Welcome to No Corporate Beer, Decibel’s new beer-spotting, consumer guide where we drink a beer and a then review it. Now that we’ve established that complex formula, let’s do this:
Beer: Kitty Kat Blues
Brewery: Black Raven
Style: Pale Ale with Dried Blueberries, Vanilla Bean and Catnip
6% ABV
In case you missed it, let me point out that this beer is brewed with catnip. I, like most non-felines, have never consumed catnip. Maybe in desperation you tried smoking your kitty’s stash one sad evening, but both my blood and urine would test 100% catnip free should Big Brother come knocking. I can’t say the same for my four-legged fur friends, but no one was holding a gun to their fuzzy little heads when the catnip was passed around. They knew what they were getting into. Just like I knew when I bought this bought bottle of catnip-infused beer.
I really have nothing to compare this to, as far as reviewing it. As an alcoholic beverage that also includes dried blueberries and vanilla bean, it’s quite tasty. No complaints there. This is not an extreme beer by any stretch of the imagination, despite the odd ingredients list. It smells of blueberry, has a nice creamy blueberry/vanilla flavor and there’s a perfectly appropriate kiss of bitterness on the finish. Does it taste of catnip? I have no fucking idea. I didn’t feel like it was an ethical thing to give booze to a cat, so whether it would get them high, who’s to say. And even if they could taste the catnip “flavor” in it, they couldn’t exactly convey this sentiment to me in any meaningful way.
Apparently catnip does not have the same effect on humans as it does on cats. However, since it is related to mint and valerian, it is said to have a calming/relaxing effect. Probably pretty similar to alcohol, so who’s to say whether it’s the catnip in this beer that’ll make you frisky and compelled to chase a ball of yarn, or it’s just the 6% ABV. Regardless, I like this beer. It may be a bit gimmicky, but ultimately, the payoff is a balanced, well-made brew. Meow.
More more info – if not more cat pics – check out Black Raven here.
