Don’t think I’m weird. Having grown up on the Maine coast, I’ve gnawed on the occasional piece of seaweed. It’s not bad! (Try the stuff right out of the water, of course; that dry wrack on the beach is a little too crunchy.) Then again, with its rubbery, gelatinous consistency and weirdly nondescript flavor, it’s not great, either. But it’s actually not that bizarre; seaweed, after all, is found in everything from sushi to toothpaste.

But beer? I may have munched a mite of marine algae on something of a lark, but never did I think I’d drink seaweed. Never, that is, until I came across Kelpie, a Scottish ale woven through with faint traces of that peculiarly planty flavor.

Back in the day, the rugged Scottish coast was dotted with ale houses that brewed their own product: hearty drafts concocted with malted barley grown on rocky fields fertilized with abundantly available seaweed. This infused the ales with the barest tang of oceanic vegetation. It’s not done quite that way anymore, but in Strathaven, Scotland, the lads at Heather Ale Ltd. do the next best thing when they toss seaweed, culled fresh from the Argyll coast, in the mash tun with dark malted barley.

Those who’re understandably wary of this briny brew should fear not. A deep-brown, barely translucent ale, it has a robust, surprisingly pleasing flavor. It’s a little chocolaty, a little smoky. There’s even the barely notable tinge of sea salt. It’s rich and full, a little creamy, with a gentle bite that soon dissipates like foamy waves receding down a weed-choked rock. S’weed!

Kelpie is available for $4.95 for a 500-ml bottle at Downtown Wine & Spirits, 225 Elm Street, in Somerville. Call (617) 625-7777.