2017 Halloween Pairing: Three Brews, Two Films
While everyone is putting up their Christmas lights, I settled in for the annual Halloween pairing. Better late than never, right?
I kept it easy this year. We drank a set of three and watched two movies. Without the flow of trick-or-treaters, I didn't have to take into account constant interruptions.
Film: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978) was even more silly than I remember. How does it get more silly? Well, as an adult I understood more of the jokes, and boy are they bad! I also have a deeper understanding of both the USDA and marketing strategies.
Drink: This grand cru was tart, sharp and biting. The intensity shocked me. A trick and a treat.
Eats: As per tradition, we started out with spicy buffalo wings. The tartness cut through the spice of the wings.
Film: I was still watching Attack of the Killer Tomatoes at this point. The master of disguise was blending in beautifully until he asked for ketchup. The PR spin they were putting on this attack may just work! The tomatoes were getting larger.
Drink: This oak-aged number had an intense sweetness that balanced out the salty, salty, salty pizza. The oak added an earthiness that quickly was covered by the malty sweetness and booze. This wasn't hiding anything.
Eats: Pizza, "Colorado-style" pizza, meh. It was so salty, I thought I was going to die. Good thing for sweet and boozy brews! The tomato sauce made me feel like I was making my stand against the vile tomato-kind.
Film: Killer Nerd (1991) was the pick, because it can't be bad, right? They made Bride of Killer Nerd after, so it had to be good. But...no. This movie was torture. If you haven't gathered, I'm a huge fan of the hokey, of the silly, of the laughable terror. This movie had none of those things. The main character, Harold Kunkle, finally snapped at 1:05 in this 1:30 runtime film. Through the killing he was chanting "nerd, nerd, nerd", which did elicit a few giggles. But for the most part, even the killing scenes were tiring and I watched the remaining 25 minutes jumping ahead 10 seconds at a time.
Drink: The stout was the salvation of Act 3. This was another boozy number that I had to brace myself for. Very harsh. I looked for complexity, but I was hard pressed to find the layers and layers of flavor you get with a good imperial stout. But, it was decent and it went well with the eats.
Eats: Pumpkin pie ended off the night. Store-bought, yet still delicious. A hold over from Thanksgiving and a nod to the holidays passed and holidays to come. Maybe pumpkin pie should be a Halloween staple too! The nutmeg spice went well with the stout. But nothing went well with that horrible movie.
It's never too late for a spooky movie and good drinks and eats. Now it's time to deck the halls and get that egg nog going. I'm skipping the 25 Drinks of Christmas this year after slacking on the posts for it last year. But still keep your eye out for good holiday booze in December.
I kept it easy this year. We drank a set of three and watched two movies. Without the flow of trick-or-treaters, I didn't have to take into account constant interruptions.
The Booze: The Demons of Ale
I busted out Avery's The Demons of Ale series I collected in 2010. This was going to be a trick or treat situation for us. I wasn't sure how it held up after questionable storage and a long-distance move. But with the super, duper, high alcohol content and strong malt backbone, I was hoping to be in for a treat.Act # 1 Biting Booze
The Beast Grand Cru Ale | 16.21% ABV
Film: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978) was even more silly than I remember. How does it get more silly? Well, as an adult I understood more of the jokes, and boy are they bad! I also have a deeper understanding of both the USDA and marketing strategies.
Drink: This grand cru was tart, sharp and biting. The intensity shocked me. A trick and a treat.
Eats: As per tradition, we started out with spicy buffalo wings. The tartness cut through the spice of the wings.
Act # 2 Sweet and Salty
Samael Oak-Aged Ale | 15.82% ABV
Film: I was still watching Attack of the Killer Tomatoes at this point. The master of disguise was blending in beautifully until he asked for ketchup. The PR spin they were putting on this attack may just work! The tomatoes were getting larger.
Drink: This oak-aged number had an intense sweetness that balanced out the salty, salty, salty pizza. The oak added an earthiness that quickly was covered by the malty sweetness and booze. This wasn't hiding anything.
Eats: Pizza, "Colorado-style" pizza, meh. It was so salty, I thought I was going to die. Good thing for sweet and boozy brews! The tomato sauce made me feel like I was making my stand against the vile tomato-kind.
Act # 3 Stout and Suffering
Mephistopheles' Stout | 15.95% ABV
Film: Killer Nerd (1991) was the pick, because it can't be bad, right? They made Bride of Killer Nerd after, so it had to be good. But...no. This movie was torture. If you haven't gathered, I'm a huge fan of the hokey, of the silly, of the laughable terror. This movie had none of those things. The main character, Harold Kunkle, finally snapped at 1:05 in this 1:30 runtime film. Through the killing he was chanting "nerd, nerd, nerd", which did elicit a few giggles. But for the most part, even the killing scenes were tiring and I watched the remaining 25 minutes jumping ahead 10 seconds at a time.
Drink: The stout was the salvation of Act 3. This was another boozy number that I had to brace myself for. Very harsh. I looked for complexity, but I was hard pressed to find the layers and layers of flavor you get with a good imperial stout. But, it was decent and it went well with the eats.
Eats: Pumpkin pie ended off the night. Store-bought, yet still delicious. A hold over from Thanksgiving and a nod to the holidays passed and holidays to come. Maybe pumpkin pie should be a Halloween staple too! The nutmeg spice went well with the stout. But nothing went well with that horrible movie.
It's never too late for a spooky movie and good drinks and eats. Now it's time to deck the halls and get that egg nog going. I'm skipping the 25 Drinks of Christmas this year after slacking on the posts for it last year. But still keep your eye out for good holiday booze in December.
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