Is Fredericksburg home to the World's Hottest Beer? Researchers are trying to find out

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (WJLA) — A Fredericksburg brewing company is trying to figure out if its beer is record-worthy - and it's getting the help of a University of Mary Washington professor and student.

"We're looking to see how much capsaicin is in the beer sample and that will tell us how hot it is," Professor Sarah Smith, PhD told ABC7 News.

Professor Smith and her Biochemistry student Valerie Ebenki got their assignment from another UMW graduate: Maltese Brewing Company Co-Owner Ray Parrish who recently put a challenge before his customers.

"I pour you 10 ounces of this Signal One beer. You have 10 minutes to finish it," he said.

According to Parrish, hundreds of customers have tried to take on the challenge, but only about 25 have succeeded.

The ingredients?

"Pineapple IPA (Indian pale ale) dosed with about 500 Carolina Reaper chilis per barrel," said Parrish.

Guinness World Records has named those chili peppers the hottest.

It explains why Parrish calls the Signal One 2.0:

"Brutal. The first sip you feel, 'Hey, this is a tasty beer," and literally seconds later, your entire mouth is on fire," he said.

Parrish wondered if the beer could stand up to the World's Hottest Beer, so he checked with Guinness and found no such category.

That's when the research began.

"As a research student it allows me to totally understand how to work with the instrument," said Ebenki.

The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography instrument that separates the components in samples.

Parrish says once the project is finished in April, the results will be submitted to Guinness.

"As long as Guinness accepts the record, then it's going to be us," he said.

The record-holder for World's Hottest Beer.

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But until that happens, Parrish says his challenge and "I Survived Signal One Challenge" t-shirt are waiting for you.