Kill your face.
On May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), Twisted Pine Brewing released Ghost Face Killah, a piping hot chili beer with an ABV of 5%. The beer is brewed with 6 different peppers; anaheim, fresno, jalapeño, serrano, habanero and bhut jolokia. Bhut jolokia is commonly referred to as “the ghost pepper” and was once the hottest pepper in the world (the title now belongs to the Naga Viper pepper).
Twisted Pine only made 100 cases of the beer. On the morning of May 5, I started asking around for locations where it was being sold. I heard back from TotalBev in Westminster (probably the best place to buy beer in metro Denver, if not all of Colorado) where they mentioned receiving just 2 cases. Other liquor stores also mentioned receiving only 2 cases, so I figured if I wanted some, I better get it ASAP. I headed out to TotalBev during lunch and bought 3 bottles; 1 for me, 1 for my brother, and 1 more for good measure.
The beer poured a slightly hazy yellow with a bit of carbonation. There was very little to no head that dissipated quickly. I can smell the peppers immediately. It smells mostly like jalapeños, but I also smelled ketchup (!?). The first sip I took was a small one, because I didn’t know what to expect. It had a nice pepper taste, not over the top spicy. The heat was pleasant. My second sip was bigger. Still, mostly jalapeño, and the heat was still good. On subsequent sips, the heat seemed to have dissipated some, and I can start tasting other peppers like serrano and even the bhut jolokia.
Overall, I liked it. A lot. It was not over the top hot, I found it very drinkable. I honestly could drink a few of these in one sitting. For reference, I usually order chicken wings with medium sauce, and hot sauce sometimes. If you often go beyond hot, this beer will probably not be that hot to you.
I can see some great beer recipes coming out of this, like a spicy beergarita. Food parings that would go perfect with this include summer fruits, like melon, sorbet and Italian ices. If you can find it, give it a try.
