Duke’s and Champion Brewing Made a Mayonnaise-Themed Beer No One Wants

The Vienna-style lager is designed to pair perfectly with a BLT slathered in Duke’s mayo

Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise should have never been the inspiration for a beer.
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Gett

When it comes to mayonnaise, your humble narrator is always hungry to run a smear campaign.

The gross-looking condiment that makes potato, macaroni and chicken “salad” inedible (adding mayo to something does not make it a salad), mayonnaise was the inspiration for a new beer from Champion Brewing Company and Duke’s. Named Family Recipe (5.1% ABV, 27 IBU), the Vienna-style lager was crafted to pair with a BLT slathered up in Duke’s signature sauce.

“With a nod to Duke’s consistent recipe dating back to 1917, we came up with this Vienna-style lager recipe to offer a light copper, medium-bodied lager with a toasty malt sweetness that will perfectly complement the iconic summer sandwich: the Duke’s slathered BLT,” per Champion.

While the beverage’s saving grace may be that it wasn’t actually brewed to taste like a creamy mixture of oil, egg yolk, and vinegar, it still sounds like the worst thing since sliced bread with mayo on it.

“The spirit of this collaboration truly encapsulates the Duke’s brand – it’s bold, southern, and a little saucy,” said Duke’s marketing manager Rebecca Lupesco. “Champion has perfected the art of beer and food pairings with Family Recipe – sun-ripened, juicy tomatoes, crispy bacon, lots of Duke’s mayo, and a refreshing sipping beer is basically what summertime is made for.”

An accurate statement, if you believe summertime was made for simultaneously making yourself both bloated and ill.

“I am inspired by the legacy and loyalty commanded by the Duke’s brand, plus it’s the only mayo that is used in our restaurants, so it only made sense to collaborate,” said Champion owner Hunter Smith. “We think we’ve created a beverage that celebrates the southern heritage of our respective products.”

Already available at Champion’s breweries, restaurants, and distributed via retailers across Virginia and North Carolina, the beer will also be being poured at the Duke’s Mayo Classic games this year in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Duke’s Mayo Classic Doubleheader will feature East Carolina University taking on Appalachian State University and the University of Georgia facing Clemson University. Can’t wait to miss it.

“My first thought is they don’t go together at all, but I am definitely curious about it,” Champion customer Erika Speicher told NBC 29. “Like taste, texture wise, I think it would be interesting. I mean, my gut tells me that it’s like white and like milky, but that sounds disgusting for a beer.”

And for a condiment.

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