Watch Mario Batali Make Prison Beer on First We Feast's New Web Series, 'That's Odd, Lets Drink It'

With Dogfish Head Brewery founder Sam Calagione.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Chef Mario Batali and Dogfish Head Brewery founder Sam Calagione put their minds together to try to combat food waste through brewing in the premiere episode of "First We Feast Presents...That's Odd, Let's Drink It" Their goal is to brew an experimental ale that makes use of past-its-prime produce from Eataly Chicago and proves that brewers can join the cause to reduce America's rampant food-waste epidemic. Weirdly, they end up looking to pruno—a DIY fermented beverage generally associated with prison—for inspiration.

Batali is the first guest on our brand-new six-part web series, which features the Dogfish Head founder crafting never-before-seen beers for icons such as Chris Bosh, Mac Miller, and DJ Z-Trip.

Combining Mario’s culinary genius with Sam’s brewing knowhow, the duo searches the kitchens of Eataly Chicago to find some gone-funky ingredients that can’t be sold to consumers, but are still perfect for brewing.

“We have a perfect tomato, then we have a B tomato and a B- tomato,” says Batali of the Eataly produce. “The B and the B- are still unbelievably experiential, but I can’t sell it to my customer at top dollar.”

Along with overripe tomatoes, the pair finds other ingredients—bruised citrus fruit, stale bread—to throw into their experimental “WasteNot” brew, which Sam unveils at Eataly New York with the dessert course of a fully wastED-inspired feast.

Watch the video above to find out what what people make of Batali's prison-style brew.

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