STRANGE Brewfellas

Every day, a brewmaster somewhere has an idea for a new beer flavor. Some sound interesting, others horrible, and still others sound just plain outrageous. I mean, whoever heard of putting hibiscus flowers in a beer? Surprisingly, it’s not as uncommon as you’d think. Envelope-pushing flavors are the new black to craft brewers’ orange.

While they may not be the most outrageous flavors on the market, here are five brews that challenge the taste buds to go beyond the familiar — and maybe even find a potion to blow them away.

Terrapin Liquid Bliss
Years ago, a very successful candy had an equally successful ad campaign that featured chocolate lovers and peanut butter lovers accidentally mixing their individual passions. Terrapin’s Liquid Bliss mixes those same two flavors, but this rich, delicious porter is no accident. Part of the brewery’s fabled Side Project series, this beer may be a bit difficult to find, but if you’re lucky enough to score a bottle, you’ll know chocolate and peanut butter make a delightful brew.

Mamma Mia Pizza Beer
It’s a well-known fact: Pizza is better with 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 like pizza. The beer carries flavors of tomatoes, garlic, oregano and basil. Pizza Beer may not be on your local pizzeria’s menu, but it certainly ranks as one of the oddest flavors ever created. Sadly, the beer is no longer available via mail-order online, but rest assured it’s a real thing.

Southern Tier Crème Brûlée Imperial Milk Stout
Fancy restaurants make a killing on their dessert carts. One standout item on that cart is crème brûlée, a sweet custard with a caramelized sugar crust. Southern Tier took the taste of deep burnt sugar and rich custard and somehow got them into a bottle. If you see this astounding brew on the list, order it instead of dessert. It’s definitely worth it.

Anheuser-Busch Budweiser & Clamato Chelada
In Mexico, a Michelada is a mixture of beer, lime, salt and hot sauces or chili slices. Add clam juice to that interesting concoction and ¡iya esta! the Budweiser & Clamato Chelada. Anheuser-Busch says the “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 are masters at utilizing authentic Belgian flavors in their wonderful, funky brews. In this brew, they took it one 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 the most pleasing ways. This is a real treat of a beer.