The Natural Endpoint of Ben & Jerry’s

There’s a particular ritual to heartbreak that never really changes. You sit at home, you watch something you know will make it worse, and you alternate between ice cream and whatever’s strongest in the cupboard, trying to find the right chemical balance to make the feeling manageable. Ben & Jerry’s was always doing half the work. Now they’re doing all of it.

The brand has announced a beer—specifically a Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale, brewed with New Belgium. Just over six percent. The flavor profile is essentially liquid dessert with a buzz attached, which is either genius or a cry for help, and I’m honestly not sure the distinction matters.

New Belgium makes good beer. Ben & Jerry’s makes ice cream that has gotten me through some genuinely dark periods. If they can translate the brownie thing into something drinkable rather than just conceptually funny, this could be quietly excellent. The recipe already calls for salt, which was probably unnecessary—anyone drinking this in the circumstances it was designed for is bringing their own.