10 Spicy, Chile-Spiked Beers We Love
Spite is a cruel sentiment, a calculated desire to insult, annoy, or hurt. But human beings are strange creatures. Some readily seek out pain, finding pleasure where others experience tears. And then there are those who delight in doling out spite, such as the delicious maliciously crew at Michigan’s Founders Brewing.
While the long-running Grand Rapids brewery may be best known for its citrusy Centennial IPA, compulsively quaffable All Day IPA, and barrel-aged Kentucky Breakfast Stout, it takes a certain pride in Spite—a rotating series of pale ales spiked with peppers and occasionally aged in oak barrels. The brewery has experimented with just about every chile ripened under the sun, from easy-going poblanos to spicy serranos and lip-incinerating habaneros.
“If you’re going to make something called Habanero Spite, it has to be hot,” says Jason Heystek, the “lead guitar” of production planning, who often sources chiles from farmers’ markets. “You might only be only able to drink two ounces, but it’ll be an interesting two ounces.”
As Americans increasingly cotton to the combustible flavors of Thai and Sichuan fare—not to mention Sriracha—craft brewers have also embraced the flames, creating cold beers with serious burn. In Illinois, Bent River crafts the Jalapeño Pale Ale, while Oregon’s Rogue makes the smoky, amber-toned Chipotle Ale. Elsewhere, Colorado-based Twisted Pine makes its Ghost Face Killah with dangerously hot Bhut Jolokias (a.k.a. “ghost pepper”), while Ohio’s Elevator Brewing ups the ante by also adding Trinidad Moruga Scorpion to its Ghost Scorpion Lager. “We…tell people not to drink the stuff,” Elevator owner Dick Stevens told the Akron Beacon Journal.
But not all pepper beers must be gimmicky dares. Habaneros have an inherent sweetness, which Founders uses in its strong, salsa-inspired Mango Magnifico. “You get this bright, fresh fruitiness and just a bit of heat,” Heystek says. “If you’re not focused on making a balanced, drinkable thing, then what the hell are you doing?”
Here are 10 chile-fueled beers worth the burn. As always, let the drinker beware.
5 Rabbit Cervecería1/105 Rabbit Cervecería 5 Vulture
In a sea of same-same IPAs and stouts, Chicago’s 5 Rabbit stands apart with its focus on Latin American culture and mythology. Taking its name from one of the five Aztec gods of excess, 5 Vulture—it symbolizes lust and envy—is spiced with roasted ancho chiles, supplying a fruity, not fiery, note to the amber-hued ale.
Wynkoop Brewing Company2/10Wynkoop Brewery Patty’s Chile Beer
Don’t let the name deceive your taste buds: While the Denver brewery uses heaps of mild Anaheim peppers and sweet and smoky anchos in this golden ale, the beer barely rates on the Scoville scale. It’s vegetal, slightly smoky, and gently sweet.
Made in Oregon3/10Burnside Brewing Sweet Heat
Calling to mind chutney by way of Trinidad, the Portland brewery’s wheat ale is made with plenty of apricot purée and tongue-blisteringly hot Scotch bonnet peppers. But the heat hardly overwhelms, balanced by a sweet, lightly tart, and altogether fruity profile.
http://mybeerbuzz.com4/10Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin
Named after a fish with tasty flesh and venomous fins that cause redness and swelling, Ballast Point's Sculpin IPA is, in equal measures, lush, bracing, and tropical. Amped up with habaneros—and released in bottles for the first time this April—the bright, citrusy Habanero Sculpin packs a three-alarm burn that makes it suited to spicy fare.
Evil Twin5/10Evil Twin Spicy Nachos
Taking its cues from the sports-bar standby, Evil Twin's golden-hued pale ale is brewed with plenty of corn and jalapeños. The savory beer drinks crisp and fresh, with plenty of spiciness in the nose and a smoldering finish. Fittingly, future releases will be aged in tequila barrels.
Dogfish Head6/10Dogfish Head Theobroma
The Delaware brewery’s Ancient Ales series revives bygone elixirs from the likes of China, ancient Egypt, and, in the case of Theobroma, Honduras. Researchers analyzed pottery shards, discovering traces of an alcoholic chocolate drink. Theobroma (“food of the gods”) contains cocoa nibs and powder, annatto, honey, and ancho chiles, which supplies a subtle heat to the lighter-hued brew.
http://http://the-bru.blogspot.com/7/10Ska Brewing Autumnal Molé Stout
Come fall, the Coloradans release this seasonal stout inspired by Mexican molé, an intricate merger of chiles, spices such as cumin and cinnamon, and perhaps chocolate. Ska’s spiced stout is doctored with cocoa nibs and a trio of peppers, including mild mulato, sweet and smoky ancho, and Hatch chiles, which are typically harvested in neighboring New Mexico in August.
Mikkeller8/10Mikkeller Mexas Ranger
In a spin on its Texas Ranger chipotle porter, Danish gypsy brewer Mikkeller makes Mexas Ranger with a border-crossing blend of ingredients. Turtle beans, masa, almond milk, avocado leaves, and peppers including cascabel, guajillo, mulato, and pasilla unite in a dark, creamy, smoky, and piquant ale.
http://ohio.com9/10Elevator Brewing Ghost Scorpion Lager
Two of the world’s hottest peppers, India’s Bhut Jolokia (a.k.a. “ghost pepper”) and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, unite in Elevator Brewing’s positively unpalatable Ghost Scorpion lager. Lest it contaminate the bottling line, the brewery hand-bottles each batch.
Twisted Pine10/10Twisted Pine: Ghost Face Killah
If you pleasure in punishing your taste buds, then please try the Colorado brewery’s sensory assault. A mild wheat-beer base is bludgeoned with a grab bag of fresh chiles, including serrano, habanero, jalapeño, Anaheim, and Fresno, as well as dried, smoked, and searingly hot ghost peppers. It tastes like liquefied inferno.
