Viva Habanera - Night Shift Brewing

AlexFields

Tennessee

2.8/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Pours a fairly murky mahogany color, sizable and very bubbly tannish head.

Smells like...Tabasco sauce? Strong garden vegetable character with fresh peppers and tomato and, I dunno, vinegar I guess.

Taste opens with some weird sweet spicy tomato juice character, this might be some odd V8 or Bloody Mary condition, fades into a pretty spicy zing in the aftertaste. There is definitely some odd and almost unpleasant stuff going on here, but I actually enjoy the spicy veggie aftertaste...God I have no idea how to rate this beer.

It would be strange to say drinkability is good in a beer that tastes like sauce and leaves you wanting water to put out the fire, and it's hard to pay attention to the mouthfeel beneath all the strange stuff going on here, but it feels pretty good as far as that goes.

Well, this was something.

5.6/10

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 01:52:47 | More by AlexFields

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

3.38/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Hazed dark copper. Almost no head. Off-white drops to a thin collar in short order. Aggressive carbonation on the pour. Nice bright red notes when held to direct light.

Smell: Slight spicy rye. Some real pepper, as in the vegetable. Mild spiciness hides in the back. A mild sweetness pulls through. Nice and clean. Some caramel malts. A touch biscuity. Spicy as in pepper. Very mild.

Taste: Mellow pale malts with a mild roasted edge. Caramel sweetness with some biscuit/cracker dryness. Habanero spiciness sits on the lips and the back of the swallow, but it disappears rather quickly. Touches of rye spiciness play with the vegetal pepper notes. Agave nectar is a clean, incredibly clean, underlying sweetness. Nice balance, but like the nose, it plays a little too subdued.

Mouthfeel: Light and smooth. A mild dryness on the back, but it drink pretty close to water. Low-moderate carbonation hampers the flavor distribution. Would have benefited greatly from a bit more effervescence.

Overall: Straddles the line between rye beer, saison, and chile beer and gets stuck. Good flavors are dialed down and really fail to come together. Dial it up a touch and it might really be something.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2012 18:24:05 | More by Goblinmunkey7

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.45/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Batch 11

Poured from a 750ml into a snifter, the beer is a dark, vibrant, ruby color with a frothy, light, off-white head that starts a robust two inches and rapidly settles into a sparse, filmy coating. Smells a bit like a big quad...Belgian-like yeast characteristics, both fruity and floral, with a touch of pepper at the end. Flavors of mild roasted grain, but only for a split second because that's how long it takes for the sizzling burn to set in on your tongue and mouth. Very subtle to start, but this fire builds. Very good, as it doesn't overpower or sacrifice the flavor for the heat. The more you drink you start to get more Belgian characteristics, with a bit of yeast funk again, as well as some farmhouse spicing. The rye definitely gives a nice roasty and even grain backbone, and that pepper just keeps on coming. By the end of the palate, the pepper adds flavor as well as heat. Spicy, hot aftertaste, with touches of the grain bill once again. Clean and light in mouth, which helps keep things sharp overall. Smooth, clean finish. Interesting brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 00:29:56 | More by GarthDanielson

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

$7 for a 12 oz. pour @ Atwoods, Somerville. Atwoods says this is 7.1 % abv.

Dark red with a thin ecru head thats quick to fade. Still, it looks like a glass of Trueblood. Ecru is now in my vocabulary and my reviews thanks to Buckeyenation.

Aroma is a bit sour mash at first. That fades and I get more of a fruitcake English old ale. Not a whole lotta pepper.

Fruity up front with bruised apple an cherry and just as I was wondering where the pepper would come in there's a rye pop and a hot habanero fade. This beer has a lot of action on the back end. Make of that what you will.

I bit thin but I don't like many beers with agave or honey thinned bodies.

I hate small pours but it's appropriate in this case. The heat built up a bit by the time I was done.

Serving type: nitro-tap

08-25-2012 15:03:11 | More by donkeyrunner

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Big thanks goes out to beeruser for sharing this one at a past Random Sunday Tasting! Served from bottle into a Mikkeller taster flute. Poured red-orange with a minimal off-white head. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, earth, spice, pepper, chipotle, and relish. The flavor was of sweet malt, relish, earth, pickle, pepper, and salt. It had a light feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty decent brew. Oh great, another pepper spiced beer what could possibly go wrong based on my past experiences? Actually this one actually was quite good and well balanced. The pepper aspect was definitely there, but it did not destroy your palate and stomp it into the mud. There was quite a bit else going on that helped to cut the heat and actually balance out the flavors that were present. A huge surprise since I have always hated life after drinking brews like this in the past. Definitely worth your time trying this one if you are a fan of the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 11:59:56 | More by thagr81us

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

First had: on tap at Night Shift

Rusty brown pour with a thin off-white head. Aroma of caramel malts, mild peppery spice, light fruit notes. The taste was pretty mellow for a habanero beer, nice pale malt and honey/agave sweetness up front, toasty grains, green pepper, followed by some hot pepper prickle that was kept in check by the sweeter elements, making for a pretty smooth mouthfeel overall. Medium-bodied and quite enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap

02-23-2013 23:01:55 | More by Rifugium

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 ml into a dfh snifter batch# 6 bottled on 9/12/12

A: pours a hazy redish brown with half a finger if off white head that settles to a film... Nice spots of lacing...

S: some rye notes and a touch if sweet agave, not a lot goin on in the nose here, kind of like rye bread. Also a bit of Belgian yeast aroma as the beer begins to warm.

T: agave sweetness with some belgian yeast fruit notes, apple/cherry balance with rye complexity, there is a slight taste of pepper vegetativeneas on the finish where the pepper like in bringing some heat to the finish.

M: medium body and not as grainy as I expected from a rye beer, heat in the finish, leaving the mouth with a slight burnin habanero flavor.

O: I was wondering how the peppers would come into play here , and I feel as though they were done wonderfully, I am not usually a huge fan of pepper beers, this is well rounded with a nice bit of heat on the finish... Good show.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 04:53:29 | More by PeterIngemi

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly murky deep reddish brown color with a huge off white head that persists forever leaving moderate lace on the way down. Smells of spicy rye and peppery yeast phenols with a sweet lightly bready and caramel malt base with a hint of dark fruit. I can't find any peppers in the nose, they must be subtle. The flavor is sweet and malty up front with spice and rye providing balance. I found the pepper and it comes in lightly in the middle and lingers long into the finish. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet spicy mouthfeel. Nice brew, I could have used a bit more pepper but I enjoyed it just the same.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2012 20:40:46 | More by johnnnniee

Dope

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch #5, bottled 8/9/12, 7.3% ABV

A: Pours a reddish amber with a good sized and fizzy tan head. Fades at a moderate pace, leaving almost zero lacing behind.

S: Some nice rye bread and lots of pepper. Vegetal pepper aroma with a strong chile heat. Agave nectar is fairly prominent as well. Spiced, hot, and sweet. Interesting.

T: Wow this one is definitely interesting. Spicy rye bread and sweet agave nectar up front. Turns into the vegetal pepper in the middle (but not too much) and then bam, in comes the wave of heat towards the finish. More burning chile pepper in the finish and lingering aftertaste. The lingering burn is one of the best parts, it goes on and on and on forever.

M: Medium bodied and smooth (other than the burning sensation!)

O: A very unique and surprisingly good beer. It's not very traditional but it has good, strong flavors with excellent balance. It's not too spicy, too hot or too sweet. The flavors meld surprisingly well. It's hot but not overly so, it's a borderline chile beer in my humble opinion. Definitely the star of the show in this one. Surprisingly smooth and drinkable for a beer of this style too.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2012 03:05:47 | More by Dope

NilocRellim

Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the tap at the brewery on September 8th, 2012.

This beer poured a very appealing reddish/brown cloudy colour with an off-white head that doesn't last long. The smell of the habanero peppers is abundant, but not overpowering with a sweet note to it (probably because of the agave). The taste was what struck me as the most surprising. Unlike most pepper beers, the beer is not focused on the heat, but rather the flavour of the peppers. It tasted sweet initially then immediately moving into the flavour of the peppers with a bit of rye. The finish is when you get the heat, which is not overpowering at all, but extremely balanced. Overall the heat and sweetness are balanced and it is an extremely great beer.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2012 21:08:17 | More by NilocRellim

BeerMaverick

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Atwoods Tavern in Cambridge, MA.

Brief review - from memory.

Brown/amber color with no head whatsoever served in a flute glass. Completely translucent with no sediment or cloudiness. The heat of the habanero pepper is immediate and dominating with regards to the smell and taste (moreso for the taste). There is also a very nice balance of malt/hops since I was able to decipher both over something as bold as a pepper. The pepper flavor itself was very recognizable and tasty. Many pepper beers are a mess, but this did a great job of portraying the pepper used. This beer is medium-bodied and obviously leaves some heat in the aftertaste as intended. Overall I would highly recommend this beer because it's delicious and delivers as promised.

Serving type: on-tap

05-24-2012 13:34:02 | More by BeerMaverick