The Xocoveza

Beer reviews have become fewer and fewer on this blog. It is not so much that I am not drinking beer. It's just that I have been drinking many of the same beers (some of which have already been reviewed and others which don't really need or deserve a review). However, every once in a while, there comes a beer that deserves its own review. 

The Xocoveza from Stone is such a beer.

The story of this beer begins back in 2014 as a mocha stout recipe submitted by Chris Banker as part of Stone's Annual Homebrew Competition. Banker's recipe won the competition. After joining a collaboration between Stone Brewing and Cerverceria Insurgente (a craft brewery in Tijuana), Banker's recipe became the Xocoveza. Nearly ten years later, the beer is now brewed with a range of ingredients beyond the traditional barley, hops (English Challenger and East Kent Golding) and yeast. The additional ingredients include cocoa, coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and lactose. The combination of scents and tastes elevate this stout to something well beyond any chile stout (pasilla peppers) or holiday stout (cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg). 

The greatness of this beer comes from the fact that the additional ingredients contribute to every aspect of the beer. The beer pours pitch black with a brown foam. That foam gives way to an aroma where the cinnamon, coffee and coca become gradually more noticeable. While the brewers say there is also nutmeg and peppers in the aroma, I had a little more difficulty pinpointing those elements. 

However, the nutmeg and peppers are evident in the taste. Those flavors emerge out of the cocoa, coffee and cinnamon, and there is a heat that comes through in the middle and the finish from the peppers. Together, the complexity of the numerous flavor elements remind me of a simple mole. Indeed, this beer would complement a mole very well, although I have to admit that it would probably be drunk long before the mole was finished. 

This beer is on my short list of favorites. It also makes me happy that Stone has made the Xocoveza one of its annual offerings. If you see it in the store, buy a six pack or two. It's definitely worth it. 

PEACE.

Crime

Beers brewed with peppers are quaint.  And I have tried many in my time.  Some draw inspiration from Oaxacan Moles, such as New Holland's El Mole Ocho or Ska Brewing's Mole Stout, which inevitably include the use of chiles like ancho peppers.   Other brewers just brew beers with chiles, like Rogue's Chipotle Ale.  With these beers, it is more about the heat, rather than the style.  

While I love Mole beers, I have to say I am also a big fan of the chile beers as well.  That is what drew me to Stone Brewing's Crime, a supped up version of its Arrogant Bastard.  The Crime is a blend of the Arrogant Bastard and the Oaked Arrogant Bastard, both of which are aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels and then finished with jalapeno, serrano other chile peppers.  The brewers produced this beer for, in their words, "those who adore both pain and pleasure (but mostly pain), those who should know better and those who don't know better."  They continue, "[t]he result is something unsuitable for the faint of heart, mind or palate."

Well, I am certainly not one who is faint of heart, mind or palate, especially when it comes to chiles.  I have over a dozen different types of peppers and chiles in my spice drawer and pantry, covering the entire range of the Scoville scale.  So, I'm game for this beer.

I bought a bottle of Stone's Crime, 2015 version. According to the brewers, the beer is "hoppy with lots of oak and malt."  I would agree with that assessment.  The hops are clearly present up front, competing with the peppers' piquancy.  The malts are present as well, but they definitely play a second fiddle.  This role is not only secondary to the hops and the peppers, but also the bourbon.  

As for the finish, the brewers note that there is a "[l]ong finish [that] reveals oak, vanilla, bourbon and malt that produce caramel flavors with peppers adding a pleasant tamarind, subtle tropical fruit flavors and significant heat."   Once again, the brewers are mostly on target.  There was definitely oak and bourbon, but I could also sense the vanilla.  These elements came together, and I somewhat sensed the a caramel flavor with a tamarind note.  I did not sense any tropical fruit flavors though.  There was, however, a good sting from the peppers.  Much of that heat was felt on the back of the palate and throat as the beer went down.  

Overall, this is a great beer and a good companion to Stone's Punishment, which I previously reviewed.  In some respects, this beer is better than Punishment because the chiles do not completely overwhelm the other aromatic and flavor elements.   Definitely worth a try.

ENJOY!

Punishment

One of my favorite styles of beers is the chile beer or a beer brewed with peppers.  Some brewers produce beers that highlight a particular pepper, such as Rogue's Chipotle Ale.  Other brewers incorporate chiles into beers inspired by the Mexican mole, such as New Holland's El Mole Ocho, Ska Brewing's Mole Stout, and New Belgium's Cocoa Mole.  (As an aside, mole beers are probably my favorites.)

Then there is Stone Brewing's Punishment.  This is a chile beer that only Stone could produce.  Brewed in its in-your-face style, Stone Brewing takes its Double Bastard Ale (an excellent beer in its own right) and then adds peppers.  A lot of peppers.  Red and green jalapenos.  Black nagas.  Caribbean red hots.  Moruga scorpions and fatalia.   All of these peppers produce a beer that practically breaks down the Scoville Scale.  They also give life and meaning to the name of the beer.  It is Punishment.

Let's begin with the fact that I am a chile head.  Hell, I came up with my own recipe known as The Inferno Steak, which uses nine different chiles in an ode to Dante's Inferno.  The phrase from Dante's writing -- "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", or "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" -- is not only apt for that recipe, but for this beer.

The Punishment pours a darkish amber, brown in color.  There is a thin, light foam that quickly recedes, opening the beer for drinkers to take in its aroma.  That aroma is ground chiles.  The beer smells like any one of the many ground chiles in my spice pantry.  The aromatic elements do not burn the nose, but it nevertheless serves as a warning to those who would go ahead and take a sip.  

This is truly a sipping beer.  The reason is the sting of the peppers.  The combination of black nagas, Caribbean red hots, and moruga scorpions pack a punch, especially in the roof and back of the mouth.  Indeed, the sting is so much that I could feel it in my ears and my nose.  The burn of the peppers is a good thing, if you are a chile head.  If you are a beer connoisseur,  then it becomes a little more problematic.  The taste elements of the bourbon barrels are present in the first few sips, but they cannot stand up to the sting of the chiles.  In fact, the chiles are so overpowering, that even the Double Bastard Ale gets lost in the experience.   I had a difficult time discerning the caramel, butterscotch and, eventually, the bourbon flavors.  Eventually, I could not even tell that this beer also packs a whopping 12% ABV.

Don't get me wrong, I like this beer, because I love chile peppers.  While I understand the goal of the brewers, brewing a beer that could embody its name, the Stone Double Bastard Ale is such a good beer that I would have liked for a better balance of the heat and the base beer.  

I would recommend this beer only if you can tolerate peppers such as habanero or scotch bonnets.   If you cannot, then I would recommend that you buy a bottle of the Double Bastard Ale.

ENJOY!