Chili pepper in beer

I thought Stone Epic 11 was pretty good.

 

Honestly, I've had pretty much the opposite experience. I am naturally apprehensive towards spicy food (much of it doesn't sit well with my stomach), but I've liked all but one of the six to ten spicy beers I've tried (Cave Creek Chili Beer, predictably). Dunno, just seems to work well surprisingly often. I was particularly fond of Stone Chipotle Smoked Porter and Great Divide Chocolate Oak-Aged Yeti (which is also brewed with cayenne peppers). Ska Mole Stout and even year-old Stone Vertical Epic 11/11/11 were also good.



I would really like to see a "single pepper" series of smoked stouts/porters. Each brewed with the same beer ingredients in the same ratios, but with a different pepper. Preferably cherry-wood smoked (mild, sweeter smoky flavor) rather than oak or beechwood. What do you brewers think? One chipotle, one cayenne, one habanero....

 

Rook was easily the worst rauchbier I have ever had to date.

That being said, chili brewed beers run the spectrum from fantastic to so so for myself. However, peppers added to the firkin for myslef have been a big dissapointment.

Attacking spicy food with a chili beer is not always the best plan by the way. It is often too much and will destroy your palate.

 

I drank about 4 bottles of this in the past two weeks.
Mexican Cake

Super-rich and smooth with dark chocolate syrup and boozy vanilla, lit with true sizzle from habanero peppers and cinnamon.
Incredible beer.

 

Some people like heat in everything they consume. Personally, I think that chili beers are a gimmick, and that only in rare circumstances does the chili flavor or spiciness add to the overall beer. More often than not, the heat clouds actual beer flavors. I've never wanted more than a few ounces of any of the chili beers I've tried, except for Crazy Ed's Cave Creek Chili Beer.

 

I'm actually starting to do this,
but with homegrown peppers & not
the same base beer everytime.

My first in the series was a NZ-Hopped Pale Ale w/ Cayenne, Heirloom Jalepeno, & Hungarians
in equal parts, split, & deseeded.

Next up is an Export Stout w/ solely Cayenne & a Belgian Blonde w/ Tabasco Peppers

 

I too had my doubts, but a serving of Japaleno Smoke Screen at the Ballast Point brewery was absolutely amazing. The pepper taste was so fresh and was perfectly balanced by the hop-bite of the Helles. Beautiful.

 

I have had many chili pepper beers and most of them are way too heavy on the chili pepper and most brewers don't know how to use the peppers and have a balance of flavors in the beer in my opinion.

Hunapus is a good example of balancing the heat.

 

Stone Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle, Stone Ruination: Tropical Heat Edition and Green Flash Double Stout with Serranos are 3 chili beers I really like. They all have only a slight heat to them, but I think the chili taste really enhances the beer. Im also one of the few that loves Stone's Punishment. It's incredibly spicy, but it just works so well with the Double Bastard and the barrel characteristics. Keep forgetting that I need to find a good time to open my bottle.

I've also liked most of Ballast Point's chili experiments well enough, though generally I don't really want more than 4oz at a time. The time they just threw some Chipotle peppers into a keg of Piper Down being the one exception; by the time it got down to the bottom, it was waaay too spicy. One of the spiciest things I've ever consumed.

Edit: forgot about Jalapeño Smokescreen. That's another that works really well, what with the smokiness and all. Still not sure if I'd have more than half a pint though.

 

I am not a fan of Chilli peppers in beer.
However, I thought the Verdi Imperial Stout did a really nice job,
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16043/43161
The pepper cane on subtlety at the end. It wasn't over powering and made for a real interesting beer.
(and a thank you to Giovanni for suggesting the Verdi to me)

 

I'm right there with you. I love spicy food but I've yet to have a chili pepper beer that I really like (including Hunahpu's). I might keep trying them in small amounts when they show up but it's not a style I will seek out anymore.

 

Generally I like pepper beers. I've had a few that I didn't like, like Cave Creek or the JK Rodeo beers. I don't mind an assertive pepper flavor as long as it's not burning hot.

 

Weak chilis are for sissies!

 

Here we go again! Another "I tried X and hated it! What do you think?" thread. At least there are some sensible responses.

First time I had a chile beer was about 20 years ago when I bought a 6-pack to bring home from California. It was an obvious gimmick, with a whole jalapeno slowly decomposing in each bottle of lager that looked like Corona (of course, it had to be clear bottles to show off the pepper). It was kinda cute, but I would not do it again. Not much substance behind that one.

At the opposite end was Ruination Tropical Heat (Ruin/Habanero small batch) that Plan B had on tap in West Hartford. If I wasn't ordering a spicy burger and going for RuinTen on tap, I would have gone for the other one. It's obviously from the Ruination line, with heat slowly displacing the hop tang and lingering for a while, without being overwhelming. And habanero is a perfect pepper for this purpose, as it is fruity and singular, unlike generic chile or jalapeno. Chipotle and other smoked peppers might work well with stouts and porters and, judging from other comments, that is the case.

An important consideration -- I love spicy food (including many chile chocolate blends); I blend ketchup with hot sauce or roasted chile/chipotle before using it for dipping fries (makes for great beer food!). But I am very particular about the type and the amount of heat in different foods and don't want it loaded with pepper just to be purely spicy. The same should apply to beer. If it looks like a gimmick, reject it. And don't drink chile beers with spicy foods -- it makes no sense. They should complement each other, not compete or overwhelm. Of course, drinking it with delicate foods or foods with a different strong flavor (e.g., broiled blue fish or mackerel) might be a mistake as well. Ideally, you want spicy beer with food that's assertive, and might even be spicy under different circumstances, but isn't. For example, it might go well with BBQ/pulled pork that's not overloaded with peppers or a chocolate mole dish (e.g., tamales) or slow-roasted pork shoulder or grilled chicken.

 

You need to drink Mikkeller Texas Ranger & its variations.

Also I have had Rook & Vuur about 3 times, twice it was heavily infected & once it wasn't and it was wonderful.

 

Block 15 Brewery in Corvallis Oregon makes (or made) a chile beer which used chipotle peppers I think. My son ordered one when we were there . I thought it was a big mistake but he offered me a taste and it was really tasty. All the smokey pepper flavor with no heat at all. Don't know how they do it. I would have another one any time if they still brew it.

 

Go find yourself some Hunaphu's then come back and say you don't like beers with peppers.

 

Only ever had one, and I loved it.

 

I want to acquire more...