Brugghús Steðja Made Beer with Fin Whale Meat

Icelandic brewery, Brugghús Steðja, recently brewed, in collaboration with whaling company Hvalur, a beer made with fin whale meat for Thorrablot, a festival which honors the Norse god of thunder, Thor.

Naturally, conservationists are in an uproar.

The brewery owner, Dagbjartur Ariliusson, countered that the traditional celebration involves eating whale meat, and that this 5.2 % beer would be available only for the festival and hoped that people would try it. There were no tasting notes, thankfully.

I'm of two minds about this. First, who are we to judge a local custom if the whale is harvested legally? Second, Oh Hell No!

In the interest of full disclosure, when I was an exchange student in Japan in the 1980s, I had whale. It had the consistency of pot roast, but tasted like fish. It was served to me by a very nice young lady who I was interested in getting to know. I thanked her for the experience, and asked if we could just go to McDonalds next time.

So there is no way I would try this. Nope. Sorry. I'll pass. Unless the server's cute. . .

And where in the heck would put meat in the brewing process?