~$10 for 22 ounce bomber bottle- Purchased at Hutton & Smith Taproom
Background
With my pursuit of health, fitness, and weight loss during the first half of this year, I had to take some time off from drinking a beer on a regular basis…and I really avoided heavier-weight beers, which tend to be my favorites! Since I hit the goals I was shooting for…and have learned to maintain them…I’ve started to loosen up my dietary restrictions a bit. Getting back into the local beer scene has been part of that process.
On November 2, Hutton & Smith Brewery in Chattanooga, TN, released Crider, a Russian Imperial Stout flavored with cacao, organic chocolate, and habanero peppers. I saw the event on their Facebook page a couple weeks before and made plans to go, along with a couple friends from the office. Luckily, the H&S taproom is less than half a mile from the office, so once work was done for the day, we walked over. We each had a pour (or two) while we sat outside on a moderately cool autumn day, then we ordered some bottles to take home.
Crider weighs in at 10.1% ABV and is a limited edition beer, available only at the Hutton & Smith taproom and only while supplies last.
Notes
The Crider pours thick, rich, and pitch black…just like a stout should. The high ABV prevents it from having much in the way of head, but that’s okay…I don’t drink beer for the foam.
Sipping it, I get the bittersweet chocolate notes right up front along with the rich malty stout flavor. Then the pepper burn starts in…and it really doesn’t stop! Using habanero peppers in the creation of this brew makes for a strongly spicy experience.
If you’ve read any of my stout reviews from the past, you’ll know that I think a Broadleaf Maduro-wrapped cigar emanating from the My Father factory usually pairs extraordinarily well. This time around, I paired a cigar I was gifted the night before: a 2014 Tatuaje TAA. I was told the spice on the cigar has died down a lot and it allows more sweetness to come through, which sounds just right for this pairing.
And it performed as advertised. The cigar had plenty of sweetness and the spiciness from the stout just wouldn’t stop. For sure, this beer isn’t for everyone…if you don’t like pepper spice…if you don’t like high gravity…if you don’t like stouts…well, just leave some for those of us that do! I’m even more happy, though, that I bought two bottles to take home…now I have some for a second pairing sometime in the (near) future.
