It reads like a headline from The Onion, but this bit of news isn't fiction: Craft brewery Rogue Ales is working on a new beer made with a strain of wild yeast produced from the follicles of brewmaster John Maier's beard.
The brewery didn't set out to make a beard-influenced beer. On a whim, nine follicles from Maier's beard were sent into a lab for testing and, to everyone's surprise, turned out to produce a yeast strain that was suitable for beer-brewing. Further tests confirmed that the yeast was wild, not one used by Rogue.
The brewery is currently working on test brews to find "the perfect style and yeast combination." The final beer, called New Crustacean, will be released in early 2013.
• Read more: Rogue Ales to create beer using yeast from brewmaster's beard follicles at Beer Pulse
What do you think? Is beard beer too weird or is it worth a try?
Related: Oyster Stouts? What's the Weirdest Beer You've Ever Tried?
(Image: Emma Christensen)
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Ew. I was hoping that headline was a joke.
I guess he picked it up from the air. I'd drink it. It's not like they're brewing beer with his actual beard hairs...it's clean yeast cultured out of a lab. Considering the other things I've eaten--natural casings, animal skin, stomach lining, brain, balls, sweetbreads, livers--this is hardly worth being squeamish about.
@verily - Thank you for a well reasoned response.
Wild yeast is used in some of the classic and best belgian styles of beer. Saisons, biere de garde, some of the Trappist beers (voted some of the best in the world) all have some wild yeast and lambic are their own category for beer because they use only wild yeast. It gives a sour, funky characteristic. I love that style of beer so I would try it in a heart beat!
I agree with Arpark and Verily. Nothing gross or weird here, just wild yeast.
no. nononononono!
Come on...the beard was merely a filter.
Bacon is gross. Not yeast.