Everyone loves pickles in some form or fashion. There are so many things you can do with them. You can fry them, bake them in cupcakes, use the juice in your whiskey sours, and so much more. They just have an exquisite taste that tickles the tastebuds just the right way.
Pabst Blue Ribbon recently shared an Instagram photo of a dill pickle in a frosty PBR. This had us thinking, do people add pickles to beer all the time? Or was it a new creation?
The origin of the pickle-in-beer
Supposedly, Midwesterners have been adding dill pickles to their beers for many years.
A South Dakota newspaper called Argus Leader, reported,
“Ordering a pickle in your beer in South Dakota is akin to ordering a side of ketchup or ranch with your french fries.”
A man named Jeremy Deutsch, who manages a bar named Cubby’s in Brookings, commented that the pickle beer trend actually came from something called the South Dakota martini. This drink was popular in the 1980s and contains lager, green olives, tomato juice, and of course, pickles.
Akin to the Bloody Mary, this is the perfect drink to wash down those hair-of-the-dog days.
But don’t take our word for it, here’s what Brookings had to say when asked about the drink:
“We’ve had several people from out of state, just as you’re pouring a beer and adding pickles into it, ask what we’re putting in the beer,” Deutsch said in an interview. “It’s a regional thing at least in the Midwest — you have it in Minnesota and Nebraska sometimes — but it’s really a South Dakota niche, I think.”
PBR being a fan of pickles in beer isn’t necessarily surprising. The company was originally founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have a few traditions that are special to their alcohol products.
DIY: How to make your own pickle beer
We’re talking an extremely easy cocktail here folks. Just grab your favorite lager and a jar of pickles. Select an appropriate pickle spear and add it to the drink. Then sit back and enjoy the experience.
You might never drink beer the same way again. You can even introduce some of the other ingredients to make the South Dakota martini, if you are feeling extra spicy. That will require the ingredients listed above but shouldn’t take much more of your time as it is a relatively easy drink to concoct.
Apparently, this drink is so tasty that a Texas brewery had to jump in on the action.
Texas brewery introduces specialty beer made with Best Maid Pickle brine
Even the Texans love pickles in their beer. Martin House Brewing Company located in Fort Worth, Texas, actually makes beer with pickles. The Best Maid Sour Pickle Beer (4.7% ABV, 3 IBU) is created with a very special ingredient- Best Maid’s dill pickling brine.
The salt totally changes the flavor of the drink, and we highly recommend you try it. Let’s be honest, is anyone surprised that people from Texas have already tried this concoction?
This drink really is a great new spin on classic IPA’s.
If you need a new thing to try, we highly recommend this specialty drink because of its overall taste and its ease of creation.
Let us know in the comments if you have other things you just casually toss in your alcohol!
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