Wisconsin welcomes glitter beer; it’s just as pretty as you might imagine.
Wisconsin welcomes glitter beer and it’s just as pretty as you might imagine
Kevin Eichelberger, owner of Red Eye Brewing in Wausau, might not be the first Wisconsin brewer to produce and pour glitter beer.
For certain, he is the first to buy edible glitter from the German malt company he uses.
Glitter beers have the hazy luster of a Northeast IPA but the sparkle of a glitter bomb. They shimmer as you turn them in the pint glass. Yup, they’re a thing.
Eichelberger, who calls it the craziest beer he’s ever released, heard about the flashy brews through a video on the internet and thought “that’s a little bit out there.” Translation: Perfect for his gastropub, where they’re always experimenting with “wacky stuff.”
At the same time, he was looking for edible glitter and the malt company he orders from stocked an edible version from Germany. Eichelberger says he’s the first to order the food-grade glitter.
The beers have been the subject of interest among beer fans. In his beervana blog in March, writer Jeff Alworth traced glitter beer to West Coast brewer Cat Wiest, who told him she made the beer for special occasions and beer festivals.
“When you pour a glitter beer at a beer festival, people go nuts. They
don’t just slam their four ounces and move on, they engage with the beer,” Wiest wrote. “People look into their beer and their faces light up. They get their friends, they take selfies.”
Erica DeAnda learned about glitter beer from Wiest, before she became head brewer at Minocqua Brewing in August. For New Year’s Eve sparkle, DeAnda added rose gold glitter to the brewery’s Largemouth Blonde Ale.
Eighth Street Ale Haus in Sheboygan produced glitter beer as an homage to singer/songwriter Kesha when she played in Milwaukee last fall. General manager Kurt Jensen says they’re talking about a repeat when she performs at Summerfest.
If you can get someone to look at their beer before chugging it, that’s a big deal, Eichelberger said. Hop Mess, which is what he calls his glitter beer, is an American pale ale. The recipe uses lactose to give it body and grapefruit for extra flavor. Hops are added on the back boil to make it appropriately hoppy.
Hop Mess will be released at 6 p.m. April 24 at Red Eye Brewing, 612 Washington St., Wausau. Eichelberger expects it to be on tap for at least two weeks. Future batches might be used for special occasions like fundraising events.
For DeAnda, glitter in beer is uplifting.
“If I’m having a bad day I’ll pour myself a pint and put glitter in it,” she said.