Fuse Pale Ale
Bear Island Brewing Company

i think the poor ratings on this one are a little bit unjustified. its a solid pale, and the pepper flavor is natural and real, without much of the heat coming through. its a hard thing to execute well, and i think they did a good job with it. i like the base beer not being like a kolsch or a golden or something, the hops with the pepper is a nice combination, and having some malt structure underneath is a welcome addition, its not all pepper that way. my guess here is that the pepper is fresh and not roasted, i dont get any cooked, charred, or sweetened elements to it at all, just the fleshy greenness of the jalapeno, and the timing is as nice as the dose, a little heat up front, then all the vegetal flavor combined with the hops, and finally a little more warmth on the tongue on the swallow and in the throat going down, but its never too much, never burns, and i am always ready for another sip. overall i have never been a big pepper beer guy, but its fun to have a good one, and this is definitely better than its ratings. nice job getting the flavor without all the heat, and i like the hops in here too.

Draft at the Barrelhouse. Jalapenos in both the aroma and taste, not too much in your face. Murky orange golden body, small skin of head. Spicy peppery aroma, taste also favors the jalapenos. Enough to obscure the beer underneath..

 

rb

Had this a few times now... Bittercreek a couple of times and again at PreFunk tonight. Pours a mostly clear dark golden/pale orange.. White head rises up and dies back just as quickly. Good clean chile essence on both nose and palate.. Not much in the way of hops to remind us the base beer is a pale ale.. sorta dusty pale malt/cereal type maltiness. Surprised the chile heat never builds despite all the good flavor. Tasty chile beer, but I always like more hop flavor in my pale ales. Light/medium body... I would probably buy this one again.

3.25/3.25/3.25/3.5/3.25