Cave Creek - Chili Beer

This Mexican, 330ml, 4,2% alcohol, lager beer brings a small surprise for unadvised drinkers...

As the name suggests, a small Serrano chili pepper is added to each bottle produced, giving the liquid a really HOT taste! If you like chilis, this might be the one for you, if not, it's still worth the try, but you better have a bottle of water around...

It is a product of 'Cerveceria Mexicana', but I couldn't really find the link for the brewery. The video below is an interview with 'Crazy Ed', the guy who came up with this idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc7Wod56rhg

The story behind this specific bottle involves also a big surprise... It was acquired during a short backpack travel in southwest Germany, more specifically in Karlsruhe, when I was visiting a friend from university, Conrad Rössger. It was also during this trip that I drank it, not in Karlsruhe, but in Strasbourg, and not with Conrad, but with the most unexpected company...

I had just arrived in my hostel in Strasbourg, it was around 9pm and the city was already dead, I left the bags in my room and, in the hope to at least socialize a bit with other backpackers, I went downstairs to the lounge... empty...

I was already getting used to the idea of a tedious evening when a familiar face pops in the lounge. Took me a fraction of a second and I could only really believe it when she also looked me and said: "what the hell are you doing here??!!".

Ana Carolina (the familiar face) is a girl I met by chance in 2008, while backpacking through northern Germany, she is also brazilian, although we never met in Brazil. In that occasion, we were in the same hostel in Köln, and came across each other once again while spending a few days in Berlin, what ended up in a nice friendship.

So once again, now in 2010, our taste for cheap hostels ended up in one huge coincidence. For celebrating and kicking away the boredown of a dead evening, I picked a few bottles of beer (including this chili one), she and her friend got a bottle of wine, and we drank to the randomic features of life.

Kapuziner Weissbier

This beer was a collaboration from Marianne Schröfl, a friend and a master student (intern?) with who I have the pleasure to share a desk in the lab.

It was opened and consumed in an after-work barbeque that was thrown in a double celebration of Iryna's and my birthday (apart by circa one week). I haven't actually drank this beer, but Marianne was kind enough to remember me and keep the bottle after the bbq, so I could add it to my collection.

The brand Kapuziner belongs to Kulmbacher Brauerei (localized in the German city of Kulmbach), that is also responsible for brewing a few other german labels. This specific one contains half a liter of 5,4% alcohol wheat beer.

Links to the producer:

http://www.kapuziner.biz/de/kap/002/002_bier_weisse.php

http://www.kulmbacher.de/de/klbag/start.php

Tернове поле and Mедове

This two Ukranian beers were gifted to me by a friend and laboratory colleague for my 26th birthday. Though I am unable to read (or type) cyrilics, I am still able to pronounce her name, Iryna Kurylyshyn, which most germans around here ended up abreviating as 'Ira'... Thanks for the gifts Ira!

These two beers are produced by the same brewery, Mikulinetska brewery "Brovar". The first one is called 'Ternove fields' and is named after the history-rich city of Ternopil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ternopil), it is quite bitter and contains 7,1% alcohol. The one in the right is called 'Honey' and contains, besides the ingredient that names the beer and gives it a somehow sweet taste, 5,8% alcohol.

The brewery webiste unfortunatly has no english translation, but brings all the beers produced by this brewery and a short explanation on each of them.

Link to producer: http://brovar.org/sorty.php