What's the most "interesting" beer you've ever tasted?

[CDNSushi]

The reason why I put interesting in quotation marks, is because I'm leaving it up to you how you define that word. (It could be the most expensive, the most unusual-tasting, coming from the furthest away place, the worst, etc....)

I'll start! The most interesting beer I've ever tasted was Taybeh. It's Palestinian -- made in a town near Ramallah. The reasons for my choice are as follows:

- It's exotic (for me)
- I never knew Palestinians (generally understood to be Muslim) even drank alcohol
- I'm happy to see efforts in this troubled region to engage in new ventures and industries
- It tastes a bit unusual -- a bit fruity, and VERY tasty
- I can actually buy it in Japan!



http://www.taybehbeer.com/Home.html

Okay. YOUR turn!

[sydnie7]

I don't leave many beers unconsumed, but there was a bottle of Indian beer served at a very good restaurant in Irvine CA that may still be sitting on the table, for all I know. Perhaps it was just an "off" bottle, but that brew tasted like nothing other than formaldehyde! I don't recall the brand name so this whole story is basically moot :o)

Ambience and sentiment may be behind the next story, but I dearly love a seasonal beer sold in and around Lostwithiel, Cornwall. It's called "LostwithiAle" and one of the local store owners classified it as "for the tourist trade" but I scoured the stores for enough to take with us as we traveled north from Cornwall -- kept me going til northern Wales...

These days, the Black Marlin porter from Ballast Point is my treat of choice.

[werewolves]

This one is pretty wild:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/15711/37300

[KiltedDixon]

Left Hand Oatmeal Stout

I love the name and the taste.

[Bugbear]

Don't drink any more, but I've had some extremely icky beers that cause instant headaches, skunk beer with way too much hops and so on.

I like Dos Equis Beer "Most Interesting Man In The World" commercials, though.

[macwilkin]

Certainly the most "interesting" beer I've had in terms of name is He'brew Beer:

http://www.shmaltzbrewing.com/HEBREW...s_messiah.html

The Messiah Bold Brown Ale is quite tasty.

T.

[seanachie]

Back in the late 90's there was a pub across the street from City Hall in Dublin that made small craft beers and they had an Oyster stout that was outstanding. Yes a stout made with oysters. (Unfortunately it changed hands and things changed, last time I went in 5 or 6 years ago I left almost immediately there were yuppies drinking Coronas with lime and Budweisers)

Americans may also remember post presidential election in '76 Jimmy Carter's brother was selling a beer called Billy Beer, named for him.

[Zardoz]

I used to frequent a Russian resturant in west Houston, Not a "Russian themed" place, this joint was full of ex-pat Russians, didn't serve dinner till after 9, and only had one English speaking waitress.

Anyhow, since I'm not a vodka drinker, I'd always have a couple beers, the popular brand there was 'Zhigulevskoye' (had to look that up) it was pronounced something like 'zhigoolie'. the beers came in dark green bottles, and it always seemed to me that each bottle tasted a little different

[brewerpaul]

Americans may also remember post presidential election in '76 Jimmy Carter's brother was selling a beer called Billy Beer, named for him.

We have President Carter to thank for revoking the laws that disallowed home brewing. Mississippi is the only state to still disallow home brewing.

As a pub brewer I brewed over 65 varieties of beer. The most memorable were a couple of Belgian Trippel styles. One was brewed in 1995 with alot of coriander seed and dried orange. I kept 5 kegs of this to serve the following years at our vintage nights. The last keg served was quite fine at 5 years. It had a light body and mouthfeel of champagne, the soft fruity aromas of peach and apricot, and the subtle aromas of coriander and orange. It was a vintage delight. In 2000 I brewed a Trippel affectionately called Trippel Sex. You get the picture, it was quite tasty and made people do things with other people they might never have done before. Two other notable brews were a barley wine and imperial stout that were aged in oak whiskey barrels. In time they took on a rich oak and whiskey aroma that complimented the base brews.


Of the most exotic and unique fermented brews I have had was the local brew served in the tea houses on the Everest trek route in Nepal. I had chance to do an Everest base camp trek and upon our return to Lukla we were treated to a brew called Chang. This is not a very high ETOH content brew, usually 2-3 percent. It is made from millet and rice usually in some form of secrecy and ceremony. I was pleased as a brewer to receive such a treat from the local people. It somewhat reminded me of Saki in taste and color and had a distinct flavor of the plastic container it was stored in. Most of my treking mates turned up their noses, more for me. The next day I was going to buy a cup but our head guide said he would get it for me. I asked him if he drank it and he shook his head saying "Noooo way". Again more for me.

[Baldybrown]

It has to be Chimay, made by Trappist Monks in Belgium. There is a sediment of yeast in the bottom that can be re-pitched for you home brewers. The yeast allows for a very high alcohol content. Wonderful stuff!