Someone Made Roald Dahl's Chair Bacteria Into A Beer — And Apparently It Tasted Like Burnt Lemons

Themed meals take you deep into a world of pure imagination so vivid, you can taste it. Taste Film, for example, was a themed dining experience that let you savor movies by playing films and serving dishes inspired by what's on screen. When Roald Dahl's classic book "The Twits" had its go at being transformed into a meal, however, one menu item might've gone a little overboard.

For "Dinner with the Twits," an immersive event held in 2016, creative studio Bombas and Parr went all out with the meal. It teamed up with 40FT Brewery to craft Mr. Twit's Odious Ale. The drink was brewed with actual bacteria swabbed from the seat Dahl used when writing, or as the can described it, "disgustingly delicious detritus from Roald Dahl's writing chair."

This puts the stomach-churning beer right up there with the world's most unusual boozes, which include a whiskey made with diabetic urine and the world's first insect-based gin. It's also the perfect homage to Dahl's wacky book. "The Twits" tells the story of the revolting Mr. and Mrs. Twit, a couple known for their severe lack of hygiene and a penchant for playing pranks. If anyone told you your beer was made with germs from a famous author's chair, you'd probably think you were being pranked, too. However, online reviews of the beverage were surprisingly quite positive, with drinkers enjoying the smoky, sour, lemony flavor achieved by 40FT Brewery. Thankfully, it seems that no one detected any taste of chair in the brew.

The smokiness comes from the fact that it was brewed in the Polish Grätzen style, also commonly known as Grätzer or Grodziskie. Dating as far back as the 14th century, it used oak-smoked wheat as an ingredient and is known to be a crisp, refreshing beer despite the oaky layers. To make things even more unusual, 40FT's utilized a smoker intended for meat. So perhaps there's a small chance that some residual flavors may have also impacted the flavor of the final product.

The lemony flavor that tasters online mention is a little bit harder to attribute. The exact ingredients that 40FT Brewery and Bombas and Parr used to make Mr. Twit's Odious Ale weren't made public, so the citrus notes could come from anywhere. There are dozens of hops varieties that could have imparted the lemon flavor, or there could also just have been lemon zest added to the mash. What we do know is that there's a good chance the sourness might have actually come from the chair bacteria. Lactobacillus and Pediococcus bacteria produce the acid that makes sour beer styles taste so tart, and the former in particular can be found on the surfaces of seats.

It's almost a shame that Mr. Twit's Odious Ale was just a one-off for a special event. The available accounts suggest the beer was really good in addition to having an interesting backstory. And while it might sound unappealing on its own, when you compare it to something like goose poop beer, Roald Dahl's chair bacteria brew certainly seems like the more appetizing bet.