Ahhh … Beer, the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the 3rd most popular drink of all (after water and tea). Beer is produced by incorporating starch from malted cereal grains such as barley and wheat with sugar and yeast – and allowing these ingredients to ferment. Most beer is flavoured with hops although other flavourings such as herbs or fruit can also be included.
Listed below are 9 different kinds of brews that veer away from tradition. Using ingredients other than the usual malt and hops, these beers are just begging to be sampled. Are you willing to have a sip?
AVOCADO ALE
Developed by California-based Angel City Brewery, Avocado Ale was invented primarily for the Avocado Festival. It is a kolsch-stlye beer which includes fresh avocados, plus lime, cilantro, and garlic. Think guacamole in a glass!
BACON AND MAPLE SYRUP
Bacon and Maple Syrup are two ingredients you wouldn’t normally associate with an alcoholic beverage however, Oregon-based Rogue Ales have decided to create a crazy brew composed of those two! Their Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale has a taste reminiscent of applewood-smoked bacon and maple syrup. According to the brewers, this beverage is perfect when taken with pork or pastries.
BANANA BREAD
Wells Young’s Brewing Company, a firm based in the United Kingdom, has developed a beer with a “subtle flavor of banana” with a hint of lemon and light, peppery hops. It’s been said that the beer tastes just like Banana bread. It can be taken by itself, or paired with roast pork.
CHOCOLATE MILK STOUT
If you can’t choose between a chocolate milk shake and a beer, get both. Order Odell Brewing’s Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout. This beverage is brewed with milk, sugar and milk chocolate. The brew tastes of roasted malts and chocolate with just a light hint of vanilla. Unfortunately, this rich and creamy beverage is not available all year round.
COCONUT CURRY
Beer is said to go well with the rich flavors of coconut-milk-based Indian curries – which is probably the reason why New Belgium Brewery created this Hefeweizen variety called Coconut Curry. It is brewed with many of the same spices traditionally used in Indian cooking, such as coconut, cayenne, cinnamon, coriander, fenugreek seed, ginger root, a hint of banana and lime leaf.
KEY LIME PIE
Hmmm … Key Lime Pie! Such a yummy treat and if you want to have a bit of that dessert with (perhaps) fewer calories, why not open a bottle of Shorts Brewing Company’s beer of the same name. According to the Michigan-based brewing company, Key Lime Pie is made with fresh limes, sugar, graham crackers and marshmallow fluff. It must taste really good because Key Lime Pie won a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2010.
OATMEAL STOUT
Oatmeal is good for you right? So Oatmeal Stout would be a “healthy” beer? Austin’s Craft Pride has developed a kind of beer, called Independence Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout with ingredients that include English roasted barley, Belgian chocolate and flaked oats. This beer known for its rich, creamy body., was originally supposed to be released seasonally but since it proved too popular, the beer is now produced year-round.
PASTRAMI ON RYE
A company called Pipeworks’ created a brew that is made up of – no, not a pastrami sandwich – but the herbs and spices used to cure pastrami. The brew is said to taste of mustard seed, peppercorn and cloves.
PIG PORKER
In 2011, Michigan-based Right Brain Brewery took home a gold medal in the Experimental Category at the Great American Beer Festival when they presented this dark-hued porter made with Mangalitsa pig heads and bones. Yeah, the sound of the ingredients is enough to make your stomach turn, but this brew, which is only made once a year, is supposed to have a rich, chocolatey taste that is infused with a symphony of salty, smoky and savory flavors. Might be worth trying it out.