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Icelandic brewers knock up whale 'nad beer

Conservationists unsurprisingly unimpressed by cetacean knacker brew

Icelandic beer botherer Stedji has unsurprisingly rather annoyed conservationists with the imminent release of a winter brew flavoured with smoked whale testicles, Visir reports.

The "Hvalur 2" brew comes on the heels of last winter's successful Hvalur ("Whale") concoction, which contained "among other things the viscera and intestines of whales".

Despite an initial ban on the sale of Hvaler by public health officials, it was quickly deemed fit for sale by the minister of Fisheries and Agriculture. The five thousand litre production flew off the shelves in a week.

Dagbjartur Arilíusson, one of the owners of Stedji, said: "The beer was sold out almost immediately and therefore we decided to produce a similar product for Thorri."

Having obtained the necessary permissions to produce whale 'nad enhanced ale, the brewery will release its provocative 5.1% ABV product on 23 January.

Arilíusson explained: "The testicles are cured according to an old, Icelandic tradition, lightly salted and then smoked. We put a lot of effort into this and it's a long process."

The cetacean plums were previously attached to fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), according to a highly indignant Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

The organisation declared: "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 distain [sic} it deserves." ®

Bootnote

*"Thorri", or "Þorri", is the month which runs from mid-January to Mid-February in the Icelandic calendar, as well as a Jack Frost-style personification of brass monkeys weather.

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