The 2020 edition of this ‘oud bruin’ spiced with Habañero peppers, 37.5 cl bottle shared by Craftmember, cheers! Yellowish pale beige, audibly fizzing, moussy head quickly disappearing completely (I assume under influence of the peppers), hazy caramel-bronze robe with amber glow. Aroma of redcurrant, lots of moist old wood, indeed fresh and smoky Habañeros, blue plum, green tomato, rosehip, passionfruit, raw cucumber, elderberries, raw rhubarb, roasted bell peppers, hint caramel, something cheesy. Very crisp, fruity onset, rhubarb, plum and gooseberry impressions with a more acidic redcurrant edge but generally ‘accessible’ and primarily lactic in nature, sweeter note of apple somewhere too; medium carb, supple body. Hard-caramelly and lightly peanutty malt core buried under ongoing fruity-lactic tartness, a bit yoghurty, with growing tannic wood effects adding dryness – abruptly switching to the Habañero effect, manifesting itself as a burning, smoky chili heat, as in, indeed, raw and fresh Habañeros. This heat, however, works remarkably (and unexpectedly) well with the sour fruitiness and tannic woodiness, keeping everything focused, crisp and even refreshing till the last drop. Bright and vibrant, probably the first sour ale with chili peppers I come across, but what a pleasant surprise this is; you will admittedly have to really like capsaicin heat, but if you do, this is a definite ‘must taste’. I recommend, but to chiliheads and sour ale lovers only – and since I am both, my rating here may perhaps be a tad on the high side…

Bouteille 37.5cl, as Habanero 2020 and 6.9%. BB 30/11/2025.
Couleur cuivre, col mousseux effervescent blanc-cassé retombant rapidement.
Arôme est finement funk avec un côté balsamique, boisé avec un rétro malté caramel vieille brune, pimenté très fin en rétro - purée de piment. Le habanero se montre bien naturel avec un bouquet presque vineux.
Palais est surprenant et pour une fois, au contraire de nombreuses autres bières, le habanero est bien présent. Chaleur immédiate et ponctuée par un côté sour relevé par une belle touche de malt qui laisse un rappel quasi de vieille brune. Petite note caramélisée, fruits rouges avec l'apport boisé de chêne. En fin je retrouve encore cet effet 'habanero paste" qui remet une belle couche de chaleur épicée.

Bottle. Hazy golden color with white head. Aroma is super natural habanero, fresh yeast, pepper. Taste is habanero, pepper, super fresh, all the hababero flesh fruit flavours, accompagnied by a pleasant funk, lots of spiciness in the back, the right amount for me. Silky mouthfeel with medium carbonation. Oh yeah!