Whale testicle beer outrages conservationists

Michael Winter | USA TODAY

A year after outraging conservationists with a whale-meat beer, an Icelandic microbrewery is back with another outrageous marine mammal brew — this one flavored with smoked whale testicles.

For the annual month-long winter celebration of Thorri, honoring the Norse god Thor, Stedji Brewery is whipping up Hvalur 2, the sequel to last year's popular holiday libation made with the endangered fin whale.

The International Whaling Commission issued a moratorium on commercial hunting of the fin whale — the second-largest-known animal on the planet after the blue whale — but after a two-year halt, Iceland resumed hunting the species in 2013.

Last year, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said it was "immoral and outrageous" that fin whale meat was used in the first Havalur (Whale) brew. The group called this year's offering "a load of b*lls" and "highly provocative and a cheap marketing ploy."

"Right-minded people would no sooner drink beer brewed with whale testicles than they would order similar drinks made with tiger, elephant or rhino testicles, and our hope, of course, is that visitors to Iceland will treat this latest offering with the disdain it deserves," the organization said in a statement.

The brewers see things differently.

"Actually, we don't consider the fin whale to be an endangered species here in the North Atlantic," brewery co-owner Dabjartur Arilíusson told the trade journal Beverage Daily. "We have a fisheries system in Iceland with all the fish kinds that is really self-sustainable and responsible."

Hence, whale meat again for this year's festival, which runs from mid-January to mid-February. Stedji, which opened in 2012, will brew 20,000 bottles, and one whale testicle is used in each batch.

Now, about that new taste ...

"We work the testicle by the old traditional way," he told Beverage Daily. "We smoke it with dried sheep sh**. This method gives it a unique smoked flavor, and we also get a bit of the meaty taste in the beer."

(Note: His brews highlight "the freshness of the Icelandic water," contain "NO extra sugar" and are "filtered and pasteurized.")

Mark your calendar: The release date is Jan. 23. International shipping available -- so long as you live in Japan or Norway, the only countries that don't recognize whale protections under a global treaty. Americans could be fined for importing the whale suds.

Not your cup of tea? There are other traditional Icelandic delicacies to enjoy during the month of celebrations: putrefied shark, ram's testicles, sheep's heads and blood pudding.

Skál!