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The 13 Strangest Beers on Earth

Whale testicle-infused beer is real, and it’s not going away.
Food & Wine

Over the past few years, brewers have been concocting beers with some exceptionally strange ingredients, and the trend doesn't show any sign of stopping. From Icelandic beer infused with whale testicles to a saison brewed with prehistoric, fossilized yeast DNA—oh, and a pilsner made with human pee—there’s never been weirder ways to enjoy America's favorite beverage. So, whether you’re looking to test your palate or prank a squeamish friend, these are the 13 weirdest brews you could possibly do it with. Cheers!—Hillary Eaton


Odius Ale by 40FT Brewery

In terms of wacky places to find yeast, Roald Dahl’s writing chair is a one of the stranger places brewers get a swab of the stuff. 40FT Brewery uses yeast from the author’s chair to make their Odius Ale. Fun fact: The chair was custom-made to help Dahl write after suffering a back injury during WWII. 40ftbrewery.com


Celeste Jewel Beer by Dogfish Head

If you’ve ever wondered what the far stretches of the galaxy might taste like, Celeste Jewel by Dogfish Head just might have the answer with their meteorite beer. To make this spacey ale the brewers took lunar meteorites, crushed them up and steeped the meteorites in the beer like tea. Even cooler? At the brewery, the beer was served in cozies made from the fabric of astronaut suits. dogfish.com



Oyster Stout by The Porterhouse Brewing Co.

While loading up your beer with crustaceans may not sound appealing, raw oysters are shucked directly into the conditioning tank to make this popular Irish oyster stout—and it’s delicious. Thankfully, the beer doesn’t taste like a mouthful of briny bivalve juice; instead, the oysters leave behind a subtle salty-sweet taste that has this beer selling out. theporterhouse.ie


Big Ass Money Stout by Evil Twin

In perhaps the gimmickiest beer collaboration of all time, Evil Twin and popular Norwegian brewery Lervig Aktiebryggeri have taken inspiration from our college needs and made a beer with frozen Hawaiian pizza and money. (They use real Norwegian banknotes.) Even though you’d think the whole pizza-money combo would create its own special version of grossness, the final product boasts rich coffee notes and a high 20-percent alcohol by volume. eviltwin.dk



Snake Venom by Brewmeister

If you ever wanted to get super wasted off a few sips of beer, Snake Venom is the beer you’ve been waiting for. Dubbed the strongest beer on earth at 67.5% alcohol, you’re going to want to split this super-strong bad boy with a friend, or seven. brewmeister.co.uk


pisner urine beer

Pisner by Nørrebro Bryghus

Did you attend Denmark’s Roskilde music festival in 2015? Then your pee was likely used to make beer. Over 50,000 gallons of pee from the festival were collected and used to fertilize malted barley that was then harvested and turned into Pisner, the world’s first beer made with human pee. Made in partnership with the Danish Government, Pisner calls their unique process “beercycling” and hopes to show brewers new ways to be sustainable. noerrebrobryghus.dk



Full Circle IPA by Stone Brewing



San Diego-based Stone Brewing is keeping water usage down during a state-wide drought by using recycled waste water to make their Full Circle IPA. While using water that was once in the toilet sounds iffy, the water is treated, so it’s 100 percent safe—and delicious—to imbibe. stonebrewing.com

beard beer
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Beard Beer by Rouge Ales

Even though it may seem like a Portlandia sketch, Oregon’s Rogue Ales Beard Beer is actually made with yeast grown in master brewer John Maier’s beard. What started out as a joke about Maier’s face being an optimal place to grow yeast got the brewer thinking there could be some good stuff hidden in his beard. After testing nine beard hairs, they found that their hypothesis was right; the wild beard yeast is what gives this weird brew a pineappley flavor. rogue.com




Ghost Face Killa by Twisted Pine

With the goal of making the spiciest beer in the world, Twisted Pine’s Ghost Face Killa uses six different kinds of ultra-hot peppers, including one of the world’s spiciest: the ghost pepper. While we aren’t sure if we’re crazy enough to try this burning brew, we’re thinking anyone who does should probably double-fist it with a glass of milk. twistedpinebrewing.com

sheep dung and whale testicle beer

Sheep Dung-Smoked Whale Testicle Beer by Stedji Brewery

This Icelandic beer uses sheep dung-smoked whale testicles. Yes, that is a thing. The seasonal Icelandic brew uses three testicles per tank and is meant to be enjoyed along such equally suspect-sounding local delicacies as cured sheep head and rotten shark. i-m.mx



fossil fuels

Jurassic Saison by Fossil Fuels

What happens when a microbiologist finds yeast DNA in a 45-million-year-old piece of prehistoric, fossilized amber? They use it to make beer, obviously. Dubbed “Jurassic beer,” this brew has corned the market on ancient yeast. Cheers to keeping it old(est) school. fossilfuelsbeer.com

toast beer

Toast Pale Ale by Toast

Brewed with leftover bread scraps, Toast Pale Ale lets you get buzzed and cut down on food waste at the same time. To make the beer, restaurants and bakeries across London donate bread that would otherwise be thrown out. The bread is then toasted and broken down before going into the tank to get a second life as beer. toastale.com



kono kuno beer

Un, Kono Kuro by Sankt Gallen Brewery

This sought-after Japanese brew is basically elephant-coffee-poo beer. Made by fermenting coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of Thai elephants, this beer takes the animals-pooping-out-coffee-beans trend (remember Kopi Luwak?) to the next level. sanktgallenbrewery.com