August 7 is International Beer Day giving us all the perfect opportunity to celebrate beer in all its forms, to go outside our comfort zone and find a new brew to enjoy…or several.
For those who find the taste of hops and barley a little difficult (or just samey), brewers around the world have chosen a wild range of flavours ranging from refreshing fruits and berries to…well, flavours like the ones we have here, really.
The Staff Canteen looks at ten of the strangest flavoured beers in the world.
Bacon and Maple Syrup! (And Doughnuts!)
Rogue Brewing Company of Oregon have been particularly prolific in the field of ‘beers with flavours no-one in their right mind would ever consider’, and you won’t be too surprised to hear that they make more entries to this list later on.
They dub this one their ‘coalition of crazies’: bacon, maple syrup and doughnuts brought together to create the most delicious-sounding beer in existence.
Seriously, bacon beer, maple beer and doughnut beer would’ve each been amazing on their own, but combining them all? Genius.
Crème Brulee
All the fun – and of course the delicious taste – of crème brulee, without the need of a blowtorch or a spoon.
Makers Southern Tier Brewing Company promise a dark mix of vanilla, custard and caramelized sugar. Not one for the slimmers then, but the taste is very well regarded- it’s been getting rave reviews from beer aficionados, with many describing it as a faithful recreation of the real thing.
Banana Bread
‘Long ago, ale was known as liquid bread’. So say Charles Wells, brewers of Banana Bread Beer, and we’re not going to argue.
Brewed with Fairtrade bananas and traditional English hops, it offers ‘old-fashioned refreshment with a wink to modern sensibilities.’ It’s gone down a storm in the brewing world, winning a whole host of awards from CAMRA among others.
Pizza
Pizza and beer are a naturally fantastic combination, so it’s hardly surprising that the two could be brought together in such an unusual way.
Illinois couple Tom and Athena Seefurth first developed their ‘Mamma Mia!” brew in their own backyard and haven’t changed the recipe much since then- steeping an entire margherita pizza in the mash to release the flavour of the dough, all the while adding tomato, oregano, basil and garlic for that true Italian experience.
Unsurprisingly, Tom and Athena say their best sales come around America’s unofficial beer and pizza day- Super Bowl Sunday.
Coconut Curry
New Belgium are another brewery asking the question ‘If it’s good with a beer, surely it must be good as a beer as well?’ with their Lips of Faith Coconut Curry Hefeweizen.
Bringing together a diverse range of spices including cinnamon, coriander, ginger and lime, the brewery promises a bit of heat that can be quickly soothed by the alcohol. And the brewers have form with their weird beers, with yuzu, pluot and feijoa-flavoured brews in their arsenal.
Seaweed
The UK’s being rather under-represented here, so let’s go back home with a good old Scottish stout, featuring that most logical of combinations- barley, chocolate malts and…seaweed.
Kelpie Seaweed Ale’s makers, Williams Bros. Brewing Company say the unusual mix comes from Scottish beermakers growing barley in seaweed-fertilised fields, giving it a unique taste.
It’s been praised by drinkers for its smooth mouthfeel and interesting burst of flavours though, so go figure.
Oysters
Oysters have always been a popular food to pair with beer, particularly stouts.
A lot of companies produce variants on the ‘Oyster Stout’ theme, but Essex brewery Mersea Island goes the extra mile by actually adding local oysters to the brew with its malts and hops.
They don’t know too much about whether it has aphrodisiac properties, but they won’t stop you drinking a lot of it to find out…
Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout
Oysters of a very different kind from the Colorado-based Wynkoop brewery. Still meat, but this time from a bull, specifically its…er, let’s just say hindquarters.
Like a surprising number of the beers on this list, the original idea for Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout came from an April Fools’ Day video, before those who didn’t get the joke (and more than a few that did) started pestering them to make it for real.
Lesson here? Always give the public what they want, if even if it is a load of bull…
Sriracha
Back to our good friends at Rogue again for their take on the condiment dubbed ‘rooster sauce’ by Californians.
While there are more than a few beers around that attempt to bring fiery chilli into the brewing process, the amount of brews laden with hot sauce is much thinner on the ground. Like the sauce it’s based on, Rogue insists its Sriracha Hot Stout goes with absolutely ‘anything you’d like to wash down with a spicy kick’.
Well, if you insist!
Frankincense and Myrrh
Yes, really. The Lost Abbey’s Gift Of The Magi is bittered with the bark of the frankincense tree and features a small dosage of myrrh for a unique take on the seasonal Christmas beer.
As for the gold…well, it’s gold coloured. (Not sure whether putting actual gold leaf would’ve messed up the flavor, but still.) At 12% ABV it’s also as strong as an ox. Is it blasphemous to say that Jesus would’ve been proud of this one?
By Ryan Burrows
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