America’s latest trend in beer brewing involves cucumbers. We usually think of watermelon’s cousin in terms of pickle or cucumber water. Adding it to beer seems completely wrong at first. Yet several craft brewers have been making cucumber-flavored beers.

Credit: Joshua M. Bernstein

According to Bon Appétit, cucumber beer is all the rage in the US of A. The food magazine talked to several brewers, and it seems there are different approaches to brewing it. Some add cucumber extract after fermentation; others add diced cucumbers during the fermentation process.

The goal of cucumber beer is not to create a beer that tastes like cucumber but rather to create a vibrant and refreshing summer beer. Unsurprisingly the beer styles the brewers use as a base are Kölsch and Saison. Many of the beers carry sour notes as well. Yet balance is key because no one is waiting for a pickle beer, one of the brewers says to Bon Appétit.

So far, I haven’t found any cucumber beers in Thailand. Nonetheless, they have great potential for a tropical climate. Perhaps some of the local brewers should try their hand at it.