Only in Texas: A Funnel Cake-Flavored Beer to be Served at State Fair

The eight State Fair of Texas fried food finalists — arguably the biggest local news of the year – were announced Monday, and while the list sports your quintessential sweet and savory dishes, there’s one that just isn’t like the others.

An original craft beer has made the cut as one of the fried food finalists. Not to be confused with fried beer, a State Fair entry from a few years back, this is an English-style summer ale brewed to taste like funnel cake. It is the first beverage to ever be a finalist, said Karissa Schuler, director of public relations with the State Fair.

Justin Martinez, a legacy concessionaire, hatched the idea to make a beer and then took it to Community Beer Co., which played with flavors and brewed the beer. Funnel Cake Ale, as it’s called, is brewed with English malts, which give it a bready characteristic, and aged over vanilla beans, according to brew master Jamie Fulton. It’s light and airy, like a funnel cake, Fulton added, and very easy-drinking. The beer even comes with a powdered sugar rim.

Martinez is no stranger to the fair’s fried food competition. He won the “Most Creative” prize for his fried Thanksgiving dinner in 2013 and fried bubblegum in 2011.

“I thought, the craft beer industry in the D-FW area has been booming over the last couple years. Why not do a craft, limited edition, specialty brew?” he said by phone Monday.

Asked if he thought the fact the Funnel Cake Ale is a 21-and-up offering would hurt his chances of winning, Martinez said maybe. But he has another dish in the running — the Fried Sweet Texas dessert, a pie trifecta comprised of pecan pie, peach cobbler and buttermilk pie.

Fulton said Funnel Cake Ale isn’t the craziest thing he’s ever brewed — the beauty of craft beer is its room for experimentation, he said. But as a seventh generation Texan, he is proud to introduce one of the first original State Fair of Texas brews. He says it’s pretty good too.

“I had to take it off draft [at the brewery] because we couldn’t stop drinking it,” he laughed.