I discovered this particular little nugget of joy at USENIX LISA 2000. The group I was wandering around with one night went to the Microsoft hospitality suite and flat out asked the bartender there which of the many types of available free alcohol would cost Microsoft the most. He replied, "That would be the Blackened Voodoo."
I had heard a bit about this particular beer at the New Orleans Voodoo Museum earlier in the day. It is a microbrew, made in New Orleans, and has limited distribution in the south. Apparently, this beer was banned from sale in the state of Texas for a while. There is a graphic of a very eerie moon lit swamp on the front, and some politician in Texas, for whatever reason, made claims of occult symbolism on the label. The main objection seems to have been the use of the word Voodoo. When the state of Louisiana learned of this behavior, they threatened to ban Lone Star Beer from the state in response. After a few months of politicking and other assorted silliness, the matter was resolved, and Blackened Voodoo beer can once again be purchased in the state of Texas.
We each got 3, and wandered down to the hotel lobby bar to partake of this new creature in the world of hops and barley. There must be some magic involved in the making of this particular brew, because it is a very different type of beer. It has a very subtle taste which is appealing to even those who aren't really normally beer drinkers. There is almost none of the bitter bite which accompanies most beers, especially localized microbrews. The taste is solid without being obtrusive, but is also, to borrow a cliché, "less filling". Overall, quite a wonderful little concoction, which I would highly recommend sampling, if the opportunity arises.
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