Review: Kilter ¡Jajaja! Spicy Chile Chocolate Mexican Stout

Three years ago Stone Brewing's Xocoveza Stout was available in Manitoba. Why? I have no idea as that was only the second and last Stone beer ever available in Manitoba. Xocoveza was a spicy chocolate stout that I absolutely loved - I'm not typically a fan of spicy beer but I guess I really do enjoy it when it's mixed with chocolate. A few months back I went to the Quality Beer Store in Winnipeg and picked up a bunch of cans of Kilter's ¡Jajaja! Spicy Chile Chocolate Mexican Stout.. I knew I had to pick up a few too many because it was simply calling my name.

¡Jajaja! is a Mexican dessert stout brewed with ancho, pasilla and guajillo chile peppers, cacao nibs, milk sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. 6.7% ABV

Appearance: Dark as the night stout with a light amount of burnt caramel head to it.

Aroma: I'm not typically a spicy food fan but I got shivers from this beer - the first thing I got was a jalapeño-like spice to it with a bit of a vegetal aroma to it. Good amount of spiciness right from the first impression. There's a good amount of sweetness from the cocoa nibs to give it a good deal of hot chocolate presence to it. Quite creamy, decent amount of burn for the nostrils.

Taste: Spice is definitely the dominant characteristic this time around, I get a good amount of heat reminding me of chile peppers, a bit of a jalapeño vegetal presence and a spiciness that would do well in any Winnipeg Fat Boy. There's a good amount of chocolate that balances out the heat, a definite cocoa nib presence to it, a bit of lactose, but overall.. spice. Actually, the spice gives off a bit of a sweetness as well that I can't really describe. It's a tad smokey and leaves behind a good lingering heat on the tongue and throat moments after the beer is savoured.

Overall Thoughts: I don't know why more breweries don't make spicy Mexican hot chocolate-style stouts. I still remember the first time I ever had a spicy hot chocolate and it made me fall in love with hot chocolates again, it was something I never knew I needed in my life. This is spicy, a tad vegetal, sweet, and of course, chocolatey. Kilter is more well known for their juicy IPAs but I think this may be one of the best Manitoban stouts I've reviewed in my ten years here at BeerCrank.ca, this is something that will warm me up on the -30 nights but also taste great when I just want a nice stout.. oh and the spice.. can't forget about the spice, ¡Jajaja! is right!