - almost a bittersweet chocolate quality.
Mouthfeel is great. It is just fluffy and light enough to not be oppressive with very strong flavors.
It grew on me as I drank it - at first I thought it was a borderline drain pour, but it really opens up and presents some in expected nuance toward the end.
Reviewed by Czequershuus from Minnesota
3.31/5 rDev -14.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
3.31/5 rDev -14.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
This beer pours a slightly red tinged black with a smallish head. The aroma of mesquite barbecue type smoke is the first thing to hit me, as well as some herbal and vegetal notes, like grilled asparagus and burned rosemary. There are also some musty, forest floor scents present. The flavor begins with big wallop of acrid campfire smoke, with eventually smooths out to rich espresso and bittersweet baking chocolate flavors. The smoek leaves a prickly sensation on my lips that is not entirely pleasant. The mouthfeel is medium thin, with low carbonation. Overall this was an interesting beer, but I did not find the smoke and spice worked well together. I will restrain my ratings a bit, as I feel it was served too cold at the bar I was at, but even as it warmed there ws something bit disintegrated about it.
Jan 27, 2016Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota
4.13/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.13/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Had on tap at the Bryant Lake Bowl
L: Pours nearly black with a thin light tan head that leaves splotchy lace.
S: Smokey, pepper notes with a chocolate and light coffee background.
T: Smokey chocolate, dried fruit, hint of bacon, faint coffee, pepper. The malt character is moderate to moderately low, the yeast driven flavors are moderate, and the smokiness is moderate to a little above.
F: Creamy with medium carbonation and body O: An interesting beer that needs a touch more pizzazz in the base beer to shine.
May 18, 2015L: Pours nearly black with a thin light tan head that leaves splotchy lace.
S: Smokey, pepper notes with a chocolate and light coffee background.
T: Smokey chocolate, dried fruit, hint of bacon, faint coffee, pepper. The malt character is moderate to moderately low, the yeast driven flavors are moderate, and the smokiness is moderate to a little above.
F: Creamy with medium carbonation and body O: An interesting beer that needs a touch more pizzazz in the base beer to shine.
Rated by beaversfan12 from Minnesota
3.88/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
3.88/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
spicy, smokey taste. great mouth feel
Mar 01, 2015
Hot Box from Indeed Brewing Company - Minneapolis
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
104 ratings
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