El Kabong
DuClaw Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours clear and copper colored; the modest cap leaves an impressive amount of lacing

Smell: Apricot tones, rather fruity, with a hint of peppery heat

Taste: Caramel with an apricot nudge in the front, dirty dishwater through the middle and heat in the finish; the chili dominates in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation; lots of heat through the mouth

Overall: Having a hard time with this one as I am not a fan of beers dominated by the chili the way this one is

 

 

Bottle dated 2/23/16:
Maybe time helped or didn't, but...
this was a strange beer that is a hybrid fruit beer/chile beer. The apricot note up front comes across as a tad cloying (at 5 months, could be a product of age?), but is not completely off-putting. The chile heat in back is at an almost perfect level.

For the particulars:
Nice white head with a bunch of lacing. Hazy copper body.
Nose is heavy on that sweet apricot, unfortunately.
Sweet heat in the feel, lingering tingle from the latter.

Very interesting beer. A good alternative on a summer day. The chili pepper is not present until after a bit is swallowed. Can feel a slight pleasant burn in your throat and lips, which is unique. The apricot flavor is subtle. A nice beer.

 

 

 

A: The beer is hazy amber in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high dense beige head that died down, but left lots of lacing down the sides of the glass, a narrow collar around the edge, a patch of bubbles in the center, and a thin layer of bubbles in between.
S: Moderate aromas of apricots are present in the nose along with notes of chili peppers. As the beer warms up, the smell of apricots becomes stronger.
T: The taste follows the smell, but has stronger flavors of chili peppers, which are most prominent in the finish and linger into the aftertaste. Very subtle bits of sweetness from the apricots are perceptible at the beginning of the taste.
M: It feels medium-bodied and somewhat crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. The chili peppers lend heat to the mouthfeel, particularly in the finish.
O: This chili beer has some kick to it, but the apricots work surprisingly well and help to balance off the spiciness to some degree.

Serving type: bottle

Dark orange brown, fizzy, shy head.

Caramel malt aromas. No apricot, or chile.

At first this tastes like a vanilla brown ale. Is there even supposed to be vanilla in this? There is a hint that there was a presence of vegetable that may have had some heat at one time. No apricot.

I've had so many nasty, artificial tasting beers by these guys. At least this one wasn't offensive, but I don't understand wtf DuClaw is trying to pull in the craft beer world. Honestly, they need to just stop, please. The whole statement they have on their bottle cap is so disingenuous it's insulting.

 

Pours clear, orange-brown in color, with one inch head. Taste is surprisingly big vanilla with apricot sweetness, caramel, and peppery heat towards the end. The peppers work well with the apricot and never overwhelm it. I think the fact that the apricot/vanilla flavors are really sweet also makes the noticeable spiciness work. Not a beer I would drink daily, but works well as a summer time nightcap.