Protein Beer Is The Latest (And Weirdest) Drink Trend

Beer and exercise are already integrated. Truly masochistic humans race beer miles (four cans of beer, four laps, four tons of regret), and many road races dole out free beer at the finish line. But now gym rats are getting in on the action with a new way to make massive gains: protein beer.

It started in 2010, when Beck's released Beck's 50g. It was a beer loaded with an absurd 50 grams of protein, the full amount that an average human needs for a whole day. Drink a six-pack, and you're nearly set for the week. But it seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet. After extensive googling, I realized why: It was an April Fools' Day stunt. Beck's 50g does not exist and never has. Well done, Beck's: Six years later, and the joke is still working.

Then last fall, something called Brewtein surfaced, a certified no-joke Kickstarter project peddling a beer that contains seven grams of whey protein. The creator was also looking to make NutriBeer, the low-carb option with slightly less protein. Backers received a Beerbell, a three-pound beer-bottle cooler that offers a beery liquid reward after every bicep curl (it deserves its own Kickstarter page). But it failed to meet its $40,000 goal.

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Now, after a few false starts, protein beer might actually be happening. The latest is called Barbell Brew, a "groundbreaking brewski" from supplement food shop Muscle Food that's sold only in the UK right now. It has as much protein as three eggs, is low in carbs and has a "tantalisingly light golden colour" (did I mention it's British?).

Protein beer has yet to hit the States, but maybe now that public drinking is being decriminalized in Manhattan, New York's fittest will be soon be toting bottles around in their gym bags. In the meantime, I told three London-based friends to keep an eye out and report back if the pubs start swapping Carling for Barbell Brew. And to let me know if they see Victoria Beckham.