It is well known that we here at AtmosFX are happy to celebrate virtually any occasion, whether it be a traditional holiday like Christmas or something as freshly minted as World Goth Day.
As you can see, some of our Goth "cred" is dubious but there is another celebration at which we have a touch more expertise. Happy New Beers Eve!
Yes, April 6th, at precisely midnight in 1933 the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution. This meant that the prohibition on beer, wine, and spirits which had been in place since 1920 was gone.
Americans celebrated by draining their bathtubs of all that homemade gin and lined up in front of breweries and saloons, ready to toast April 7th. Choices were somewhat limited at the time but now, 85 years later, we have an abundance.
Some of these we aren't exactly sure needed to be made but here they are anyway.
Bizarre Sources of Yeasts
Topping this list is Mr. Twit's, Odious Ale. What makes this concoction such a weird choice is the yeast— it was harvested from the chair of a famous author, Roald Dahl. Technically, there is yeast everywhere but this is yeast from the chair where the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and dozens of other books, marinated his ideas. Who knows what traces of genius are in every can?
As a runner-up for yeasty-beasties, we present Oregon’s Rogue Ales Beard Beer. This beardy brew is actually made with yeast grown in master brewer John Maier’s beard. Huh. That's a thing.
Ancient Origins
Some of the beers are filtered or infused with some really odd things, old things, things that literally dinosaur ancient (if not even older). We present two winners in this category:
Eocene Era Ingredients from Fossil Fuels
Imagine how the movie, Jurassic Park, would have turned out if, instead of a Paleozoic mosquito fossilized in a piece of amber, the scientists found 45-million-year old yeast DNA. Crack open a can of AY108 by Fossil Fuels to find out.
Tied for this antediluvian category is Celeste Jewel Beer by Dogfish Head. These spacy brewers crushed up lunar meteorites and soaked the dust in the beer.
Also of honorable mention is Dogfish Head's Midas Touch a beer(ish) fermentation of dregs found in the drinking cups of the 2,700-year-old tomb of King Midas (the real one).
Both Hopculture and Craftbeer.com have published great lists of more mainstream (while still refined brews, but if you've read this far, let's keep going down the unusual tastes to beers crafted with what are maybe the most strange ingredients of all:
Good or Gross?
Pisner by Nørrebro Bryghus
Yup. During Denmark’s Roskilde music festival in 2015 more than 50,000 gallons of human urine was collected and used to fertilize malted barley that was then harvested and turned into the aptly named Pisner. Sustainable and good for the planet? Probably. Tasty? Why don't you give it a try and let us know in the comments below?
Runners-up in this category include:
Full Circle IPA by Stone Brewing
During the California drought, Stone Brewing started (briefly) using recycled wastewater to make beer. The water was treated and as clean as water from the tap so it was totally safe. However, the experiment was brief, "The only beer we brewed with reclaimed water — Stone Full Circle Pale Ale — was brewed specifically for, and available exclusively at, the Pure Stone event on March 16 held at the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station." They write on their website. "It is no longer available. It got consumed in a few hours by politicians and VIPs."
Another circuitous route beer ingredients can take includes Elephants.
Un, Kono Kuro by Sankt Gallen Brewery
This strange beer sells out almost immediately so there is no chance you will accidentally get a glass from a prankster. Basically, Thai elephants are fed coffee beans and then the beer is brewed using ...umm... the product of the other end of the elephant. If you're not sure what we mean, take a close look at the beer label above.
If you do choose to partake this New Beers Eve, be sure to stay off the roads and use moderation. Why not stay home with a pint and start planning next season's digital decoration displays instead?
