“Want to go golfing?” It’s a question Alyssa Hoberer, co-owner and co-brewer at Full Frame Beer in downtown Denver, might casually toss out to regulars seated at the bar.
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If you’re in the know, you’ll nod. That’s the cue for tiny, paper-wrapped bottles of Underberg, a herbaceous digestif, to appear. Each participant unscrews the cap, tips one back, then checks the number printed on the bottom. Just like in real golf, the highest number “loses” and, in this brewery scenario, picks up the tab for that round of Underberg.
Underberg has been popping up more and more at breweries around the Mile High City. And if you haven’t noticed it yet, you probably will soon. (FYI: That’s known as the Baader-Meinhof effect; once something is on your radar, you start seeing it everywhere.)
For the uninitiated, Underberg is made with herbs, roots and barks collected from 43 countries around the world, according to the Rheinberg, Germany, maker of the digestif. It has kept the family recipe under wraps since 1846. Spiced, bitter, and with a noticeable licorice flavor, Underberg drinks like an amaro alternative. Bottles sell for $3 to $4 at local breweries.
So, how did these single-serve 20-milliliter elixirs end up alongside IPAs and sour ales in local watering holes? A few factors are at play that help to explain the phenomenon.
For one, Underberg has become popular at beer events, say brewers who have hopped on the bandwagon and subsequently introduced the digestif at their tasting rooms. The bitters are billed as a digestive aid, which comes in handy at beer festivals, where you’re knocking back rounds of beer and snacking on gut-busters like brats and pretzels dunked in beer cheese.
“It’s like a grown-up Jägermeister,” says John Flaherty, founder and head brewer at Wanderment Brewing in Denver, which carries Underberg. Those who like Fernet might also appreciate it.
Then there’s the logistics. A few distributors in Denver sell Underberg, but recently the area’s two big brewery raw materials suppliers started carrying it, says David Lin, chairman and founder of Comrade Brewing. Since they supply most microbreweries, it’s become easy to just get a case of Underberg thrown in with malt and hops orders.
“It’s a communal drink,” Lin said. “If a customer is looking to have one, they usually buy a round for whoever is around. It’s nice to have one after getting to the brewery after a meal, deciding who buys the next round by playing Underberg roulette or golf.”
Underberg is also a way for breweries to diversify their offerings. The digestif clocks in at 44% ABV (or 88 proof), but it can be sold without a liquor license because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies it as a “non-potable bitter,” which technically makes it a food product, not a spirit. That means anyone of any age can buy it, in stores or online.
Another thing that makes imbibing with Underberg fun is that you can collect the caps to be traded in for official Underberg merchandise, which includes everything from playing cards and baseball caps to pocket watches and the Underberg Herb Mobile, a dark green toy truck with a customizable license plate.
Hoberer’s team recently cashed in caps for one of the coveted Underberg mobiles, a badge of honor that will be parked at the bar at Full Frame. And if you find yourself joining a round of brewery “golf” there, you can pick between a room-temperature Underberg or a chilled one.
“We call them icebergs,” Hoberer said.