A relative handed me a small pepper a few months ago.  She was very excited because a plant she had been pruning for about a year finally bore fruit.

This is my review of Button Brew House Chiltepin Red Ale:

The Chiltepin, or bird’s eye pepper, is a plant native to the southwest and northern Mexico.  It is known for growing under the shade of an oak tree.  One of the reasons there is a cult following for these is the ease in which one can grow them in the backyard.  Being a native plant it thrives in the dry climate where others will require more rain.  Not that you can’t water plants around here, but it’s the time of year where people would rather let their lawns die than go outside and turn on the hose.

The pepper itself is tiny, smaller than a quarter.  Using the slightly more objective Scoville scale we can determine it is 23 times hotter than the ubiquitous jalapeño.  In line with the Thai pepper.

Even though it is hotter, because it is smaller you can eat one, cough for a few seconds and hate yourself for doing that, and then…nothing.  It doesn’t last long at all.  It has a natural smoky flavor which makes it much more interesting if you ever plan to toss it into something…like beer.

Being a red ale this has a nice malt content, little hops and would otherwise be chuggable.  Adding a blast of smoked capsicum sounds like it makes all of that moot, but it is somewhat complimentary.  Although I concede the point where I eat these all the time.  Unlike other local beers that are downright abysmal, this is actually quite drinkable.  Not an everyday sort of thing, but one I can say I will be inclined to buy again. Button Brew House Chiltepin Red Ale:  2.8/5