Mamma Mia! Pizza Beer

Pizza Beer Company
Brewed at Sprecher Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
St Charles, Illinois USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Pours to a hazy oak colored wood body with a tall foamy white head that mostly dissipates to a thin film. The aroma while very cold is oregano and tomato filled pretzel bites. As it warms, the aromas become more pronounced. It actually smells decent. The flavor, on the other hand, is a mess of buttery malt and light herbs. The palate is medium-light bodied with a buttery texture going on. I’m not a fan. I made bread with it instead and drain poured the remainder.

So, I must confess I didn’t have any pizza with this beer, but I must say that by itself I found it to be pretty awful. It smells a bit like cooked corn, and tastes like cooked corn and raw pizza dough, and I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a craving for a beer that tasted like that. It poured into my glass to reveal a straw-colored body which was cloudy and unappealing. There was no head. Aroma was a bit composte-like (mercaptan) and cooked corn (DMS). Flavor was where I got the pizza resemblence. The flavor was a raw dough flavor, which was reminiscent to me of the last time I played with Play-Do. There was some oregano flavor as well. Not good. Not drinkable. I would not recommend this beer, regardless of what you’re eating. I split this bottle with SurlySober, who bought it as something of a lark.

When Chilled one can barely pick out anything that is described. If someone didn’t tell you this is a Pizza beer, you probably wouldn’t notice. As it warms up closer to room temperature, some of the described aroma and character starts to come out. However, it’s very subtle and does not dominate the beer at all. Plus, the pitiful head retention and odd hue really make this one of the uglier beers I’ve seen in quite awhile.

Unfortunately, the base beer is quite average and I wished they would’ve put more thought into the actual beer itself than merely trying to make a "gimmick beer". For this reason, I’m rating the beer on the low side and even for a gimmick beer, not worth the try.

Thanks to Skyview for sharing this one. Gold color with no head. Nice aroma of oregano and a bit of basil. Tastes exactly as advertised: oregano, parsley, garlic and tomato. Interesting to say the least.

Intriguing, but I’m not sure I want pizza IN my beer. Obvious aromas of oregano, basil and parsley. I wasn’t sure if my mind was playing tricks on me, but I did in fact smell tomato. The flavors were the same mixed in a pale ale. Bizzar.

thanks to skyview for sharing. Hazy yellow with a few bubbles for head. Oregano and parsley aroma with some grain malt. Similar taste but some additional malt gives it an almost complete pizza flavor including tomatoes

I’m giving this a 5 for aroma because you can smell the oregano, basil, tomato, and garlic. I hate the way it smells, but the aroma is what it claims to be on the label. Pours a clouded orange color. Tastes like pizza water. Tastes like pizza water. Did I mention it tastes like pizza water? Well....it does! This is a novelty beer. Worth a one bottle try (I paid $1.69 for one single bottle at Discount Liquor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) but no more than that.

Sampled at Bob McFarland’s Liquors in McFarland, Wisconsin. Pours a semi-hazy golden brew with a thin white head that slowly dissipates to a fine film and white ring. Aroma of white bread malt, some grassy hops, and some light vegetable character with oregano, tomato, and basil. Taste is light to medium-bodied, light carbonation with flavors of light bread malt beer with a touch of pizza flavored snack food. Finish has a mild malt and vegetable flavor with a pizza flavor that is not too spicy. Compared to the former Americas Tom Seefurths version, the Sprecher recipe is much lighter in flavor and spiciness.

12 oz bottle from <a href=http://www.Ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/homewo Liquors in Homewood. Not as strange as I thought it’d be. Pours a hazy color, slightly reddish where the glass is thicker. A good stiff froth of foam. Smells, yeah, like a cheap pizza made with canned tomato sauce. Otherwise, taste isn’t that bad. The ale base can take a lot of strange addition, with oregano and basil not boing out of place in some Belgians I’ve had. Can’t tell what part tomatoes are supposed to play, except for a slight tartness. Garlic is not that prominent, thank goodness. Maybe they used the green parts more than the bulb? Dregs on the bottom of yeast or something I don’t want to know about. Actually does go well with a pizza.

Bottle. Pours hazy golden color with a white head. The aroma of basil, oregano, and garlic. Taste pretty much the same. Like a cheap frozen pizza in a can. As someone mentioned, this definately a novelty beer and not something you would want to sit down and have a few of unless you were eating pizza.