Columbia Sportswear promotes beer made with bear poop

The idea of bear poop beer sounds like a bad campfire joke that went a little too far. Turns out, it didn’t just go far—it went commercial.

A limited-run craft brew tied to an outdoor marketing campaign is making headlines for one simple reason: it involves bear scat. Before you set your mug down and walk away, there’s a twist here that makes this less about what you’re drinking, and more about how far companies will go to get your attention.

So what is “bear poop beer,” really?

The beer in question comes from a collaboration between Columbia Sportswear and Portland, Oregon’s Breakside Brewery. It’s called “Nature Calls,” and, yes, the name tells you exactly what they’re aiming for. Its tagline is: “A real taste of nature”.

But, no, you are not drinking chunks of anything.

Instead, the brewing process uses water that was initially exposed to bear scat. That water is then filtered and treated until it meets normal drinking standards before it ever gets near the brewing tank. What ends up in the final product is, by all accounts, clean, safe beer.

In other words, it’s not so much being “poop in a pint glass” as it is more “water that had a very questionable life experience.”

Why would anyone do this?

Short answer: Because you’re reading this.

Outdoor brands live and die on attention, and in a crowded market, weird sells. This one leans hard into the oldest joke in the woods and turns it into a product you can actually hold in your hand.

The campaign pitch is simple enough: Gear built for the outdoors should handle anything nature throws at it. This just takes that idea a step further than most folks expected.

For RVers, it hits a little closer to home. Spend enough time boondocking or tucked into a forest site, and you already know the answer to that age-old question. You just probably didn’t expect it to show up in your cooler.

What does it taste like?

Surprisingly normal.

Reports describe it as a light lager with hints of huckleberry and honey; flavors that nod to what bears actually eat. There’s no “off” taste, no wild aftershock, nothing that would tip you off if you didn’t already know the backstory.

Which may be the strangest part of all.

Can you actually buy it?

Only if you’re in the right place at the right time. The beer is only available at all Breakside Brewery locations.

This isn’t a nationwide rollout. The beer showed up as a limited release, mainly tied to brewery locations and special events. That tells you something important—It’s less about building a new product line and more about creating a moment people talk about.

Mission accomplished.

Would you try it?

Well, would you?

Some folks will laugh and pass. Others will try it once just for the story. And a few will probably decide it’s no stranger than anything else that comes out of a craft brewery these days.

Either way, it’s a reminder that the outdoor world isn’t just about gear and campgrounds anymore. It’s also about who can come up with the idea nobody saw coming—and get people talking about it around the next campfire.

You can filter it, brand it, and package it however you like, but at the end of the day, it still answers that old question in a whole new way.

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