Where’s the damn fire extinguisher when you need it! Wow. These might be the meanest beers that I have ever come across. I’m not sure what to make of these expensive torture devices that are packaged in wicked looking bottles. Stone caught me off guard with these beers; I was excited to try them, until I did. The Crime is that stone actually bottled this stuff and my Punishment was that I bought two bottles. These beers left me questioning the fortitude of my palate as much as I questioned the psychotic brewery that made them. I like it spicy but no this spicy.
Comparing the heat between these two beers is like eating a ghost pepper and a scotch bonnet pepper and then trying to decide which hurt more. These beers lit me up. Crime was really hot, no question about it. It burned, it made me sweat, and I could breath fire but it wasn’t nearly as hot as Punishment. Smelling the bottle after popping the cap was akin to breathing in a room that has just been freshened up with a few sprays of mace. It had a thick peppery aroma that was complimented by a burning nose and tingly eyes. To be fair there was a bit of sweet bourbon and oak in there somewhere among the forewarning spicy peppery scents. The brews were oaky and rich and seemed to have a lot going on but all that goodness was over shadowed by the devilishly hot peppers. Sipping this beer left me with firey bowels and a hot pepper high like no other. Both beers were aggressivly spicy, like super freaking atomic spicyness. Between five professional beer drinkers we couldn’t finish the two bottles. You’ve been warned, consume this stuff at your own risk.