Beer to be made from yeast swabbed from Roald Dahl's writing chair

The unusual beverage will feature on the menu of London's Dinner at the Twits production

British writer Roald Dahl (Getty Images)

London's dining elite are always after the most strange and unusual of culinary delights - and this certainly is both strange and unusual.

Mr. Twit's Odious Ale has been brewed utilising yeast swabbed from the wood of Roald Dahl's famous writing chair; a specially-adapted armchair created to ease the pain of a back injury sustained during WWII, as the author avoided writing at a desk. With the permission of Dahl's estate, brewers took a swab from the chair itself, which will be used to culture all the yeast needed for the beer.

The Odious Ale is concocted by microdistillery 40FT Brewery and food designers Bompass & Parr. "We've been lifelong fans of Roald Dahl and so it's an honour to be collaborating with our friends Bompas & Parr to create this beer together," said Steve Ryan of 40FT Brewery.

"A fair number of our previous projects have been inspired by Roald Dahl in some way or other," said Harry Parr, of Bompas & Parr, "so it's been a delight to work directly with the Roald Dahl estate and, indirectly, one of the best-loved storytellers of all time, in his centenary year. By incorporating wild yeast cultured from inside Roald Dahl's writing chair in our beer to accompany Dinner at The Twits, it feels like we are injecting his own dark humour and effervescent sense of fun into the brew."

The beer will indeed feature on the menu of London's Dinner at the Twits, a new interactive theatrical dining experience taking place at Waterloo's The Vaults; details are scarce, but theatre company Les Enfants Terribles request guests, "join Mr & Mrs Twit in their windowless house and ghastly garden for an evening you will never forget."

Dinner at the Twits runs 4 September - 30 October.