Almost on a daily basis a brewmaster somewhere comes up with a new idea for a beer flavor. Some sound interesting, others sound horrible, and still others sound just plain outrageous. Sure, there are the tried and true styles like Pale Ale, Stout, and IPA, but brewmasters are adding twists to these varieties to jazz them up and create new specialty brews.
Here are six brews that challenge your taste buds to go beyond the familiar and try something that just might blow them away.
Terrapin Liquid Bliss
Years ago a very successful candy had an equally successful ad campaign that found chocolate lovers and peanut butter lovers mixing the two flavors by accident. Terrapin’s Liquid Bliss mixes those same to flavors, but this rich, delicious porter was anything but an accident. Part of the brewery’s fabled Side Project series, this beer may be a bit difficult to come by, but should you be lucky enough to score a bottle you will find that chocolate and peanut butter can also find their way into a delightful brew.
Mamma Mia Pizza Beer
For time immemorial pizza has always been better when accompanied by a cold beer. Recognizing an opportunity, Tom and Athena Seefurth of Campton Township, Illinois created a brew that not only goes well with pizza it tastes like pizza. The beer boasts flavors garnered from tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and basil. Pizza Beer may not be showing up on the menu of your local pizzeria anytime soon, but it certainly ranks as one of the oddest flavors to ever be created.
Wells Banana Bread Beer
Banana is a common flavor in Belgian beers, but Wells Banana Bread Beer hails from UK’s largest private brewing firm Wells & Young’s. That does not deter this from being an interesting and surprisingly refreshing beer that has been described as banana pudding in a glass. The brew is widely available in the United States in both bottles and on tap. Try a pint and you see if it takes you back to those backyard barbecues and Aunt Betty’s famous dessert.
Southern Tier Crème Brulee Imperial Milk Stout
Fancy restaurants make a killing on their dessert cart. One of the items on that cart is almost always Crème Brulee, a sweet custard with a caramelized sugar crust on top of it. Southern Tier took the deep burnt sugar and rich flavors of custard and somehow got it into this astounding brew. If you see this beer on the list at your favorite restaurant, order it instead of dessert. It is definitely worth it.
Anheuser-Busch Budweiser & Clamato Chelada
In Mexico a Michelada is a mixture of beer, lime, salt, and hot sauces or chile slices. Add to that interesting concoction clam juice and you have the Budweiser & Clamato Chelada. A-B says that they “Clamato is carefully blended with the beer to create the proper balance of the crisp finish of Budweiser or Bud Light and the signature taste of Clamato.” We say try at your own risk.
St. Somewhere Lectio Divina
The folks over at St. Somewhere in Tarpon Springs, Fla. are masters at producing authentic Belgian flavors in their wonderful and funky brews. In this brew they took it a step further and added the refreshing flavor of rosemary to the mix. Lectio Divina is a tart, red beer that lingers on the palate in only the most pleasing of ways. This is a real treat of a beer.
