Nobody questions the basic idea of spicy food, but beer is a different story. Outsiders will ask, “Why would you even want to do that to beer in the first place?” My reply is because peppers split the difference between spice and fruit. The heat is obvious, but the bright grassy tang of jalapeño and the fruity citrus of habanero add more than just the scorch. And roasted chiles or chipotles can even add smoke to the mix.
Some brewers fall under the spell of “macho chile” culture, though. They set out to prove something by cramming in the most Scoville units, which is how chile heat is measured. This train of thought spawns beers such as Crazy Ed’s Cave Creek Chili Beer, which is all burn and almost no flavor. More sophisticated chile lovers recognize that the pepper’s taste is just as important as the amount of capsaicin. The challenge is to find a complementary balance that harnesses the full character and warmth of the chiles within the context of the beer.
Fortunately, a wide range of beer styles offers a sea of options to create that result. Lighter, hoppier beers can provide a clean, crisp backdrop that accentuates chile flavors, letting the fruitiness come through. Consider jalapeño pale ale, green chile Kölsch, or maybe something more exotic, such as an ancho saison. While all three of these suggestions rely on peppers from different sections of the Scoville scale, a lighter beer calls for a low-to-medium level of burn so that the base beer flavor is not obliterated. This can be adjusted by the amount of pepper and how they’re added.