PELLA, Iowa — Gezellig Brewing Company is releasing the first-ever tulip beer for Pella’s Tulip Time this year.

Betsy Duffy, the Co-Owner of Gezellig Brewing Company, said that she has wanted to make a beer out of tulips for a while.

“I had been thinking about adding tulips to a beer for a while I did a little googling and over spring break I sat down with Joe our brewer where I said ‘Hey is this a crazy idea to add tulips to a beer?'” Duffy said.

Joe Kesteloot, Gezellig Brewing Company’s head brewer, said that creating the beer was a challenge that required experimenting.

“We actually purchased a bouquet of tulips of different colors just to try each one because we read that each color of tulip gives a different characteristic flavor-wise,” Kesteloot said.

Kesteloot was able to make Tulip Bier by adding the petals to the beer.

“We plucked all the tulips off 170 tulips and we put the petals directly into the beer so it added a little bit of a color a nice orangish, pinkish hue to the beer as well as a nice floral aromatic qualities and floral flavor,” Kesteloot said.

Gezellig Brewing Company was able to source the tulip petals for their beer from a local Pella farm, Nunnikhoven Farm.

Melinda Nunnikhoven, the co-owner of Nunnikhoven Farm, said that working with Gezellig was a fun experience.

“We have to have fun with what you’re doing and what we do is a lot of hard work and what Gezellig does is a lot of hard work. So to be able to do something to collaborate and just have it be fun and to create an amazing beer is super fun,” Nunnikhoven said.

Tulip Bier is available on tap at the Cellar Peanut Pub in Pella.