There are plenty of beers with jalapeno-type peppers. Cave Creek Chili Beer goes back at least 17 years. Here is an early approval, and a recent one.
But we think beers with peppercorn-type peppers are less common. Here are two. Allagash is practically a meal because it’s made with grain, sweet potatoes and black pepper. Lip Stinger is Ale Fermented with Peppercorn.
Beer with Civet Droppings
Flying Dog has their “Good Beer, No Sh*t” Road Dog Porter as chronicled here.
The Dog is not to be outdone by the Weasel. Whereas Road Dog, apparently, has no sh*t whatsoever, this ingredient is the centerpiece of Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch. It is made with weasel excrement. Literally. The label explains that:
This imperial Oatmeal stout is brewed with one of the world’s most expensive coffees, made from droppings of weasel-like civet cats. The fussy Southeast Asian animals only eat the best and ripest coffee berries. Enzymes in their digestive system help to break down the bean. Workers collect the bean-containing droppings for Civet or Weasel Coffee. The exceedingly rare Civet Coffee has a strong, distinctive taste and an even stronger aroma.
Lest you be scared away by the “droppings,” here is at least one connoisseur who can vouch for it.
Striking Syrah
The imagery is still striking, after all these years. Don’t you think? So much so, I am surprised that lots of alcohol beverage companies have not used this image in the past. It is also surprising that there is no TTB or other prohibition on the use of this famous image.
The Library of Congress explains that the poster goes all the way back to 1916 and may be the most famous poster in the world. (More famous than Farrah?) It was used to recruit soldiers for World War I and World War II. The original poster shows “Uncle Sam,” the “national personification of the United States and sometimes more specifically of the United States government.”
The wine is produced by Oreana Wine Company in Santa Barbara, California. For another, almost as famous poster used to support World War II, Rosie the Riveter is here (now in support of Oregon Dry Rosé).
Energy Not Allowed
You can Google “energy vodka” or “energy beer” and find millions of links in each case. But you won’t find much by way of references to “energy” on TTB-regulated labels. TTB seems to be dead-set against allowing this term, almost without regard to the context. Edison Light Beer illustrates this. The product does not even contain caffeine or other stimulants. The label does, however, make a passing reference to “energy,” saying: “Edison brings new energy to light.” Or at least it did. TTB banished the term in this March 2007 temporary approval. By the time of this March 2008 replacement approval, Edison’s energy was dissipated without a trace.
Caffeine: It’s Not Just for Beer and Coffee Liqueur Anymore
TTB has been allowing caffeine in alcohol beverages since the day it became TTB, and ATF allowed it for decades prior. At first, it was most often found in things like coffee liqueur.
Then it jumped to beer about eight years ago (with this Sparks label that seems to be the earliest beer with caffeine approval, and one of the first with directly added caffeine — in beer, wine or spirits).
Well it took a while, but our favorite alkaloid has finally made the jump to wine. So far, we find at least four wines with clear evidence of caffeine. They are:
- Cafe Lue Orange Wine with Coffee
- Chang Rai Green Tea Wine
- Charbay Aperitif Wine with Tea Leaves
- P.I.N.K. Sake with Caffeine
Somehow I don’t imagine the skateboard crowd getting crazy with Charbay Aperitif Wine or P.I.N.K. Sake. A list of more than sixty approvals, for alcohol beverages with caffeine, is here.
Charbay Aperitif Wine with Tea Leaves
Tale of the Surrendered Bard's Label
This label was pretty good until about a year ago.
Then TTB decided it’s not really a “malt beverage.” TTB decided this because Bard’s Tale Beer is made without malted barley. TTB Ruling 2008-3 explains that a brewery product can not be a “malt beverage,” subject to TTB label rules, unless it contains hops and malted barley.
Bard’s Tale is made with sorghum instead of malted barley because those with Celiac Disease can not tolerate the gluten common to barley. In July of 2008 TTB handed the issue to FDA by publishing the Ruling. About one year later, in August of 2009, FDA accepted the issue by publishing a Draft Guidance on “Labeling of Certain Beers.” In this document, FDA explains that certain beers are subject to FDA’s labeling rules and are not subject to the FAA Act rules enforced by TTB. As a result, such beers don’t need TTB label approval but they do need a statement of ingredients, allergen labeling, nutrition facts, and a Government Warning.
It gets confusing. Some beers are TTB and some are primarily FDA. Some wines are TTB and some are primarily FDA. At least we can take comfort in the fact that all spirits are TTB. Unless they are non-potable (as in cooking spirits or flavors) — in which case once again they flip over to FDA for their main labeling regulation.
As a result of the tossing and turning noted above, the current status of the Bard’s label above is — “surrendered.” Here is an example of Anheuser-Busch’s comparable product (Redbridge), without malted barley. It is also “surrendered” and handed off to FDA.
