It was inevitable that someone would capitalize on the American passion for pizza and beer, and literally put two and two together.
Illinois homebrewer and entrepreneur Tom Seefurth contracted with Sprecher Brewery in Glendale, Wis., to produce Mamma Mia! Pizza Beer, brewed with tomatoes, garlic, oregano and basil.
Seefurth was the first to admit that a pizza beer is not the type you would want to chug a six-pack of. He described it as a “culinary beer,” designed to drink with food.
I had an experience with something similar when I tried a thyme beer at a former brewpub in De Pere, Wis. By itself, it tasted awful, but with a pizza, it wasn’t too bad. So with that in mind, I had a Pizza Beer by itself and later with some pizza bread.
The aroma was encouraging - it was mostly like fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza dough with a hint of garlic, though the garlic became more pronounced as the beer warmed up.
The copper-colored beer was nice and clear with a head that didn’t last too long. The first taste started off with the tomato and garlic dominating, and the oregano and basil coming through more in the aftertaste. The flavor is all pizza, overwhelming any actual beer flavor, though I could tell the base beverage wasn’t just some cheap mass-produced knockoff.
The flavors were solid, but this is not a beer I would ever drink again by itself. I had another with some pizza bread and it did complement it well. On the other hand, I like a somewhat plain beer with my pizza in order to counteract the excessive salt and oil in most of them. And since I like pizza with lots of garlic, fresh tomatoes, herbs, etc., do I really need a beer with the same ingredients?
That’s something people will have to decide for themselves.
Although it’s currently only sold in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, Seefurth said the beer can be mail-ordered from Sam’s Wines and Spirits 800-777-9137; www.samswine.com, and Top Shelf Wine and Spirits 847-214-8300; www.topshelfwineandspirits.com, if your state allows shipping of alcohol products.
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