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Fried chicken beer embraces grease, poultry and hops

Vegetarians will want to pass on Fried Fried Chicken Chicken, a bizarre beer that used real bird bits in the brewing process.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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Fried Fried Chicken Chicken doesn't actually tastes like chicken.

Veil Brewing Company

We've heard of some weird beers (belly-button lint beer, anyone?), but Fried Fried Chicken Chicken beer certainly stands out in the crowded craft brewing scene. The IPA-style beer comes from a fever-dream collaboration between The Veil Brewing Company in Virginia and Evil Twin Brewing in New York. 

Laughing Squid brought our attention to this unusual concoction, which was made with actual fried chicken. Veil Brewing teased a photo of the process showing a brewer dropping Chick-fil-A chicken tenders into a vat. Veil says the recipe contains only a very small amount of poultry and that the finished IPA doesn't taste like chicken, which may come as a disappointment to some people.

It may be a coincidence, but the heavily hopped beer does have a very fried chicken-looking color. The limited-edition beer came out in late July at Veil's taproom in Richmond, Virginia. As of Sunday, it was still listed on the taproom's draft list. 

The fried-chicken beer is just one more example of how brewers are pushing ingredient boundaries. At least it sounds more palatable than beer brewed with brains or barley fertilized with human urine.

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