Honey Sun Iqhilika (Mead) - Chili

Brewed by Makana Meadery
Style: Mead
Grahamstown, South Africa

Has a glass of this at Redlight. I always thought this had to be interesting and I had to try it. Pours in the glass like a slightly thick chardonnay with a tinge of red. Floral, spicy intense chili pepper aroma that turned everyones head at the bar, mainly because it was so fragrant the whole bar could smell it. Body is slightly thin, but its hard to tell because the chili pepper are tearing your taste buds to shreds. Lots of spicy chili peppers with hints of honey trying to balance it out. Very interesting.

Bottle shared by acrdz at BCTC. Thanks Mike! Mike said he was trying to get rid of this and so I expected the worst, but damn, I liked this one. Nose had a very natural and sweet honey aroma with a bit of chiles mixed in there. Flavor, again, had a very fresh honey backbone, with some nice habanero chilies on top. I thought it was blended very well and didn’t find it overly hot or spicey. I’ll definitely be going "against the grain" on this one.

This was some of the weirdest liquid I’ve ever bothered to try. It had me cringing by the end, and it wasn’t from the heat - it really wasn’t too hot. I imagine this is roughly what an eisbock version of Budweiser Chelada would taste like if uncarbonated and mixed with a sweet white wine. Yes, it’s that bizarre - novel, but somewhat repulsive. Notes of honey, habañero pepper and a sweet white wine (reisling) are most prominent, and while this packs noticeable heat, it isn’t anything that’ll make you break a sweat. It will leave you wanting something else, though.

Sampled at Uber Tavern. 2oz tiny snifter. Dark maber. Spicy cool, zesty aroma. Looks thick and oily. Amazing sweet honey with residual powerful fire.

I thought this was delicious. Definitely something that needs to be paired with food. It’s interesting to me the alcohol in the nose blends rather nicely with the heat from the peppers. This follows through on the palate, you get just a hint of heat that warms your whole body as it goes down. The mead is very light and delicate, but the pepper spice is great, and not overwhelming, but more like a nicely made salsa. Delicious!

750, corked, been open for a while and re-corked, Uber. There is a bit of a cult following for this stuff, and I want to be as respectful as possible of the people who have fallen in love with it. It *is*, to be sure, unusual, and the combination of chilies and honey is a winner in many dishes.
Pours crystal clear light gold. Headless, laceless, still, dent legs on it. Big sour honey nose. Almost minty smelling. Not what I want out of my honey at all. Light body, almost evaporative. Not much flavor, just a dose of habanero heat. Totally under control and agreeably tingly, but no substitute for real flavor, either. Pretty much unpleasant from start to finish except for that pepper kick.

Astonished at the low rating on this one, though I did only sample an ounce, but mead is best in small quantities anyway. Golden honey colored. Ambrosic, heavy and sweet honey aroma with wonderful pepperiness. Could scarcely smell better. Flavor was of honey though not as powerful as the aroma. Medium-bodied with a decent peppery quality. Quite enjoyable to sample.

Bottle at patrick767 gathering. Transparent and a yellow hue. Nose was a little bit of honey, sweet and spicy. Flavor was some honey, spicy, HOT and peppery. Mouthfeel was HOT and spicy. Light in body. Oh my God was this HOT. I needed ice water after this one! I like hot and spicy, but this was way over-the-top in that category. Never again!