John Cougar Mellencamp

In other words, “Hurts So good.”

Yes, I am enjoying a Habanero Sculpin. Every bit as delicious as the original, and then a giant kick in the teeth of Habanero fire. On my 4th of a sixer I have had for about a month. About 1 per night is about my limit, especially now that the weather is a changing again and my lips are chapped and cracked. All this pain and I am contemplating another…

Oh my goodness “NO.”  I had a 4 oz sampler when last in San Diego and I thought that was painful.  Otherwise, what an excellent beer.  I loved it.

I had two pints in SD and would have had a third, but hadn’t brought antacids. That beer is just crack to me.

I’ve had it on tap and bottled. When packaged, I find the last few sips the hottest. On tap, it’s fire. So much hotter. I think that the habanero sinks to the bottom. With kegs drawing from the bottom, it sucks up all the fire juice. That being said, it’s delicious. But yeah, one is enough. Pony bottles would be perfect.

I’m not sure I would dig this at all. I like hot food, just the few hot beers didn’t do it for me.

Yeah I love the pepper beers, though for me once they cross a certain moderate heat threshold it’s just not enjoyable any more if its not balanced on my palette.

Same here.  I didn’t care for the beer at all.  Too “un-beerlike” for my tastes.

I’m in the love spicy food, don’t like spicy drinks camp. Spicy food + regular beer is great though, in fact in general I don’t drink beer with food because it fills me up and interferes with the taste, but the exception is Indian, Mexican, Thai etc.

+2.  I love Thai, Indian, Mexican food. Any spicy food. Love habanero peppers. But I just don’t care for the spicy beers.

I’m in the same camp on the spicy beverages front. I lump spicy beer in with things like Rauchbier and Summit hops - heat, smoke and garlic are things I enjoy in abundance in food, but turn me off in a beverage. I could appreciate a few sips in a festival situation, but could never finish a pint.

Sitting in this bar is getting more than I can stand
If I could catch a ride I really think I’d ditch this van
Who knows what this repair will cost, scared to spend a dime
I’ll puke if that jukebox plays John Cougar one more time

I would probably puke if I drank a habanero beer.  I’ll stick with the habs in Jamaicain oxtail stew, thank you very much.

I like spicy beers with one caveat, they can’t be spicy just for the sake of being spicy. I need to be able to taste the pepper. I have made a few spicy beers and I think habaneros work very well, but it’s a good idea to balance with a less spicy pepper to hold up the flavor.

That’s what I do with my poblano witbier.  I add a half a hab per 5 gallons just for a little heat.  All the flavor and aroma comes from poblanos.

Winner!

We have a really interesting stout coming along that used 2 Ancho, 3 Jalapeno  and 3 habaneros (1 Scotch Bonnet, 1 Congo Trinidad and 1 Chichen Itza).  Does as you describe very nicely with firm heat, green pepper flavor and habanero aroma.

That sounds super tasty, Pinski. Would be a good beer for deglazing the cast iron full of veggies (or meat, I suppose, if that is your thing). I love a good flavorful spicy beer. Various pepper have such a wonderful fruitiness to them. I just have to remember to save them for the end of the night.

Wow, I like where you went with that. Might have to give that a try!