If a bear poops in the woods, it might be in your next beer.
Columbia Sportswear, in partnership with Milwaukie-based Breakside Brewery, has unveiled a new beer featuring a wildly unique ingredient: bear feces. The new brew is called “Nature Calls.”
As unpleasant as that may sound, the companies insist that the beer is not only safe to drink, but actually tastes good.
A black bear walks across a fallen tree in the forest.
Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service
Created in anticipation of the Super Bowl, “Nature Calls” is a lager made from water infused with American black bear scat collected on trails in Montana, along with malted grains in the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia officials say the beer’s taste contains notes of huckleberries and honey. “Nature Calls” will be available in limited quantities at various Breakside Brewery locations.
In a press release full of stomach-churning puns, Columbia Sportswear said the beer is made with the same standards as any other at Breakside.
“If Mother Nature hurls bear poop at us, we’ll ferment it into a frosty pint,” Columbia Sportswear Brand President Joe Boyle said. “From the inside of a bear to your mouth – we’re making nature’s crap easier to swallow.”
Scott Lawrence, the founder of Breakside Brewery, said in the press release that his company has never created a beer “that celebrates nature this literally.”
“When Columbia came to us with the idea to use bear poop, we thought they were joking,” Lawrence said. “Turns out, they weren’t — and now we’ve got the wildest beer in America and maybe the world. It’s crazy, it’s fun and honestly … it tastes great.”
It’s actually not the first time a brewery has released a poop-themed beer. Stone Brewing in San Diego made a pale ale using recycled sewage water, while a brewery in Finland created a beer using goose droppings to achieve the perfect stout flavor.
In 2015, Rogue Ales released the Beard Beer, made using the yeast in brewmaster John Maier’s beard.
