ST. LOUIS – Beer manufacturers are scrambling to create the next batch of “extreme” beers with such flavors as lemongrass or barley wine with 10 percent alcohol by volume. To stay competitive, craft brewers push the envelope when devising new beers. Even Anheuser-Busch has gotten into the trend with its recently released Wild Blue blueberry-flavored lager, the Associated Press reports.

While not easily classified, extreme beers are generally easy to spot: ultra-hopped ales or wood-aged beers. Brewers label “extreme” beers by strong alcohol content as well as unusual ingredients or different aging and brewing processes. Serious craft beer drinkers like extreme beers because they can talk about a brew’s “hoppiness,” “gravity” and “balance” just like wine drinkers discuss varietals, according to the AP.

Even though unusual brews do boost the bottom line, most creative beers are designed just for fun, these brewers said. “Brewers are really brewing for their own palates,” said Sam Calagione, founder of Delaware-based Dogfish Head brewery and one of early founders of the extreme beer niche. “We’re brewers first and business people second.”

Extreme beers include Square One Brewing’s “Spicy Blond,” a Belgian-style ale made with ginger and lemongrass, and “Belgian Tripel,” which contains 9 percent alcohol by volume. St. Louis Brewery Inc. brews a “Schlafly Reserve” series that has more than 10 percent alcohol by volume and includes oak barrel-aged barley wine and bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout.

Dan Kopman, COO of St. Louis Brewery, said, “Obviously, there’s a lot of interest in all this. … We’re going to try some things and make it really interesting for the consumer.”