MSRF Beer-Flavored Hot Sauce 3-Pack Mini Review

MSRF Beer-Flavored Hot Sauce(s) 3-Pack 

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8j45pJrPSc

For this year, I've decided, basically on a spur of the moment thing as I randomly found myself in Wal-Mart one day during when they had the holiday novelty kitschy junk out, to do some reviews (or, in this case, a mini-review) of some of the sets or whatever else I might come across before it goes to clearance. Crazy, I know, but some of the other sets I've done in years past I saw repeated and so I set a dollar cap mostly based on my perceived value (so sets that are $15 retail right now obviously won't be showing up) and dug around a bit. This is one of the first things I came across and long-time readers will probably suspect I've taken leave of my senses. While that is, in all honestly, probably always up for debate, here, despite not having a lot of sauces I generally like any alcoholic drinks added to, this one struck me as maybe fun and so I went with it.

There are 3 sauces here, in nifty 2 ounce bottles, and this is more a variation on a theme than 3 separate sauces. The base sauce is the same and is a straightforward Louisiana-style Cayenne sauce, one of my favorites (and hence why I thought this set might just work out, since that is a style I always keep on hand). The sauces are ostensibly adding the flavor (but probably not the actual beer) of Pilsner (probably American style), India Pale Ale (IPA), and Stout. Given that the base is a sauce not always intended to be high heat, these sauces are pretty tame, as in very low to no heat at all. 

So, essentially all that's left to talk about is the flavoring differences, since everything else, heat, flexibility, value, are identical. Without getting into too intense of a discussion about the different beer types, I will say that Stout is definitely not represented here accurately, if at all. I'll get into that more, but the Pilsner does retain some characteristics of the beer, though they are pretty subtle, while the IPA is kind of the oddball of the group, not really coming across as an IPA flavor, but rather some strange other thing. Of those, the Stout I found the most interesting, because it reminded me a lot of one of my first successful beers when I started home-brewing, which was a lovely Amber (if you want an idea of how that went, go find some London Pride). The Pilsner is closest to a straightforward Louisiana-style Cayenne sauce, with just hints of beer flavor, while the IPA is a lot more lively and has a touch of bite to it. The flavor there doesn't work as well as the other 2, though I can't say I find any of these to be in line for binning. There is also some strange text on the packaging, about using within 4 weeks after being opened, the reason for which I can't quite fathom. 

Bottom line: If you don't like vinegar-forward sauces, this is not for you. I'm guessing they used extractives for the flavor and it seems quite unlikely there is any actual beer to be found here, for better or worse. If a Louisiana-style Cayenne sauce is among your favorites, as it is with me, this set can be a nice bit of fun and worth at least a look, but truth be told, I wouldn't pay full price again and would definitely wait for clearance.