Got Beer? Got Madness?

Lovecraft inspires artists of all sorts, including brewers. In honor of NecronomiCon, we’re rounding up our reviews of Lovecraft-inspired brews so you can drink deep of his mythos. Just watch for errant tentacles snaking out of the can or bottle.

Gansett’s Lovecraft Honey Ale

This beer is, like Lovecraft’s writing, more than a little out of the ordinary. The bittersweet malt notes deliver a very complex flavor that carries hints of roasted malts, a honey-like dryness, but a crisp hint of citrus and floral hops as well. It’s surprisingly light for so complex a brew. The weird flavor of this red-amber brew is matched only by its madness-inducing strength. While it drinks like a session beer, this brew creeps up on you with a 7% ABV, and considering it comes in 16 oz. cans, just a few of these could leave you gibbering incoherently into the night.

The lurking terror here, though, isn’t the strength of the beer, or the indefinite array of flavors. What makes this brew scary is the bizarre, almost addictive nature of the brew. One feels almost as if it’s impossible to live without. It almost changes you, imperceptibly, altering your perceptions but making it feel perfectly normal. After the first two, you’re feeling the potent alcohol bite. After a few more, the wooziness sets in …

Revival’s Cthulhu Stout



This cosmic brew boasts three kinds of chocolate malts, marshmallow, star anise and mint. Well, if that isn’t a bizarre amalgamation of madness, I don’t know what is. The brew itself is a deep, dark, chocolate brown with a thick, creamy, mocha-colored head. There’s a weird mix of anise and mint on the nose. The marshmallow gives this brew some weight, and the natural flavor of the chocolate malts blend with the bitter anise to create a sickly sweet brew that leaves a strange tingle on the tongue, probably from the mint. The anise lends a bite that prevents the brew from being too sweet. This isn’t normally the type of beer I’d go for, but it definitely screams “dessert beer” and would be well complemented by some ice cream or coffee. True to form, it’s a beer that defies description, a maddening mix of flavors. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re looking for a sweet brew for dessert, the stars are right for conjuring this mysterious elixir.

Gansett’s Innsmouth Olde Ale is another brew not to be missed, and watch the shelves for Re-Animator, whose August release date was recently delayed.