Locke McKenzie travels to Belgium, home to some of the world’s most creative, complex breweries, and still manages to try a truly awful lager.

For nearly 500 years, the Reinheitsgebot — German Purity Laws — have established quality standards for beer, but does it hinder innovations in brewing? Locke McKenzie asks German beer makers and enthusiasts.

In his new series about beer, Locke McKenzie, inspired by the Elysian Brewery’s Pumpkin Ale Festival, tries a few brews that challenge the traditional notion of what beer can be.