Thaiger Uppercut
Beer Lab HI

This was a very difficult beer to rate, because it does some things quite well - and others, not so much.

First off, the pepper presence is glorious. It's vinous and vegetal, and it brings a perfect amount of heat: enough to notice, and building after the sip, but not so much to put you off if you don't like too much spice. This alone makes the beer a winner for me.

However, it is a bit of a letdown in every other aspect. The sour characteristic is minimal; there's almost no fruit presence; and whatever "Thai spices" are supposed to be present don't really come through. It's a bit of a mushy, vague melange of "sour fruity Thai" flavors. The unifying theme present throughout is the pepper heat.

I enjoyed this one, but I feel if they kept that pepper heat, and dialed in the rest of the recipe, it would be a real winner.