Not Tickled by Pickled

I was in a fancy cafe and market recently (looking at you Joan’s on 3rd) perusing the rather desultory craft beer choices and the biggest inventory was a pickle beer.  I almost belted out, “stop with the pickles” in the middle of the store. And the dill doesn’t stop with beer, it has invaded spirits as well.

To backtrack a bit, I do not mind savory elements in a beer nor do I hate on experimentation but can it be explained why there are so many pickle beers?  It reminds me of the pepper beer kick way back in the early days where spicy beers were the rage.  Those beers are not around anymore and the peppers are going into hot sauces with horrifying and painful names and I feel that pickle beers are set for the same fate of being a forgotten footnote in craft beer history.

Perhaps this is the zenith of pickle popularity, I have not heard much Pickleball talk either.

Color me Pickled

OK, I gotta be honest.  I love the creativity and I do not want to stifle it.  BUT, with all the great beers out there, I can’t see myself buying this offering….

Angel City Brewery is proud (and a bit puckered) to announce the arrival of Pickle Weisse. Starting today, Pickle Weisse is on tap at the brewery’s Public House for a limited time only.”

pickle-pickles-27629021-1500-1340

“Angel City’s Brewer Joe Moakley has a passion for pickles. Actually, Joe has a lot of passions. He can fix anything and cook everything. When he’s not brewing beer, he plays the ukulele, produces kimchee, farms coral, and yes, makes pickles. One recent day Joe had a light bulb moment. Starting off with Angel City’s base Berliner Weisse recipe, Moakley and brewer Dieter Foerstner decided to add Joe’s very own secret pickle recipe into the mix and voila – Pickle Weiss – a tart, light-bodied, straw-colored ale blended with pickles. Sounds pretty good paired next to a burger right about now, doesn’t it?”

What say you?  Is there a market for savory beers?  Or is it just novelty?

 

 

I can Pickle That!


This was not inspired by the Portlandia episode. It was only inspired by one of those peanut butter & chocolate moments when Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head was pairing his iconic 60 Minute IPA with an artisan pickle from Brooklyn Brine. One call later and …. “a first-of-its-kind culinary leap of taste: the Hop-Pickle.The all-natural, earthy Hop-Pickle is made with Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, caramelized onions and Cascade hops and is packaged by hand in Brooklyn Brine’s small artisanal kitchen.”

You can also partake of whiskey or bourbon pickles too! But you may need a NY hook-up. The Brine’s operations don’t include the West Coast yet.