No hops necessary for Burley Oak Brewing Co.

Those hops sure look weird … Wait! Those are not hops! Burley Oak Brewing is using another leafy green — coriander — in its Hopless Beach wheat beer.

Take a look at the craft beer case at your local retailer and you’ll see a glaring trend — hoppy beers. From hopped ales to hopped lagers, the craft beer industry is credited with increased demand for unique hops and using them in creative ways. Maryland-based Burley Oak Brewing Co. got so creative with their hop usage that they just stopped brewing with them! … wait, what?

That’s right, Burley Oak Brewing is tossing aside hop conventions to brew its Hopless Beach, a wheat beer that uses coriander, also known as cilantro, wheat and orange peel instead of hops. American Craft Beer profiled the unique brew and asked the brewery owner, Bryan Brushmiller what inspired him to take such a unique brewing approach:

“They had experimented with beers using orange peel and felt it imparted enough bitterness to replace hops in a light beer. They first brewed a version of a wheat beer that was on the hoppy side. When they tried brewing it the opposite way, sans hops, Hopless Beach was born.

“People like it because it’s light and drinkable, and it was fun to do something on the total opposite end of the spectrum from the norm,” explained Bryan.

Seasonal, barrel-aged, extreme hopped and now no-hop beers. What’s next? Doughnut bacon beer?

For the full story, head over to American Craft Beer. Sound off on the most off-the-wall beer you’ve had in the comments below and if you’re brewing up a zany brew of your own, be sure to tell us all about it by emailing [email protected].