Tried It: Flying Dog Jalepeño White Ale

I know that having Ralph Steadman's art on the labels is a big deal because he's a serious artist/illustrator who worked with Hunter S. Thompson, and I recognize that it is good art, but I also hate it. The one I like least is on their Ragin B@#tch Begian IPA, where I also hate the name, all of which is a bummer because the actual beer is lovely.

Hot pepper beers are hard to do well. I love spicy, so I'm always ready to try another one. Out of the seven I've tried, one has been excellent. It was from Throwback brewery in North Hampton, NH. Serious hotness, and a flavor like the freshest habanero laid lightly on top of a hoppy pilsner.

This jalepeño beer from Flying Dog in Frederick, MD, is good. Which I can't say for the rest of those I've tried.

Notice in the photo of the bottle that there is sediment at the bottom. You want to pour this into a glass and do it carefully, leaving the sediment behind like with a homebrew. I don't know if this brew is bottle conditioned, meaning that stuff is spent yeast, or if the flavor would just be improved by filtration.

I drank two of these tonight. The first one (shown), I just poured it all in, and it tasted moist in a bad way, like a reheated chilie relleno. The second one I poured carefully and got a clear glass of beer with a crisp pepper flavor on a solid wit beer base. The decomposed notes were gone and I could taste the hops.

From a capsaicin standpoint, we're talking an Old El Paso Medium salsa level of heat. It works for the beer, and I think nobody that was willing to drink a pepper beer would be overpowered by the heat. I wouldn't mind a bit more, but they've made a reasonable choice.

Overall, this is a good novelty beer. A fine selection to bring to a party where there will be craft beer fans, a fine thing to order at a bar. I drank it with a breaded white fish, and it paired well. Not one that I'll keep in stock at my house, but I will look forward to the remaining four bottles.