Pastrami-Flavored Beer Is The Latest Bizarre Brew

Have you ever eaten a pastrami sandwich on rye inside an authentic Jewish deli and thought to yourself, "This is great, but I wish I could drink it instead"? Then perhaps this beer is for you. New York City's retro arcade-themed bar, Barcade, has teamed up with Shmaltz Brewing to create Pastrami Pils, a beer made with authentic pastrami notes evoked by ingredients like a pinch of kosher salt, a dash of pepper, and some smoke. The beer, made with Munich and Pilsner malts, also has hints of caramel and caraway seeds for that rye bread flavor.

"Pastrami is my birthright, beer is my passion and 20 years of my life and career," Jeremy Cowan, Founder and Owner of Shmaltz Brewing said in a statement. "The perfect pairing for our first ever custom recipe at the new brewery. As the good book says, kinda, 'Eat, Drink and be Merry for tomorrow we shall... have to go to work — and do it all over again.' Lucky us – L'Chaim!"

Pastrami Pils is available on draft only at Barcade this winter, with launch events planned at each location: Jersey City, NJ (Dec. 8), Philadelphia, PA (Dec. 10), New Haven, CT (Dec. 15), Brooklyn, NY (Dec. 16), and New York City (Jan. 14, 2017: National Pastrami Day).

Pastrami beer might sound strange, but at least the beer is not stored inside a dead squirrel.