St Elmo’s Spicy Ones, Round Two feat. Urban Jungle Brewing

Spicy Ones is back for round two! If you missed the first go-around, St Elmo Brewing has joined forces again with Spicy Boys Fried Chicken food truck to bring the HEAT. Last go around, host extraordinaire, John Gross, interviewed guests Michael Graham and Will Golden of Austin Beerworks. Round two promises to be an exciting night featuring Shannon Harris, diversity and inclusion advocate, The Brew Brotha, and Owner & Brewer of future Urban Jungle Brewing. St Elmo plans on hosting this event quarterly with the next being in January. You can expect exciting local food and beverage folks to be featured at each!

Although the event sold out in an hour to participate in the pain, spectators are welcome to come watch the sweat and tears free of charge this Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 7 pm at St Elmo. 

Participants will each receive:

• Boneless chicken wings (veggie options available as well)
• 10 hot sauces
• Milk (seems practical)
• 1 can of Carl Kolsch
• MAJOR bragging rights!

An Ode to Hot Ones

If you’re unfamiliar with the First We Feast show Hot Ones, it’s become a bit of a legend. The show’s tagline claims to be, “the show with hot questions, and even hotter wings.” TV Host Sean Evans puts celebrities through the wringer interviewing them as they eat spicier and spicier chicken wings. Bryan Winslow, Owner & Co-Founder of St Elmo is a huge fan of the show and loves spicy food. Head Brewer, Drew Genitempo was the brains behind piecing the event together at the brewery, and The Spicy Boys were a perfect partner for the madness. Winslow says, “the sauces they created for this event will light you on fire!” Cool tidbit, Winslow’s personal recipe and creation, Banjo Sauce, will debut as sauce #3! Keep an eye out for it to hit the St Elmo shelf soon.

Hosts & Guests

Winslow is stoked to have John Gross hosting again, stating, “John is the best. He can also hold his own with the heat. His spicy performance was maybe the best part of the event.” Gross is equally as pumped and honored to be back hosting, noting, “The St. Elmo gang had seen me host events around town in the past and knew that I could be trusted on stage with a microphone not to scream obscenities, even while suffering from apocalyptic levels of heat on my tongue. I was flattered to be brought into the fold of this very special, very very spicy series of events. St. Elmo and Spicy Boys are local legends.” 

While Winslow and Gross are both insane fans of the spice, Winslow is taking a break from participating this go-around. Gross claims he “can frequently be found sneaking as many creamy green sauces as possible from every local taco stop in the Austin city limits.” How is he prepping for the round two gauntlets? He says, “I inject ghost pepper extract into my veins and listen to ‘Hearts on Fire’ from the ROCKY IV soundtrack! Just kidding. It’s a year-round thing for me. I’m a fan of making my sinuses pop out of my skull, 365. My buddy Steve sends me Carolina Reaper concoctions from his bodega in Brooklyn, I’m a firm believer in Sriracha on everything, and lately, I’ve really been liking a new-to-market brand called Alchemy Peppers that is blended with hops.” He puts hot sauce on everything!

Both are equally thrilled to welcome Shannon Harris to the stage for the event. The St Elmo team is confident he’ll be an awesome guest. He attended the first Spicy Ones and the team jumped at their chance to invite him for round two. Harris says he “accepted with excitement but have been torn about how my stomach will feel afterward. I see this as an opportunity to talk about Urban Jungle Brewing and what’s to come in the future.” When it comes to spice, Harris is a bit more on the fence than the other guys, noting, “I enjoy spicy food! But I enjoy my spicy food to still taste like food. When it’s just spicy to be spicy that is what I dislike. Unfortunately, I have to roll with the punches this time around and hope I can make it through every round.”

Gross can’t wait to put Harris up to the challenge. “Shannon’s had the benefit of seeing one of these feats of strength in action before committing to taking the seat of heat. He witnessed Graham and Will from Austin Beerworks have their insides melted on stage in August. I have high hopes that he’ll stay calm, cool, and collected with the weight of 15 million Scoville units on his taste buds,” he jokes. Adding, “I’m looking forward to having the best view in the whole place to see a grown man shatter from the sheer power of ingesting astronomical levels of spice that are frankly, irresponsible. Misery loves company, I’ll be right there with him.” Harris is actually a big fan of the show, Hot Ones saying, “It’s so hilarious and it’s crazy because I’ve always wanted to be featured on that show so this is an awesome opportunity to see if I still feel that way.” He thinks everyone should do their homework beforehand. “There’s an SNL skit with Maya Rudolph portraying Beyoncé and it’s pure comedy that I recommend watching before this event,” he states.

Reminiscing on the last event, Winslow notes, “The camaraderie between the participants was palpable. Lots of rooting and tooting. The spice level of the sauces is amazing, increases well, then took everyone to the limit.” Harris hopes although the night will put him to the test that his message will still be heard. “Besides judging me on my spice tolerance I am hoping to still spread a message of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in the craft beer and brewing industry. If my mouth and tongue don’t rot off from heat I would love to discuss the importance of this in beer and where my presence and brewery will contribute to that.” He adds, “I am super nervous about the event. My stomach bubbles up every time I talk about it. I had a few nightmares but going to push through and make it to the end. I will definitely have a Yeti full of milk on standby.”

Winslow’s final challenge, “If you think you’re a spicy Texan, I dare you to come to eat all these wings. They’re guaranteed to humble you.” Gross concludes, “This is high art. No other taproom in the country is hosting this dangerous of an event. We’ve got release forms and everything. Pray for us,” he pleads.   

Good luck participants! We think you’re gonna need it! Admission to witness this daring event is free. Enjoy some good beer and what’s sure to be quite a spectacle! 

[Featured photo credit to St Elmo Brewing]