Would you eat steak grilled ... over lava?
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Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

In this week’s do-not-miss world of beer news, it appears the Icelandic brewery Borg Brugghús has created a beer that gets its unique taste characteristics from, yes indeed, sheep dung.

The malted barley that goes into their Fenrir Nr. 26 is smoked over burning Icelandic sheep excrement for several hours, resulting in a brew that is, according to brewmaster Sturlaugur Jon Björnsson, “Þetta er í raun léttur IPA bjór með sítruslegt og ferskt bragð og lykt frá humlunum. Síðan kemur svolítið þyngri, taðreyktur fílingur í þetta en þetta gengur allt saman upp.”

For the non-Icelandic among us, that more or less translates as “It’s a lightweight IPA with fresh citrus and hop notes, then comes a bit heavier taste from the...” Well. You get the idea.
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On America’s 190th birthday in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the “Freedom of Information Act,” a law he described as crucial to the democratic principles of our country.

And FOIA, as it now known, has since become a cornerstone of government openness and individual rights, and was most recently renewed in 2014.

The idea is simple: provide American citizens with information and space to complain regarding the country’s most pressing issues: national security, policy making and ketchup packets.

Yes, ketchup packets.
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You can roll it, ferment it, dry it and put holes in it.

It can be stinky enough to be banned on public transport, crawling with maggots or hard enough to break your teeth.

Cheese is savored all around the world - even if some of it is an acquired taste.

Casu Marzu (Italy)
Like caviar, Casu Marzu is enjoyed only by a select population.

That's because it's served with live maggots.

It does have a fan base in Sardinia, where sheep farmers for centuries have made pecorino cheese and left it to rot and attract flies.

When the flies' eggs hatch the transformation takes place and the cheese becomes Casu Marzu.

It's then consumed with relish or perhaps trepidation - it has an aftertaste that lasts for hours.

Gordon Ramsay called it "the most dangerous cheese in the world."

Where to try it: Casu Marzu contains live insects so it can't be imported. Sardinia is therefore still the best option at associations such as Agugliastra in Lanusei, Sardinia.
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