Cave Creek Chili Beer

Brewed by Cervecería Mexicana
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Tecate, Mexico

Got to try this thanks to Immy. Was prepared for the worst, took a sip and was about to think "not too bad, what’s all the fuss about?" when the pepper hit. Whoa! Wasn’t prepared for that and I am not a pepper geek, so I can’t say whether the pepper was any good, although Immy says no. Pours a dark yellow, with a white head that goes away completely. Skunked aroma, some corn and whatever the pepper is. Didn’t get much of a chance to nail down the flavor, but was thinking corn when my mouth caught on fire. A very amusing beverage to share!

People are passionate one way or another about this beer. Being someone who likes roasted, hot peppers, what can I say, but "WOW!" ... being someone who likes beer what can I say but "NICE JOB!" ... being someone fortunate enough to like both beer and peppers just makes it that much better but should also not detract from how nicely done this beer is. It is a great beer -- in that you really get the full effect of the vegetable being used to produce it, in this case a hot chili pepper. I’ve eaten lots of peppers in my day and drinking this beer was like having a liquid pepper ... I could taste almost every part of it -- waxy, roasted skin, a deep, fleshy taste, the seeds, and, of course, that magical taste-bud destroyer that prevents most people from ever enjoying the rich complexity that is chili, capsacum. Clear, bright golden. No head to speak of in my glass. Aroma of peppers. Taste of peppers. It has been described as a one-dimensional (true) and gimmicky (untrue): it is designed specifically, in any estimation, to showcase one thing: chili peppers. And, yes, it will destroy your tastebuds. Drink enough of these and you’ll be half blind, experiencing rare olfactory halucinations you never thought you would taste through your cotton-filled ears. It is a hard thing to showcase a vegetable without the beer becoming "vegetive"... this fits the bill, perfectly. Give it a chance based on what it is and you’ll agree: it showcases chili (and that’s something you either like or hate -- but the beer itself does exactly that beautifully).

Oh boy - here it is the feared, the wanted. Looks good the bottle with the swollen pregnant jalopeno. Pale golden color - no head. Smells like the water in which chopped jalapenos laid in - actually the smell also reminds me on capers - I like capers but naaaaahhhh not in my beer. And then the try - BAM that hurts. The tastebuds are ruined - I have no clue - I can’ t taste anything...soooo it is a bad one, the one that comes hidden as a pregnant jalopeno and turns out to be the taste bud-murderer!

Bottled. Clear pale yellow, no head. Aroma of sweet malt and tabasco. First a little bit of corn flavour, then a medium strength tabasco burn. There are beers with much more horrible chili flavuor - like Sunshine Coast, but here’s you’ve got a real crappy beer behind it as well, so in fact the tabasco might to it a service through hiding the syrup and vegetables.

Palate destroyer... very pale yellow in colour. Aroma of jalapeno, chillies, and tobasco. Flavour was all jalapeno. Finishes with a chilli burning sensation.

Clear yellow, zero head. I wonder if the vinegar from the pepper kills it. Nasty sweet malt and sport pepper aroma. Hits you with a wall of heat followed by pickled flavors and finishing with a touch of malt. Now, where can I get this on draught?

Bottle. Pale golden beer with no head. Pickled pepper aroma. Pale lager flavor with lots of jalepeno. gimick beer. Not as hot as I thought, but it’s still no good.

Not much for color (clear glass). Aroma of skunk. Flavor of skunk and dirty dish water with a peppery finish. I give them credit for the chili kick in the end; but man you think the brewmaster would have done something to get rid of that dirty dishwater flavor.