Click to go mobile
Search articles from thousands of Examiners
Los Angeles Food and Drink Seattle Beer Examiner
 
Find out more about Chris:

Chris Devlin moved to Seattle from San Francisco in 2005. After a year of whining about the weather, he discovered the city's beer community. He's been drinking and blogging about it ever since. Some say he's obsessed with beer. He did try 375 beers in 2007 and spends all his vacation time on beer travels. You can find more of his writing at The Beer Retard.


 
Subscribe to Chris's Email Alerts

Get alerts when Chris submits a new article
Email Address


  Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use

Chris has been added to your favorite examiners
·
Next Article

Pike Brewing Cerveza Rosanna

May 6, 3:37 PM
4 comments
RSS

Today I hustled over to Pike Brewing to try their Cerveza Rosanna, a chili beer brewed for yesterday's Cinco de Mayo. A lot of chili beers are just a gimmick, crappy beers with the only draw being the novelty of spiciness. However, when a craft brewer attempts one I'm always interested in trying it since I figure they'll do something interesting and the beer underneath has the potential to be skillfully crafted. I realize a lot of people find the idea of spicy chili beer disgusting, but if you like both beer and spicy things, marrying the two isn't so crazy.

Brewer Drew Cluley used green chili peppers and poblanos in the Cerveza Rosanna from an old recipe that the brewery's owners, Charles and Rose Finkel, brought back since re-acquiring the brewery in 2006. I've gotta say that the Rosanna is a good beer. Served on cask, it's a clear amber color and you can pick up the faint smell of peppers in the aroma. Sweetness from the malt hits your tastebuds first and then spiciness hits the back of your mouth and throat. The burn from the chili lingers but doesn't overwhelm. Serving the beer on cask lets the flavors come out more strongly than if it had a lot of carbonation, something that works since the beer is solidly executed underneath the spiciness.

Most amber ales don't have flavors that jump out at you. I think the best examples of the style are ones that have a distinctively hoppy edge or some other characteristic that makes them unique. The Pike Cerveza Rosanna fits into that category by substituting a spicy edge for a hoppy edge. While a little of this beer may go a long way, it's a well-made and interesting beer that's worth trying. Unfortunately, it won't be on for long. The Pike is estimating that they only have enough of the cask left to make it through some of happy hour tonight. If you want to try some, you'd better get down there soon.

Author: Chris Devlin
Chris Devlin is an Examiner from Seattle. You can see Chris's articles on Chris's Home Page.
Find out more about Chris:
Chris Devlin moved to Seattle from San Francisco in 2005. After a year of whining about the weather, he discovered the city's beer community. He's been drinking and blogging about it ever since. Some say he's obsessed with beer. He did try 375 beers in 2007 and spends all his vacation time on beer travels. You can find more of his writing at The Beer Retard.
Subscribe to Chris's Email Alerts
Get alerts when Chris submits a new article
Email Address


  Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use

Chris has been added to your favorite examiners

Comments

Name:
Comments:
characters left

Write for us

Now Recruiting in Los Angeles
We are now looking for Los Angeles writers to cover hundreds of topics, including: View all available topics »