UMW Researchers Study Whether Craft Beer Is World's Spiciest

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Maltese Brewing Company of Fredericksburg is hoping to get one of its beers listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Co-owner Ray Parrish believes the brewery’s Signal One 2.0 has a chance to set the record for world’s spiciest beer. The beer is a pineapple IPA infused with 500 Carolina Reaper chilies, the world’s hottest pepper.

The Guinness Book of World Records currently does not have a category for world’s spiciest beer. But Parrish is hoping officials at Guinness will accept his application and establish a record for spiciest beer.

“We have applied for a record attempt, but Guinness has a long (12-16 week) backlog of processing applications,” Parrish said in an email to Patch.

If the Guinness officials accept the brewery’s application, Parrish will send them findings reached by Dr. Sarah Smith, a visiting professor in the University of Mary Washington’s Department of Chemistry and Physics, and Valerie Ebenki, a junior biochemistry major at UMW.

Parrish, who graduated from what was then called Mary Washington College in 1991 with a major in physics, reached out to his alma mater to see if they could test Signal One 2.0 for its spiciness. Dr. Smith, together with Ebenki, agreed to work on the project and set out to test the heat content of the beer.

Smith and Ebenki are determining the concentration of capsaicin, a chemical that makes peppers spicy and pungent, and its fellow chemical dihydrocapsaicin. The professor and student are using the Scoville Heat index, a unit of measurement that calculates chili heat.

“Being able to participate in real world research, proposed by an alum who is now working in the local community, is a fantastic opportunity,” Ebenki said in an interview with the University of Mary Washington. She is applying skills learned in Smith’s analytical chemistry courses to the Maltese Brewing Company project.

The pair is using a ventilator hood and protective wear while working in the university’s Jepson Science Center Labs to protect themselves from the highly irritant chemicals while testing the heat content of the Signal One 2.0.

Parrish estimates the new 2.0 version of the Signal One beer is about 70 percent spicier than the original version of the beer, which was never tested for its spiciness.

Ebenki, who is enrolled in UMW’s pre-medical track, said the experience with the Signal One 2.0 testing will be beneficial in her planned career as a family physician. “In my research, I discovered that capsaicin is a compound in pain relievers for muscle and joint creams that are prescribed to patients,” she said.

Parrish told the university how impressed he was with Ebenki’s “thirst for knowledge and success” and how quickly Smith turned his request to test the beer into a learning opportunity.

“It illustrates UMW’s commitment to teaching and guiding students into interesting, challenging and experience-building ventures,” Parrish said.

Maltese Brewing Company was founded by Bobby Cook and Joseph Smith, two firefighters with a passion for craft beer. Parrish became a co-owner of the brewery in 2020.

The brewery, at 11047 Pierson Drive, Suite B across from the Fredericksburg Country Club, has a taproom that is open every day except Monday. "Despite the pandemic, 2020 was Maltese Brewing Company’s best year ever, and we’re continuing to thrive so far in 2021," Parrish said.

As for the popularity of the extra spicy Signal One 2.0, Parrish said it is not a huge seller. But each attempt at the Signal One 2.0 challenge "is a highlight of camaraderie and hilarity in the taproom," he said.

The challenge is to down 10 ounces of Signal One 2.0 in 10 minutes. "Many have tried. Few have succeeded," he said.