In DRAFT’s March/April issue, the staff picked out 10 beers for the boldest drinkers around. Brews made with banana bread? Absolutely.
10. Olde Bongwater Hemp Porter by Kettlehouse Brewing Co.
Dude, this beer is totally giving us a buzz. Kettlehouse Brewing tosses in half-a-pound of hemp seeds for every 16 gallons of beer brewed, but for those of you on parole, no need to worry: This beer won’t get you stoned; it’ll just leave you savoring the nutty, grainy flavor provided by the hemp. For further adventure, try Kettlehouse’s Fresh Bongwater Pale Ale.
9. Wells Banana Bread Beer by Wells & Youngs Brewing
Banana bread, just like Mom used to make — except this one will get you drunk. Skeptics step aside; this liquid form of comfort baking is the real deal, and it bursts with roasted malts, sweet banana notes, and sugary goodness. Despite its wholesome taste, we still wouldn’t recommend slapping butter on it and bringing it in to share with the office.
8. Oyster Point Oyster Stout by 21st Amendment Brewery
Sucking down a few raw oysters while you sip on a structurally sound stout is a treat only coastal dwellers enjoy. With this beer, 21st Amendment gets right to the point: They put 25 pounds of oyster shells and brine in each batch. Lots of breweries make an “oyster stout,” but few are brave enough to include the real thing.
7. Spruce Tip Ale by Skagway Brewing Co.
This beer is nestled in the heart of adventureland: We’re talking grizzly bears, glaciers, and mountain guides, and that’s just finding your way to the beer. Well, it’s not that dramatic: Skagway, Alaska is accessible by highway, but by adding the piney, mountain-fresh taste of spruce tips to its beer, Skagway Brewing gives you a sensation of life in the wild.
6. Smuttynose Hanami Ale by Smuttynose Brewing Co.
According to Smuttynose, this beer was inspired by an ancient Japanese tradition known as hanami, a celebration of picnics, contemplation, and toasting during the cherry blossom season. Infused with cherries, this beer is sweet and tart — a delicious seasonal adventure.
5. Pandan Brown Ale by Laughing Buddha Brewing Co.
With the exception of those who frequent restaurants specializing in Southeast Asian cuisine, few people this side of the Pacific have encountered the floral bouquet that emits from the leaves of the pandan tree; we’ll bet even fewer have tasted it in their beer. Laughing Buddha Brewing has begun a mission to reinvent Asian beer, and have incorporated an exotic, Eastern-inspired list of ingredients like crystal, honey and chocolate malts, palm sugar, pandan leaves, and galena hops in this brown ale.
4. Chelada by Anheuser-Busch
For some, the liquid combination of clam juice, lime, tomato, and Budweiser is the signature cue for weekend relaxation and smelling of roses-type activities. For the rest of us, it’s a challenge accepted by only the most venturesome flavor junkies around. Like any great adventure, this one begins with a ritual: Rotate the chilled can once before pouring over ice into a goblet. Garnish with a celery stalk or lime and don’t look back.
3. Kelpie Seaweed Ale by Heather Ale
Long ago, a lone Scottish coastal farmer discovered an interesting taste in his beer after using grain grown in a seaweed bed. He clearly became the toast of the village because nearly 400 years later the tradition carries on, at least at this brewery. On top of growing its grain in beds of ocean algae, the brewery also adds a healthy portion of bladderwrack seaweed to the mash, creating a dark beer with a nose of ocean breeze and a finish like the salty North Sea.
2. Cave Creek Chili Beer by Chili Beer Co.
This beer was made for those who dive tongue-first into spicy, five-alarm dishes at Mexican restaurants, or for those who, according to the ad campaign, “love the smell of Napalm at happy hour.” Before capping each bottle of this crisp, Mexican-style lager, the folks at Chili Beer Co. toss in one Serrano chili pepper, making this the first beer that ever preceded a chaser of milk and bread, or a strong antacid.
1. Mamma Mia! Pizza Beer by Pizza Beer Co.
At long last! Two of mankind’s hallmark creations, pizza and beer, have married into an indomitable bond. Tom and Athena Seefurth, the brains behind Pizza Beer, mash in whole wheat pizza crust topped with tomato sauce, basil, garlic, and oregano, and steep the ingredients to capture the essence of pizza spices in their beer. After adding a few hops here and a little bit of spice there, the couple has what they call the “world’s first culinary beer.”