During our probably-too-long drinking career, the bloody Mary had ranked near the bottom of our desired beverage list, hovering somewhere around a Smoker’s Phlegm (Jägermeister and mayonnaise) in the gross department. We’re craft beer drinkers thank you very much. Still, it’s National Bloody Mary Day and that’s no accident. New Year’s Day, largely seen as a celebration of fresh beginnings, is also very much about recovering from New Year’s Eve and, rightly or wrongly, a Bloody Mary is universally regarded as a hangover cure. Peaks and Pints doesn’t pour booze. We do have spicy-ish beers. Stop by our little lodge in Tacoma’s Proctor District and enjoy five spicy beers in our five-beer flight, Craft Beer Crosscut 1.1.19: A Flight of Spicy.
Craft Beer Crosscut 1.1.19: A Flight of Spicy
Modern Times Creature Times
4.9% ABV
A collaboration with Creature Comforts Brewing out of Athens, Georgia, Modern Times Beer’s gose was brewed with smoked malt, pineapple, salt and chili peppers. The aroma and flavor have smoked ham, citrus, pineapple, peppery spice and heat. It’s an interesting flavor profile — almost like a Hawaiian pizza.
Jolly Pumpkin Problem No Problem
7.6% ABV, 22 IBU
The third collaboration Jolly Pumpkin brewed with Monkish Brewing Company in Torrance, California, Problem No Problem doesn’t have problems. Brewed with Pilsner Malt, Munich 10, jasmine rice, wild rice, green lentils, palm sugar, sweet orange peel, bitter orange peel, cumin, ground ginger, mustard seed, coriander, fenugreek, Tellicherry peppercorn and Wakatu hops, this saison hits the nose with brown sugar, oak, and funk. Expect flavors of oak, maple syrup and just a hint of spices that pairs well with the subtle funk and light tartness.
Midnight Sun Modern Romance
10.2% ABV, 37 IBU
A collaboration between Midnight Sun Brewing and Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge, this dark strong chocolate ale is brewed with chocolate and rye malts, roasted cacao nibs, cacao powder, Maca root powder, brown sugar and Modern Dwellers’ Mayan Spice blend that’s then aged with cocoa powder. Sure, it’s unique but it’s well balanced and remarkably easy to drink. Expect a nose of cacao with a spice. Flavor shows pepper hotness but the chocolate balances it. There may be alcohol here but it is hidden under the pepper and big dark malts. It finishes with some pepper zip.
Stone Xocoveza
8.1% ABV, 50 IBU
Stone Brewing hosts the American Homebrewers Association Rally — a people’s choice-style homebrew competition at their annual AHA Rally in Southern California. During the Rally, attendees have the opportunity to sample beer from dozens of homebrewers and vote on their favorites. The winning homebrewer’s recipe is replicated by Stone on a commercial scale, distributed around the country, and entered into the annual Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition. In 2014, San Diego homebrewer Chris Banker won with what would eventually be named Xocoveza for the Holidays and New Year. The inspiration came from Mexican hot chocolate combined with coffee. This imperial mocha stout is brewed with coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and a generous amount of Stone’s in-house made chocolate.
Prairie Bomb!
13% ABV, 65 IBU
Prairie Artisan Ales’ Bomb! is an imperial stout aged on Nordaggio’s espresso beans, chocolate, vanilla beans, and ancho chile peppers. It hits the nose with cocoa, vanilla, coffee, chili peppers, and roast. Taste is sweet, chocolate, vanilla, warming chili, coffee initially subtle but comes through much more as it warms, roast malts, and at 13 percent the alcohol is well integrated. It’s dangerously easy to drink.
