Style: Black IPA with chili
Brewery: Hyllie Bryggeri and Brewdog Malmö
Origin: Sweden
Size: 33cl
Alcohol: 6.5%
Price: 38kr
Systembolaget: –
When I first found this whilst scrolling through the Systembolaget website, I was caught in two minds. Chili beers in my experience can be very hit-and-miss, usually with way too much heat or completely lacking. I thought the artwork was pretty though and it was from Hyllie Bryggeri, who I have been hearing a lot of good things about, so I decided to gamble and bought some cans. The only problem was what cheese would I pair a black chilli IPA with? The only solution seemed to be to match heat with heat, so I chose fried jalapeño poppers and you know what? It was a great combination!
This beer was deep chocolate brown with a mocha head that was thick and held very well. It also had a rather thick body and looked extremely enticing. The aroma had a delicious chocolate tone to it, with a hint of the heat to come. There was also a thick creamy note, coupled with a light coffee and syrup. Upon sipping, the roasted malts burst through first, while the chilli heat slowly rose in the back of the throat. The heat quickly became dominant but without losing the other aspects of the chocolate malt. Grapefruit rind note were also noted, pulling through in the background to support the other minor flavours of licorice and tar. The bitterness wasn’t so noticeable, but that is to be expected when you add Carolina Reaper chilli to a beer!
Even with the added chilli, this still remained very drinkable, with the brewers establishing a great balance to the black IPA. I have had quite a few chilli beers in my time, but I think this is one of the most enjoyable I’ve ever tried. It’s a shame I can’t get hold of any more of these beers unfortunately, but if I could, I would!