Chili Birra
Lake Arenal Hotel & Brewery

 

this was another one of the winners at the brewery, a light blonde ale with chili peppers in it. usually a style i avoid, but when in rome... the beer is really delicate, clear pale blonde in color and without a lot of head (a lot of the beer here was under carbonated). the peppers smell fresh to me, like just sliced capsicum, really authentic aroma, hard to identify the peppers, but they smell as much like red peppers as chilis, not super hot but very fresh and vegetal, a little pale barley malt underneath but not much there. the flavor features the chili in perfect amount i think, at least for my tastes (which admittedly im not huge on hot beers). its not too hot, but there is a little chili heat on the back of the tongue, roof of the mouth, and top of the throat going down, but it goes away quickly and it tastes so fresh its almost refreshing even with the pepper element, way more flavor than heat to it, and just really nice. a light citrus note, perhaps from hops, in the finish, i think balances the heat, and its all so light and dry its gone before the pepper ever becomes too much. really elegant take on this style, the subtlety is appreciated, more bubbles would really pop it off.