Dogfish Head’s newest beer is made with a few things you might not expect to see in a beverage: the ingredients in Mace pepper spray.
The beer was brewed for Beer Advocate’s “Extreme Beer Fest.” The event is being held this weekend in Boston, and is described as “the ultimate throw down of craft beer creativity.”
Brewers bring their wildest and most interesting beers to the table, which in the case of Dogfish means “In Your Mace!” A stout brewed with coffee, chicory, milk sugar, and the two active ingredients in Mace brand pepper spray. It’s an idea that came to Dogfish founder Sam Calagione while he was having dinner with a childhood friend who just happens to be a Mace Brand executive, reports The Boston Globe.
“We got this super duper industrial strength and food grade oleoresin capsicum (chili oil) from a supplier in India,” Calagione told The Globe. “The brewers I worked with thought we were nuts and thought this was a beer nobody would ever want to drink. But everybody was pleasantly surprised by how drinkable it came out.”
Brewers had to wear HazMat respirators when brewing the beer keep from inhaling the fumes. Luckily, Calgione says curious drinkers won’t have to do the same.