A beer sauce! That’s not something you come across every day. This sauce showcases the iconic “Heady Topper” craft beer. If that doesn’t ring a bell for you, I wouldn’t recommend checking urban dictionary- It’s a very well known American Double IPA from Alchemist Brewing in Vermont, with the description touting “flavors and aromas of dank cannabis”. Does this translate to a tasty sauce? Let’s dive into it.
There is nothing mysterious about this sauce, or it’s 4 ingredients: Jalapeños, Vinegar, IPA, Salt. While there would be many fair Jalapeno-based sauce comparisons, the IPA included in this sauce certainly differentiates it from the crowd. Now, here’s the thing: while that’s the case, it doesn’t taste like beer. The flavor of the hops are confidently present, adding complexity and depth to what could have been a one-dimensional sauce. These hops play second fiddle to the jalapenos quite well, pulling through the mild heat to make a very well rounded sauce. The sauce tastes like it could have a pinch of cilantro in it, but I think this is just the “greenness” of the ingredients, in both color and flavor, playing tricks on me. The salt is present, but not too present, to tie everything off with a fat red bow.
The flavor profile of this sauce is incredibly versatile. It would be amazing on tacos, sandwiches, or even as the base of a salad dressing. If I was stuck on a desert island, and I could only bring one sauce, I might look in Heady Topper’s direction. I’ll be honest though, the lack of spice here would likely keep it far from contention.
A quick note: I sampled from an older, opened bottle. Maybe it was spicier when it was fresh, who knows? Once I can get my hands on a fresh bottle I’ll come back and update my thoughts if necessary.
Ok- we’ve sung Heady Topper some praises, now let’s air some grievances. The texture is a bit too watery for my preference. If we were talking about a cheap sauce like Tabasco that’s one thing, but pouring out 10% of a bottle for one meal can feel a bit deflating with a $9 bottle of sauce. Whatever, not the end of the world. Now, what actually might be the end of the world, is how much the sauce’s label sucks. I would have thought that the branding of this sauce would have ripped a page from the craft-beer book of eye catching labels, but here we are. For reference, here is the Heady Topper beer label- feels like we might be missing out a bit?
While this review has been pretty positive overall, I don’t think I can say that you NEED to try this sauce. While the hops certainly pull their weight, the green jalapeno flavor profile just really isn’t that unique. Now, this is for good reason: if you do find yourself in possession of a bottle of Heady Topper, I’d be hard pressed to name a food it wouldn’t be good on. Don’t let the commonality deter you, but I don’t know if I would ever go out of the way for a bottle of it.
Overall: 70/100