A few months ago, as Trouvaille Brewing Company in Haymarket, Virginia, was working on its anniversary beer, head brewer Stephen Boyajian started brainstorming what the brewery could do around the holidays.
Boyajian, the brewery鈥檚 co-owner, said pop culture has a big influence on how its beers get named. He knew that as the brewery started planning movie nights, 鈥淓lf鈥� (2003) would be the planned showing in December.
鈥淎nd at that point, we said, 鈥楲et鈥檚 make an 鈥楨lf鈥� beer,鈥欌�� Boyajian told 草莓传媒.
And that鈥檚 exactly what the brewery, which opened in Prince William County in June of 2022, did. Soon, it will be rolling out “Buddy’s Spaghetti Breakfast Pastry Stout,” a limited edition offering inspired by the movie鈥檚 spaghetti meal that Boyajian described as “iconic.”
The beer features common brewing ingredients and some not so common others, such as spaghetti, chocolate fudge Pop Tarts, M&M鈥檚, marshmallows and maple syrup. It鈥檒l be released Dec. 16, the same day the brewery hosts its annual ugly sweater party.
鈥淪o far, it鈥檚 much to our delight,鈥� Boyajian said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been exactly what we expected. It’s a thick, luscious, rich, dessert-like beer that I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like.鈥�
While some beer fanatics may be concerned that they鈥檙e going to get a glass of spaghetti, Boyajian said 鈥渄ry spaghetti is just wheat flour, which is not too different from the grain that we already put into a beer.鈥�
The brewery has experimented with things such as chili peppers and nutella, but 鈥渨e鈥檝e never quite gotten into the realm of using spaghetti,鈥� he said.
The creation is so thick, he said, it looks similar to motor oil when it gets poured.
鈥淚t doesn’t look like your traditional beer. It sits on the glass very heavily,鈥� Boyajian said.
When you sip the beer, it鈥檚 initially rich, and then 鈥渢hat sweetness continues,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e wanted this to be sweet and not apologize for that,鈥� Boyajian said. 鈥淚t is exactly what you’d expect from the scene in the movie 鈥� you’re getting a lot of sugar, and that’s gonna be what it is.鈥�
It鈥檚 12% ABV, Boyajian said, 鈥渟o it does pack a bit of a punch.鈥�
He has a recommendation for skeptics who may not be willing to try the beer after learning more about the ingredients.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to try new things,鈥� he said. 鈥淏rewing, especially craft brewing, is about experimentation. We all started as home brewers. When we opened our brewery, we said we wanted to continue that tradition.鈥�
It鈥檚 only going to be brewed once this year, Boyajian said, but if it鈥檚 popular, the brewery will bring it back. Adding more ingredients remains a possibility.
鈥淲e’re trying new things and trying to push the envelope a little bit, as far as what craft breweries are doing in the area,鈥� Boyajian said.
