Mexican Heartbreak
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

Bomber purchased at the brewery shop a few months ago; no packaging date and served slightly chilled. I do like the base beer (Mexican Romance), so let's see if the presence of wood and tequila are able to improve it any.

Pours a foggy copper-orange colour rife with flaky sediment, producing half an inch of smooth, creamy white head that sizzles off within ninety seconds or so. A bubbly cap of film is left behind, surrounded by a frothy cap - looks alright, save for the total lack of lacing. Caramelized sugars, bready malts and habanero pepper spiciness on the nose, the lattermost also imparting a somewhat vegetal quality. Hints of wood, resiny/earthy hops, vanilla, apricot, plum and alcohol; bit of an American Strong Ale vibe.

This is a brew that sneaks up on you, and I don't just mean the alcohol content: it almost seems fruity and pleasant at first, but that habanero heat really builds up some momentum over the course of the sip. Caramelized malts, toasted bread, and apricot at the front end, alongside a growing pepper spiciness; hints of wood, citrus peel and earthy, pine resin-y hops develop later on, but the habanero hogs most of the spotlight. It persists long into the aftertaste, outlasting both the hints of tequila and the hop bitterness. Medium-full in body, with middling carbonation that provides a nice spritz to the mouthfeel, working well alongside the spiciness. I found this to be surprisingly drinkable, though I wouldn't blame anyone for splitting this bottle with another person, as the heat becomes a little cumbersome after a while.

Final Grade: 3.75, a B+. Like a Latin American soap opera, Mexican Heartbreak is bold, brash, blunt, and finishes with all the fiery fury and passion you'd expect out of a woman scorned. I am doling out a few bonus points for creativity, because there aren't many breweries in Southwestern Ontario with the balls to tequila barrel-age a chile pepper beer. As was the case with its base beer (which this is almost on par with), I don't know if I'd call this a home run... but it's absolutely interesting and unique enough to be worth trying at least once.