© BrewDog

Utilizing road kill is a tricky subject. We've seen recycled squirrel decanters before, and even had discussions on whether eating roadkill is vegan or veganish. The result was always heated debate. Now a crew of rogue Scottish brewers will surely add fuel to the fire, serving their record breaking 55% beer in dead squirrels and stoats. But you'll never guess the price tag. (Nor believe the rather unlikely story about why it's being done.)Scottish brewers BrewDog were already well known for pushing boundaries. Having previously brewed the 32% Tactical Nuclear Penguin and the 41% Sink the Bismarck!, the crew decided to break records once again with the 55% concoction known as The End of History.

But as the BBC reports, not content with pushing alcohol boundaries, BrewDog decided to push taste boundaries too—serving their beer in taxidermied squirrels and stoats (reportedly roadkill). The result has been some controversy, with a group called Advocates for Animals describing the project as "pointless and [...] very negative", and Alcohol Focus Scotland warning that their focus on high alcohol beers sends out the wrong message about drinking responsibly. (Presumably the group is also opposed to whiskey.)

I must admit, I find the whole idea of drinking beer from a dead squirrel disgusting, and more than a little pointless. But from an animal rights or an environmental standpoint, I can't see what the fuss is about. After all, worrying about the "dignity" of a dead roadkill squirrel seems to be a case of projecting our values on the animal kingdom. You could even argue that brewing 55% ABV beer cuts down on glass waste, but I guess that would be pushing it.

What I do find crazy is the price tag on one of these beers—a bottle (or squirrel?) of which will set you back 500GBP (about US$750)!

In case you are wondering, the name of the beer is a tribute to philosopher Francis Fukuyama:

"The beer is the last high abv beer we are going to brew, the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer."

And here's the story behind why the taxidermy came about. Apparently.