Moody Tongue brings sophistication to culinary beer, and a price to match

Those taking culinary courses online may be interested to learn about culinary beer, a growing subgenre of the craft beer industry focused on developing brews designed with chefs in mind. Similar to gourmet cuisine, the ingredients used to create these beverages are of extremely high quality, often incurring a hefty price tag as a result. The latest of these bourgeoisie beers is the Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner brought to you by Moody Tongue Brewing Company in Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune, a 22-ounce bottle of the beer has a retail price of around $120, making it one of the most expensive beers in the world.

Moody Tongue goes gourmet 
Jared Rouben, the founder and brewmaster at Moody Tongue, has a long history of fusing culinary elements into his beer. For one, Rouben is a chef by trade who studied at the Culinary Institute of America. Rouben formerly worked at Goose Island Brewery, before leaving to open Moody Tongue, and during his time there he created some of the Windy City’s most food-minded beer offerings. At Goose Island he worked with many notable Chicago chefs to create bottles of suds that complement so of the city’s best fare. Though Moody Tongue is a brand new venture, Rouben is quickly displaying innovation and craftsmanship in his latest creations.

“I had the opportunity to use one of the best ingredients in the world,” Rouben told the New York Post. “It’s like being given the keys to a race car. I shaved each truffle by hand. I reached out to other chefs to get as much information as possible. I did as much homework as I could to get it just right.”

Though Rouben has not revealed how many truffles went into his concoction, the monumental price makes sense when considering the price of the rare fungi. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Australian company Rouben collaborated with, The Truffle & Wine Co., sells black truffles for $1,050 a pound. Other estimates have a pound of the ingredient selling for as much as $3,000.

Alcohol content 
One notable aspect of the Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner is that the price clearly comes from ingredients rather than alcohol content. Beers of this price are rare, but those that are often have an ABV well above 20 percent. Rouben’s creation has an ABV of 5 percent, which is average for a pilsner. With that said, Moody Tongue is certainly making a name for itself in the Chicago beer industry and beyond.

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