Valley Brew Cervesa Picosa Ahumada Roja

Brewed by Valley Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Stockton, California USA

Date: 07/24/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

amber, whispy beige head that swirels into creamy lace, malt aroma with a nice spicy edge, hot chili flavor on a dry smokey malt base, a balanced and smokey chipolte beer
-------- /> Date: 07/18/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Score: 3.2 to 3.5

clear amber, sweet peppery aroma with a good balance between the strong pepper and some sweet caramel in the background, lots of pepper flavor, lingering heat, hint of sweet malt stays in the background, much more pepper than before

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

It didn’t come out of the bottle too well. Way too much foam and fizz. Eventually settled into a hazy amber. The aroma has a citric, slightly phenolic tartness...presumably what TAR alluded to has spent the subsequent five weeks becoming more pronounced as the beer has clearly continued fermenting. Underneath of that is a complex chile character punctuated by an insistent chipotle smokiness. Flavourwise...ok it’s got a lot of carbonation and some footy yeastiness, which definitely muddies things up a bit, especially the malts, which come of as a bland caramel-earth two tone. Then the chile steps forward, bringing again the complex chile of a proper mole oaxaqueño. There is lingering smokiness and some capsicum warmth at the end...mild but pleasant...I could go for more, personally. There’s some malt behind it...the earthy aspect of the malts is uninteresting of itself but plays well with the intense earthiness of the chiles. It’s a great mix of chiles - I appreciate this a LOT on that level - and it’s entirely possible the surrounding beer is well-thought-out but probably a bit too yeasty/overattenuated for its own good.

22oz bottle@Noogfest4.0-thanks to beerguy101–pours an off white ring for a head and amber color. Aroma is medium malt, jalapeños. Taste is medium malt-smoke then jalapeños roll in like a steam roller. Interesting.

Bottle sampled in mid-July 2006: Pours a hazy dark bronze copper with a thin-lacing off-white head. Sweet malts, fresh hops, smoke, and spicy peppery aroma. Body starts with lots of fizzy carbonation, lightly smoky flavor and a hot, spicy lingering finish. Fairly well-balanced and drinkable and I generally don’t even like spicy things.

Noogfest ’08. The body was dark copper with a khaki head. The aroma was malty with smoke and chile. The taste was very spicy, a big surprise for me. Not bad, jsut a shock. There was also some bread and carrots. Very well done.

Poured a hazy dark amber color with a medium beige head. Chili pepper aroma comes right out. Smells pretty smokey like a chipotle (which I now see is included). The combinations smells like something I used to smell in in childhood. I can’t remember what. A toy, a food something. Weird I am thinking gauze wrap but not in a bad way at all. I find the smell pleasant like comfort food. Ok I am going on way too much about it. Nice malty and smokey flavor with just the right amount of heat that only starts at the back of the throat. Doesn’t leave your whole mouth on fire. Great balance and drinkability. I would love to have more pair with some mexican food.

Tasted at Noogfest 4.0 (2008). This chile beer pours a medium amber color from the bottle. Small sized white foamy head. The aroma is malt, some chili and some spice. A medium bodied ale. The malts are caramel and fruity. The hops are earthy. There is an intense and clean chili flavor at the finish. It just sort of comes out of left field at you. Nice. A great beer with Mexican food. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter and HOT!

12oz bottle from KrausenJockey, opened on 5/26/07 but accidentally not consumed until 5/27/07
It was a case of getting a little too ambitious and I opened this one and then passed out before I could enjoy it. Thankfully A) I didn’t drink it then, as I probably would have not remembered this lovely beer so vividly. B) The beer was wonderfully conditioned and was in perfect shape, with a lovely appearance, despite sitting out for 20 hours with the cap off.
A deep reddish-chestnut brown beer with violet and crimson hues and a beige head that is large, well-retained and full of lacing.
Dry, crunchy malt gives glimpses of earthiness, dusty chocolate-toffee and light breadiness. Some sweet caramel hits the nose through the middle and then disappears in to a lightly spiced, moderately smokey (chipotles) finish that is neither too mild, nor too aggressive. With warming, the nose incorporates even more malt sweetness, mostly light caramel and even a pinch of some fruitiness. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma that craftily downplays its hand in the pepper department. No alcohol noted, no flaws.
A thin layer of bready malt appears at first sip, but is quickly absorbed in to a soft caramel sweetness that is flecked with hints of dry chocolate. I don’t know what creates it, perhaps the interplay of malt and pepper, but there is a transitional flavor in the middle, that is neither fully malt, nor pepper. Almost fruity, like strawberries or cherries or something. Pinches of vanilla are thrown in and then finally the pepper flavor hits on the finish, starting slowly and building to a highly flavorful and enjoyable spiciness, with light smoke and a touch of juiciness even.
What strikes me the most about this particular chili beer, after having many of them, is that it’s in no way done for novelty (or if it is, it dosent seem like it). It’s not a "HA! Let’s make a crazy hot chili beer!" where the brewer obviously forgets to still make a beer and gets extremely carried away with the chili. Nope, here there is a beer with plentiful malt character up front, passing to a complementary (assuming you like chilis) flavor on the end that balances the sweetness up front. Delicious and near perfectly done on the level of heat so that it can appeal to those not so in to spices. Other than a touch of nuttiness and/or breadiness, I didnt get the huge yeastiness that Jeff mentions. This was phenomenal on a hot day and easily the best chili beer I’ve had to-date.