Pancho Verde Chile Cerveza

Evaluated as a BJCP 2015 style 30A Spice/Herb/Vegetable beer with the vegetable being Chili Pepper (chili pepper is treated as a culinary vegetable for BJCP categorization purposes).

This beer pours a brilliantly clear light gold with a small head of tiny white bubbles that quickly fades to a cordon ring. Light bready and earthy aromas indicate a light ale like an American Blonde Ale (BJCP 2015 style 18A). Very muted chili pepper notes are found in the aroma, though they get a bit stronger (reminiscent of chili pepper flesh with low heat) as the beer warms.

The flavor of the underlying beer is, again, of light bread and light earthy hops with chili pepper flesh (like Jalapeno) popping up here and there — but still fairly muted. This is a very refreshing beverage and a good gateway beer for getting your friends who say that they don’t like beer to try something different. With a clean fermentation with light fruity esters from the yeast, the balance is about even with low malt and bittering, leaving a dry, crisp finish with just a hint of residual chili pepper heat. Featuring a light body and medium carbonation, this beer is clean and tasty but very thin on chili pepper expression. This would pair nicely with a heavier Mexican chicken dish like stir-fried onions/peppers/chicken in a green enchilada sauce.