Weird Beers and the Bizarre Ways They’re Made

It has only been legal to homebrew beer in America since 1979 when President Carter signed it into law. Those home-based operations made way for the craft brewing industry of today.

Craft breweries are able to take more risks than the big beer companies. Theirs are the experiments that come up with unique beers. The more people you put in the mix, with over 6,000 craft breweries and counting, the weirder it’s bound to get.

If the Lime-A-Rita is about the weirdest beer you can think of, get ready for these truly weird beers.

1. Meat and Potatoes

For some reason, brewers keep trying to make a meal of it. Even as far back as the 1800s, brewers experimented with meat-based beers. In that case, boiled chicken mince was used to brew a cock ale (yes, that’s really what it was called).

Now that we’re on the subject, some guys in Colorado produced a beer made from chocolate, molasses, and Rocky Mountain oysters. If you’re not familiar with the euphemism, these are not oysters from the sea. They’re bull testicles. What started as an April Fool’s joke has turned into a hand-canned small-batch standard for the brewery, with 3 balls in every barrel.

There’s also an Oyster Stout, made with the addition of actual oysters to the conditioning tank. Unlike the saltiness from the Rocky Mountain oysters, this popular choice is subtly sweet.

Otherwise, pork seems to be the beer meat of choice. Bacon beer complements a meaty mouthfeel with a meaty taste. There’s also a beer made from smoked pig’s head and bones.

Try getting that through the diaphragm pump into a keg!

2. With a Side of Pickles

A brewery in Cincinnati teamed up with a local deli known for its pickles and turned it into a Gose style beer. The sour finisher uses up 1,000 pounds of cucumber and 2 pounds of dill.

The launch party was punctuated by a pickle-eating contest.

3. Astronomical Ale

If you have an unquenchable thirst for space, try to get your hands on Celest-jewel-ale. Using crushed meteorites from the moon, Dogfish Head brewed a limited run Oktoberfest beer.

While the combination of lunar rocks and their house strains of yeast was seemingly written in the stars, it was also expensive to produce more than a limited run.

4. The Manliest Weird Beers

Beer is a man’s domain in Germany so much so that there’s an entire day dedicated to men’s drinking. Is there anything manlier than a beard? What about a beard-brewed beer?

Rogue Ale’s bearded owner provided hair follicles from his face to see if beards could be cultivators of wild yeast. It would appear they can, which might say more about beards than it does about yeast.

The resultant Beard Beer fit in nicely with the flavor profile of American wild ales.

Still Feeling Weird?

Although beer highlighting condiments and breakfast foods might not have been what Jimmy Carter had in mind, it sure makes for a more interesting stroll through the beer cave.

Alcohol isn’t the only arena where experiments get weird. Would you like some weird foods to go with your weird beers? Check out the rest of our site for all things weird.

Weirdomatic is the place where all weird things come to life through the amazing world of photographs – a corner of our wild imagination or the whimsical face of the reality?