We Try Beer Made with Coffee from an Elephant’s Butt!

Readers may recall Kanagawa based brewery Sankt Gallen from their Valentine’s Day Chocolate Beer and Chocolate Glass promotion. Well, they were back to ring in April Fools’ Day with a coffee stout made using ingredients plucked fresh from an elephant’s anus.

The beer was only available in Japan and sold out in minutes. Luckily, we were able to get our hands on some and try it out. Actually, Mr. Sato tried it out. We just watched with a bucket.

Here’s his full report.

For all You Hard Workers, This Turd’s for You
By Mr. Sato

Hey all you beer lovers out there! I want to tell you about the best beer I’ve ever had. It’s a coffee stout made with elephant droppings!

Now, I know what you must be thinking; “Coffee and beer, ewww!” But really, this beer is insanely delicious.

It’s called Un, Kono Kuro which is a pun on the Japanese word for crap (unko). The name has two meanings phonetically: “Yeah, This Is Black” or “Sh!t Black.” In English it’d be like saying “Blackish, It Is” (say that really fast a few times).

■ This Is Really Sh#t Beer!

Sankt Gallen’s Chocolate Stout probably misled a lot of people. Chocolate stout doesn’t actually contain chocolate, but it uses malt roasted in such a way as to produce a chocolaty look and aroma.

Coffee stout also is created through the malt rather than real coffee beans. However, this coffee stout actually does has coffee beans added for flavor, and not just any coffee beans.

■ These Coffee Beans Were Picked Out of Elephant Excrement

Un, Kono Kuro uses coffee beans taken from heaping piles of crap produced by the gentle giants of Thailand’s Golden Triangle Elephant Foundation. Sold for about 10,000 yen (US$104) per 35 grams as Black Ivory the beans are fed to the elephants, pass through their entire digestive system, shat out undigested and served to your doorstep.

It’s an inefficient process as 33kg or beans in the mouth yields about 1kg out the other end. That and the costs of elephant maintenance are what make Black Ivory so expensive.

■ Beer + Coffee = Oh, God!

Normal coffee stouts use darkly roasted malt that has a bitter taste and an aroma similar to roasted coffee. But the addition of real coffee works to heighten the flavor and aroma of such a stout.

I cracked open a bottle of Un, Kono Kuro to give it a try. I sniffed at the bottle’s neck and my nostrils were greeted with a faint bitter aroma, a little like roasted coffee just giving me a sense of what’s to come.

When I poured it into a glass the coffee-like aroma continued to build it was relaxing like an easy Sunday morning. After taking my first sip there was an initial bitterness that got washed over by a wave of sweetness. Following that, a mellow body rolled in and spread out through my mouth.

■ The Afterglow is Haunting

Usually people talk about aftertaste when drinking beer but with Un, Kono Kuro the word afterglow is much more appropriate.

After downing the last drop, slowly rising from my throat and mouth was that afterglow. The combination of bitter and sweet stayed fresh and lingered in my head. It was a familiar aroma that accompanied me through the entire beer.

For some time after I could still feel as if my body was saturated with that warm scent. Luckily there were two more bottles left.

■ You Can Still Buy Un, Kono Kuro On Tap!

The Sankt Gallen website sold out pretty quickly so there are probably lots of people who never got a chance to taste the beauty of Un, Kono Kuro.

However, if you live in the Tokyo area don’t worry there’s another chance! Sankt Gallen is opening up a shop on 6 and 7 April, 2013 in Yoyogi Park and they plan to sell elephant dung coffee stout on tap! I urge everyone to take advantage of this offer.

Original Article by Mr. Sato
Sankt Gallen: Un, Kono Kuro (Japanese)

▼ A set of three bottles arrived in a black box.