Fire Coral
Tox Brewing Company

 

I love tasty, well-thought-out, and well-executed chili pepper beers ...

... and this is one of them!

Definitely leans on the sweeter side with the malt base. I'd say it's far more American red ale than a traditional Irish red. However, that's a good thing, as the moderate sweetness provides a lovely balance for the spicy peppers.

And as for those peppers, they are immediately noticeable and spicy (and vegetal) on the palate, but the heat doesn't really build, which is quite remarkable.

This is a chili beer that actually delivers on hot pepper heat and flavor, but doesn't overwhelm with heat. That said, I love hot peppers, so if you're really sensitive to heat, pass on this one.

really neat brew, they had it listed at 5.8% when i was in recently, some batch variance on something like this i would assume, although cant be too much fermentable sugar in hot peppers can there? anyway, its lovely, cool that the base is an irish type red, subtle on the ale yeast respect but not neutral, so a little more character to the base beer than we often see in chili beers, a nice kilned malt aspect, earthy and bready, smart start for this. the peppers are highly aromatic, like to the extent that i smell them at least as much as i taste them, if not more, jalapeno for sure, that waxy smoky green poblano too, and a light citrus hit from habanero, all three doing their thing in more or less equal parts, and it doesnt smell super hot, more vegetal, fresh from the garden, nice with the baked grain character this hits with, well balanced and layered. the flavor is nice, love the base beer being of a little more interest, that part is not lost to the peppers, which are mostly on the back end, as is the modest heat, which stays in the throat a little bit but isnt a palate wrecker or anything. more jalapeno than the others as it warms, but it stays pretty complex and dynamic. a nice soft medium body, light cooked grain sweetness through the finish, and awesome carbonation. really well composed, neat and honest chili complexion, drinkable by the pint. well done!

This red ale has hot peppers on the nose and all over the taste. The capsaicin dominates the malt in the red ale and lingers through the entire mouthfeel. If you don't like spicy peppers, steer clear of this one.

Crowler canned on 3/28/20; released on-tap 3/13/20; consumed on 4/1/20

Pours a deeply varnished maroon-mahogany body, with brilliant clarity and topped with a finger of tight, fluffy off-white head; decent retention yields lasting froth collar, minimal cap and little-no lacing, save for an isolated strand here and there.

Aroma opens with waves of sweet dirt and raw vegetation, indicating growing tones of fresh green pepper and subtle smoke; a backing of sappy caramel malts and touches of earthy maple syrup seamlessly flow and accentuate the peppery tones to a bouquet unexpectedly unique and near-perfect in structure.

Taste features a smooth caramel malt opening, with subtle maple and a building undertone of peppery heat becoming almost fruity as it lingers; gritty vegetation and bell pepper hangs on through the finish along with suggestions of fresh dirt and crisp, sweet caramel malts.

Mouthfeel offers a light-medium body with low-moderate carbonation gliding across the palate; a slick texture develops steadily alongside a prickly, peppery heat, mild and earthy/vegetal to an slightly gritty finish tempered with a smooth malty cleanliness.

Peppery heat atop a red ale base accentuate the best of one another in an incredible harmonization of styles highlighting a steady, occasionally mind-bending array of earthy sweetness, sticky malt, and vegetal heat; this is ambitious and far more expressive than it has any right to be, leaving a lasting, overtly positive, and well-maintained overall impression.