I am recovering this morning from a beer event last night where they tapped a keg of Pittsburgh’s Full Pint Brewing Company’s Night of the Living Stout, a ghost chili pepper stout.
I normally “like” pepper beers. I’ve had some fairly potent habanero beers. But man, the beer last night was honestly too much.
I was one of the few people who finished a (free) glass.
off to bathroom
Go on…
About the beer, not, like, your butt or anything. TIA
I saw several people take their first sip, then gasp/choke/cough.
I’m glad I tried it. I don’t plan on ever having another.
I love hot peppers. I love beer. I just can’t wrap my mind around beer with chili peppers. I’ve tried a few, and the pepper flavor just doesn’t belong in beer. Maybe in a Michelada-type of concoction, sure, but just straight-up beer? Chili peppers also work for me in vodka. When I visited Moscow about 15 years ago, there was a Stolichnaya chili pepper vodka that was just fantastic.
That said, I would certainly try it.
Shit like this is going to be the death of the craft brew industry. Rather than learn the intricacies of various grains and hops, brewers are going for stupid gimmicks that will only serve to turn off potential new customers.
I tried Cave Creek Chili Beer once. It tasted like liquid fart.
I was afraid at first you might have been in my bathroom!
Full Pint brews some really great beers. Their Chinookie IPA on a nitrogen system is amazing.
But yeah, the ghost-pepper was not a winner, that’s for sure.
I think that part of the problem is that there are only so many basic brewing ingredients, which translates into a finite number of combinations, many of which are probably indistinguishable from each other to the casual drinker, or at best aren’t very different at all from each other.
So in order to differentiate themselves from all the other craft brewers out there, you get a lot of silly stuff like ghost pepper stouts, and “Double Imperial Pilsners” or other such nonsense, because just making another pale ale, pilsner or stout isn’t going to set your products apart from the dozens, if not hundreds also available in your brewing area. The low cost strategy is out of the picture, because then you’re competing with AB Inbev or MillerCoors for who can make the cheapest beer and still make a profit.
I love spicy, but I don’t care much for ghost peppers, they taste like shit. All they are are spicy (with a good name). Now, habanero,in addition to being spicy, taste great, wonderful floral and slightly citrusy flavor. Jalapeño is good, too.
In beer, it’s usually just a gimmick. That said, my favorite beer ever is Chilibeso from Great Basin Brewery in Reno/Sparks. Its “kiss” of jalapeño compliments the crispness of the lighter summer beer. It tastes like liquid nachos in a good way.
I think this qualifies under my “Fruit should not be in beer/Beer should not taste like fruit” dictum.
I had a jalapeno beer once. It wasn’t all bad, but it did point out to me that the order of things matters. Spicy food first, drink of beer second. Doing both at once is entirely unsatisfying.