My question: why do people make peanut butter beers.
Because someone wants to buy it.
Hahahaha ... thew actual correct answer.
Seriously, I'm just messing around. everyone should drink what they want to drink. I don't care for novelty beers, personally. They are great for about 2 oz but I don't care for more than that. But that's just me. I don't expect everyone to have pristine taste.
I know this is too late for the podcast and also really a side convo, but I actually spent a long time today pondering the concept of a "novelty beer" while running errands, some related to my first brew in several months and the maiden voyage of the hoist assembly for my Mash and Brew. (Time off -- that's a novelty!)
It's unclear to me when any homebrew ingredient is a novelty. I don't need someone to explain the style guidelines to me--I just read the new edition. I just think most homebrew is a novelty to begin with, whether we're dialing in a clone SMASH or throwing in half the pantry into a one-off. Peanut butter is not that strange an adjunct to begin with, given that like oatmeal it is another common pantry item (even if in this case it's being emulated with powder or flavoring). Peanut butter is also a natural complement to malty and/or roasty beers. I've had peanut butter beers that were, to my taste, absolutely delicious, and fully messaged "beer" to me. Not sure what I'm saying here, but IMO the world of homebrew benefits from an expansive interpretation.