Weird beer news

A couple of weird beer news stories popped up today—nothing “Oregon” about them, but they are definitely notable and unusual.

First, from the BBC, Iceland: Brewery makes ‘whale testicle beer’:

The Stedji brewery’s Hvalur 2 beer is being sold for a limited period to mark the Icelandic midwinter month of Thorri, the Visir website reports. The testicles of fin whales – which are an endangered species – are cured “according to an old, Icelandic tradition” before being salted and smoked, with one being used per brewing. “We want to create a true Thorri atmosphere, and therefore we decided to use smoked testicles from fin whales for flavouring the beer,” says Dagbjartur Ariliusson, a co-owner of the brewery. “We put a lot of effort into this and it’s a long process.” In 2013, Iceland resumed commercial fin whaling after a two-year suspension. Most of its whale meat is exported to Japan.

The Stedji brewery angered conservationists in 2014 by making a beer which contained other whale parts, including bones and intestines. At the time, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation group described it as “immoral and outrageous” to use whale meat to make beer. The product was temporarily banned by public health authorities, but later sold out in alcohol shops. This time around, all the permissions are already in place, the brewery says.

Um… no. I don’t even.

The other is pretty tragic: Beer Poisoning Death Toll Rises to 69 in Central Mozambique.

The number of victims who have died after drinking poisoned traditional beer in central Mozambique has risen to 69, with authorities concerned there will be more fatalities among those being treated in hospital.

People attending a weekend funeral became ill after consuming the beer in Chitima, a town in Tete province. Authorities said yesterday that 56 had died, prompting the government of Mozambique to declare three days of mourning. A further 169 people are being treated in hospital, the health department said in a statement today.

Those who were sickened drank phombe, a beer brewed from corn. The first deaths occurred early on Jan. 10, and the fatalities included the maker of the beer and members of her family, Radio Mocambique reported.

No word yet on what contaminated the beer, but it is not crocodile bile, as has been reported.

Strange days.

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