It feels risky ordering a beer that comes with a preface from your server or bartender: "Have you tried it before?"
This has happened every time I have ordered a Wildfire Lager from Fitger's Brewhouse. A "no" will get you a shot glass-sized sample of what seems like one of the Brewhouse's most controversial mixes. I like to think that a "yes" makes you a hero. You have experienced the burn and have come back for another taste.
You're a trooper: the X-Games athlete of microbrew consumption.
The Wildfire Lager is a tricky beer, and certainly not for everyone. But if spicy is your thing, I dare you to try it.
The beer, with 5.2 percent alcohol, is made with four kinds of peppers -- including hatch and serrano peppers, a bartender said Tuesday night. It is definitely a slow sipper, nothing one would dangle upside down over a keg to consume in 30-second blasts. I got a growler as a gift, and as the only person at my address who will drink Wildfire Lager, it was too much for me to comfortably finish within a few days. (A growler, according to www.growlerstogo.com , is $14 and would be fun at a themed dinner party with spicy food aficionados.)
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But consumed slowly, in moderation and preferably with Brewhouse French fries, it is a treat. You will feel it on your lips, a slight fiery tingle that time and Chapstick will cure. Then the inside of your mouth will get warm.
I've never tasted anything quite like it. Hell's Kitchen serves a habanera beer that isn't as full-tasting and complete. The best way to describe Wildfire Lager is that it is like drinking nachos, or a diluted version of the juice in a jar of jalapeños -- in a good way.
At the risk of sounding vulgar, I'll even admit that burping it up a few hours later is pleasant.
