Lavender beer is a real, if small, brewing niche built almost entirely around craft brewers experimenting with fresh or dried lavender flowers rather than extract. It shows up most often paired with honey in an American wheat or Kolsch base, since both styles have the malt sweetness to balance the flower’s soapy edge if a brewer overdoes it.
Below are 5 real lavender beers, ranked from strongest to lightest, spanning a Belgian Blonde from Japan, two honey-lavender wheat beers from the Pacific Northwest, and a purple lager built for a Seattle taproom. Each one lists the brewery, style and ABV, plus whether you can get it delivered through Saucey right now.
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1. Shimon (紫聞)
| Brewery | Kyoto Brewing Co. (Kyoto, Japan) |
| Style | Belgian Blonde with Lavender |
| ABV | 7.0% |
Kyoto Brewing built this on a Belgian Blonde base specifically because the style’s fruity, spicy yeast esters already sit close to lavender’s own aroma, then added a blend of fresh Hokkaido lavender and dried lavender to layer scent without pushing the beer into potpourri territory. The name means “listen to the fragrance,” and the brewery pitches it as a beer to slow down with rather than one built for a quick pint.
Not currently listed on Saucey; check Kyoto Brewing Co.’s own site or your local specialty bottle shop for availability.
2. Live, Laugh, Lavender
| Brewery | Reubens Brews (Seattle, Washington) |
| Style | German-Style Wheat Beer |
| ABV | 5.3% |
Reubens took its standard German-style wheat beer, the one built on Pilsner, white wheat and Munich malt, and steeped it with lavender flowers alongside lemon zest rather than leaning on lavender alone. The lemon zest is doing real work here, it cuts the floral sweetness before it turns soapy, which is the single biggest risk with any lavender beer.
Not currently listed on Saucey; check Reubens Brews’s own site or your local specialty bottle shop for availability.
3. Honey Lav
| Brewery | Blackrocks Brewery (Marquette, Michigan) |
| Style | American Wheat |
| ABV | 5.2% |
Blackrocks’ summer seasonal pairs Michigan honey with full lavender flowers rather than extract, brewed as an unfiltered American wheat so the honey’s texture carries through into the finish. It only runs May through August, so it is built as a warm-weather patio beer first and a novelty flavor second.
Not currently listed on Saucey; check Blackrocks Brewery’s own site or your local specialty bottle shop for availability.
4. Honey, I Lav You
| Brewery | Ex Novo Brewing Company (Portland, Oregon) |
| Style | Kolsch with Honey and Lavender |
| ABV | 5% |
Ex Novo brewed this Kolsch with honey malt and orange blossom honey for sweetness, then fermented it warm in the Cologne tradition before adding fresh lavender sourced from Los Poblanos, a working lavender farm in New Mexico. The orange blossom honey is the detail that separates it from a straight lavender wheat beer, it adds its own floral note rather than just plain sugar.
Not currently listed on Saucey; check Ex Novo Brewing Company’s own site or your local specialty bottle shop for availability.
5. Lavender Menace
| Brewery | Georgetown Brewing Company (Seattle, Washington) |
| Style | Purple Lager |
| ABV | 4.2% |
Georgetown built this one for looks as much as flavor, a lager dyed genuinely purple with a candied lavender character layered on top. At 4.2% ABV it is the lightest beer on this list and reads as an easy-drinking novelty lager rather than a beer built to showcase lavender as a serious ingredient.
Not currently listed on Saucey; check Georgetown Brewing Company’s own site or your local specialty bottle shop for availability.
What is the best lavender beer overall?
Shimon from Kyoto Brewing Co. is the strongest all-around pick, a Belgian Blonde built specifically because the style’s yeast character already complements lavender’s own floral notes. Reubens Brews’ Live, Laugh, Lavender is the best choice if you want the flower balanced against citrus rather than standing alone.
Does lavender beer actually taste like lavender, or is it mostly perfume-like?
It depends heavily on dose and balance. Beers that pair lavender with honey or citrus (Honey Lav, Honey I Lav You, Live Laugh Lavender) keep the floral note in check with sweetness or acidity. Beers built to showcase lavender on its own, like Shimon, lean more floral and can read as soapy to drinkers who are not used to herbal beers.
Is lavender beer a year-round style?
No. Most lavender beers on this list are seasonal releases, since fresh lavender flowers are only available at certain times of year. Blackrocks’ Honey Lav is explicitly a summer seasonal, and several of these beers are limited or rotating releases rather than permanent lineup beers.
This niche covers more genuine brewing technique than the novelty label suggests.
