Drank: Chili Beer (Calapooia Brewing Co.)

By BEN WATERHOUSE

Call me boring, but I like my beverages to come without prefixes, especially when it comes to beer. Bring on the ale, leave out the fruit, please. But I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Anaheim, jalapeño and serrano peppers complement the warm, bready malt in this ale from Calapooia Brewing in Albany, Ore. Chili beer smells like roasting green chilies and tastes not unlike a good enchilada sauce. It has just enough heat to get your salivary glands going and, unlike most capsicum-added beers on the market, it has no sour or chemical flavors on the finish. It could make an excellent aperitif. But while the "chili" part of chili beer is very good, the beer is disappointing, with almost no detectable carbonation. Perhaps we got a bad bottle; I hope so. Calapooia started bottling its beers in only October, so quality control may not yet be up to snuff. In either case, this is one brew badly in need of some fizz. 

WWeek 2015

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