# What is the most unusual beer you've ever had? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939 "2019-08-20T15:39:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/1 "2019-08-20T15:39:02Z")
There is a tradition at our house where the ladies pick out a “Friday beer” for me. The rules are that I have no choice in the matter, and that it must be something I have never had before. **Cerridwin** leans towards dark beers, but My Beloved( **Rahne McCloud** ) leans towards strange labels and any collaborations between Rogue Brewery and Voodoo Donuts. The Lemon Chiffon Cruller beer was the worst they ever presented to me…but the most unusual had to be the [\*Grape Guerrilla](https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/132/243591/). That’s right-Grape beer. The Beer Advocate’s description of > [@](#): > > Taste is light wheat bread totally trounced by grape soda and Dimetapp is pretty much on the money. What about y’all? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/2 "2019-08-20T15:43:38Z")
Traditional lambic and gueuze at the [Cantillon Brewery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantillon_Brewery) in Brussels. Not my favorite style (and hard to get anywhere else), but very, very interesting. Very low carbonation, which is probably why I didn’t love it. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/3 "2019-08-20T15:58:37Z")
Sam Adam’s Utopias tasted like a Bual or Malmsey Madeira. Sweet, toffee, higher alcohol, smooth. Glad I wasnt buying it, but a neat, albeit strange experience. Even Tom Hardy’s Ale didn’t transform from beer into something else the way Utopias did. Cave Creek Chile beer was unusual for how unusually nauseating the taste was. I like lighter lagers, I like chiles. Just not the two in the same bottle, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/4 "2019-08-20T16:09:46Z")
I have had a bottle of the extremely rare “Romulan Ale” from El Salvador, but beyond the large amount of blue dye it contained it wasn’t so much unusual as it was skunky to the max. If you ever acquire a bottle, just keep it on display-do _not_ pop that cap. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/5 "2019-08-20T16:16:50Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Cave Creek Chile beer was unusual for how unusually nauseating the taste was. I like lighter lagers, I like chiles. Just not the two in the same bottle, I guess. Was going to nominate that one. Yeah, I’ll go with that description too. Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/6 "2019-08-20T16:25:10Z")
brew pub near me once had one called “Ring of Fire,” it was basically a mild red ale brewed with jalapeno peppers. I like beer, I like peppers, but I was not enthralled with the results of the twain meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/7 "2019-08-20T16:25:31Z")
I don’t remember the brand name, but I once won a mixed six-pack of imported beer in a fishing tournament, and one was a Belgian lambic\* framboise\*. Yes, raspberry beer. Bleah indeed! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/8 "2019-08-20T16:31:04Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I don’t remember the brand name, but I once won a mixed six-pack of imported beer in a fishing tournament, and one was a Belgian lambic\* framboise\*. Yes, raspberry beer. Bleah indeed! I love a raspberry lambic, yummy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/9 "2019-08-20T16:34:27Z")
Seaweed beer (**[Kelpie](https://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/beer/kelpie)**) sounds weird but is actually a very good beer. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > My Beloved( **Rahne McCloud** ) leans towards strange labels and any collaborations between Rogue Brewery and Voodoo Donuts. The Lemon Chiffon Cruller beer was the worst they ever presented to me…but the most unusual had to be the [\*Grape Guerrilla](https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/132/243591/). That’s right-Grape beer. The Beer Advocate’s description of is pretty much on the money. > > What about y’all? I actually liked each of the Rogue/VooDoo Donut collaborations. The Bacon Maple Ale was my favorite. Realizing that the flavors were arrived at naturally is amazing. The only strange beer I really did not like was a nasty stout made by a small local craft brewer using Habanero and Scotch Bonnet peppers. The brewer admitted the beer was too much, and was offering shot glass tastes at an event. Most people took a sip, gagged, coughed, and threw out what remained in the glass. I worked at drinking an entire shot, then had two more to give the beer a chance. I had nasty diarrhea for 2 days. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Traditional lambic and gueuze at the [Cantillon Brewery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantillon_Brewery) in Brussels. Not my favorite style (and hard to get anywhere else), but very, very interesting. Very low carbonation, which is probably why I didn’t love it. I _love_ sours. At a beer tasting I offered a free seat at our table to a late arrival. The guy had a bomber bottle from Cantillon, not available in the US, that he had lovingly carried home from Brussels. He opened the bottle and shared it with us. Mmmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/10 "2019-08-20T16:35:52Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I don’t remember the brand name, but I once won a mixed six-pack of imported beer in a fishing tournament, and one was a Belgian lambic\* framboise\*. Yes, raspberry beer. Bleah indeed! You probably wouldn’t like[Fruli,](https://www.fruli.be/) a strawberry beer. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/11 "2019-08-20T16:44:29Z")
There’s a little village in Germany, name of Bamberg, that is famous for its smoked beer. I’m not sure why. To me, it tasted as if someone had taken a nice glass of beer and dropped an oily piece of smoked salmon into it. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/12 "2019-08-20T16:49:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I love a raspberry lambic, yummy. Me too. Lindemans makes a great one. I’d love to try Cantillon’s version, which is supposed to be dry. If you like [framboise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framboise) lambics, you should give Rodenbach’s red ales a try. Less sweet. very fruity though. Definitely unusual as beers go. About chile and beer, I don’t doubt that there can be a good combination of the two, but Cave Creek ain’t it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/13 "2019-08-20T16:51:24Z")
Yep. Rauchbier. Vile stuff. I’ve brewed it and won ribbons for it, but I sure dislike drinking it. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/14 "2019-08-20T16:54:43Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > There’s a little village in Germany, name of Bamberg, that is famous for its smoked beer. I’m not sure why. To me, it tasted as if someone had taken a nice glass of beer and dropped an oily piece of smoked salmon into it. Yuck. [Aecht Schlenkerla Brauerei](https://www.schlenkerla.de/indexe.html) is the famous one there. I like them, especially the Märzen, but they are an acquired taste. [Alaskan Brewing Co.'s Smoked Porter](https://alaskanbeer.com/our-beers/smoked-porter/), I find to be even more intensely smoky, almost undrinkable on release. The beer does develop with modest age (9 months-2 years) though, and is complex and wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/15 "2019-08-20T16:56:19Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I don’t remember the brand name, but I once won a mixed six-pack of imported beer in a fishing tournament, and one was a Belgian lambic\* framboise\*. Yes, raspberry beer. Bleah indeed! You, you…you _heathen!_ For the record, my favourite beer is Lindeman’s Kriek - same thing but with cherries. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Traditional lambic and gueuze at the [Cantillon Brewery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantillon_Brewery) in Brussels. Not my favorite style (and hard to get anywhere else), but very, very interesting. Very low carbonation, which is probably why I didn’t love it. As a style, yeah, I’ll go with geuze. A friend brought me six bottles back from Belgium. You never forget your first geuze. I was horrified by it, but stuck with it out of loyalty to the friend. By bottle six I was gently hooked. j ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/16 "2019-08-20T16:56:37Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > [Aecht Schlenkerla Brauerei](https://www.schlenkerla.de/indexe.html) is the famous one there. I like them, especially the Märzen, but they are an acquired taste. [Alaskan Brewing Co.'s Smoked Porter](https://alaskanbeer.com/our-beers/smoked-porter/), I find to be even more intensely smoky, almost undrinkable on release. The beer does develop with modest age (9 months-2 years) though, and is complex and wonderful. I’ll defer to your superior palate. The one in Bamberg did nothing for me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/17 "2019-08-20T17:07:58Z")
I think your and silenus’s opinion is shared by most people. It was hilarious looking at the face of the German beer-styles lover and owner of the brewery I was tasting at, when I asked him, “So, you like making traditional German beers ? Are you going to make a rauchbier?” His face looked a lot like my Highlands-drinking father-in-law’s did after he asked, “What’s that Scotch you’re drinking? Laphroaig? Can I try?” I’m weird. I admit it. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/18 "2019-08-20T18:13:48Z")
Coworker got a mixed 6 pack of Leffe which included Leffe Ruby. Even the Leffe website’s page for the Ruby is broken. From [Saveur Biere](https://www.saveur-biere.com/en/bottled-beer/8876-leffe-ruby-33cl.html) > [@](#): > > Bright, fruity Belgian fruit ale, bursting with berry flavour The person who got that bottle did not finish it. I’ve tried raspberry beer. I will not do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/19 "2019-08-20T19:00:53Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I think your and silenus’s opinion is shared by most people. > > It was hilarious looking at the face of the German beer-styles lover and owner of the brewery I was tasting at, when I asked him, “So, you like making traditional German beers ? Are you going to make a rauchbier?” His face looked a lot like my Highlands-drinking father-in-law’s did after he asked, “What’s that Scotch you’re drinking? Laphroaig? Can I try?” > > I’m weird. I admit it. LOL, well, that brewery in Bamberg has been in business since 1405, so I guess more than a few people enjoy the style! Just not me, **silenus** and a German beer-styles lover. I do enjoy Laphroaig, though. I guess I’m half-weird. ---
**Author:** ![Royal\_Nonesutch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecb155/32.png) [@Royal\_Nonesutch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Royal_Nonesutch)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939/20 "2019-08-20T19:58:23Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I love a raspberry lambic, yummy. Ever been to A La Mort Subite in Bruxelles? I really hate to be “That Guy” (even though apparently for many around here, at least in threads to do with matters of personal taste, being “That Guy” is a celebrated art form) but to those in the know, there are Belgian lambics, and then there are A La Mort Subite beers. Simply put, they are truly the pinnacle of all fruit beers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unusual-beer-youve-ever-had/838939.md?page=2)