Glitter? In a beer? Are you sure you don't mean glitter beard? What the hell is going on and how did I miss it, because, yeah, the craft brewing industry's glitter beer craze started making headlines around St. Patrick's Day or so.
According to Dunedin Brewery Vice President Michael Lyn Bryant, brewers are adding glitter (it's the edible kind, people) to their beers after they've completed fermentation. Usually, the shiny stuff is infused directly into a keg. But I can only assume this trend is the beer world's take on the sparkling statements being made in fashion, makeup and — oh yes — food.
Unicorn bagels are so 2017.
Glitter, though? Yep, we'd much rather consume a bedazzled slice of pizza or a cappuccino dusted with Edward Cullen's skin cells than cotton candy cream cheese.
Obviously, glitter beer is a polarizing phenomenon.
"I would say plenty of people get excited about glitter beer — but when scrolling through comments on pictures of glitter beer on social media, you will notice a majority of comments are negative," Bryant told CL in an email. "Gimmicks are inevitably going to attract a certain demographic. Things that are shiny or make loud noises are easy to pay attention [to]. Glitter, in general, is not something naturally found in food, liquid or culinary-anything.
"I think people are just mesmerized by there being something 'unnatural' in a beverage that's dually edible. It speaks volumes about our current society's standards/ideals."
Dunedin Brewery, lucky for us, has predicted the next hot taproom trend to come after glitter beer inevitably fizzles out, so do check out the video above. As Bryant puts it, the oldest microbrewery in Florida wanted to poke some fun and shed some light — plus "let people draw the line themselves as to what is beyond ridiculous."
"What happened to enjoying a well-crafted beer without the extra glam? Do you really need a glitter beer? Do you really need a green beer? How about one with an industrial chain-link, some ketchup and sprinkles?" he added.
Needless to say, Dunedin Brewery won't be riding the glitter beer wave anytime soon.
"But you can expect more critical humor like the glitter beer video."
Just watch it.
This article appears in May 17-24, 2018.