Anchor Brewing’s Liberty Ale & Chicken Run

Evening, Drinkers!

Tonight we’re back with another beer from Anchor Brewery and continuing with our recent trend of discussing American values in cinema (4th of July slasher, death racing as an American pass-time, Team America: Fuck Yeah!). On tonight’s menu? Chicken. And Liberty.

Get ready.

Tonight’s movie is a bit of a throwback, but I think most of you should remember it. Back in 2000, the incredible creators of Wallace & Gromit took a break from their famous characters to bring us Chicken Run. Utilizing their unmistakeable claymation style, Peter Lord and Nick Park recreated the classic film The Great Escape with chickens. It’s a little odd, but that’s kind of what these guys do. In short, the chickens of Tweedy’s Farm work to escape the confines of their farm/prison by enlisting an escaped American circus rooster (improbably voiced by Mel Gibson) to train them to fly. In between the silly setup and the film’s high-flying dramatic conclusion, there’s the usual slew of amusing antics that one would expect of a bunch of British lady-chickens trying to fly. And that’s kind of what this film is. Antics. And it’s great. Sure the plot is a bit predictable and the movie is a bit short (a speedy 82 minutes), but that’s not really why you see this film. If you’re like most viewers, it’s mostly a quick, fun distraction that satisfies both parents and kids. It’s goofy enough for the little ones and has enough sly, British humor for the adults. Not to mention you have Mel Gibson pretending to be funny and carefree. That’s always a hoot. But simplicity or not, you still have to appreciate the creativity and labor that went into this film. As I’ve said with other stop-motion films, just the sheer amount of work that goes into creating one of these feature-length films is alone worthy of praise. But on top of that, you have distinct characters and a plethora of witty chicken-themed puns. What more could you ask for?

You could ask for a chicken dance scene, but they have that already.

Onwords to beer! Now the strangely astute and the hopelessly bored may notice that I’ve actually discussed Anchor’s Liberty Ale in last year’s holiday recap. However, since my review was about three sentences long and my opinions towards IPAs have changed pretty dramatically since then, I figured I owed it to this beer to give it a second shot. And I’m glad I did. This San Francisco IPA is arguably one of the maltier IPA’s I’ve had. It’s actually hard to classify it as an IPA, as the floral bitterness from the hops is very well-balanced caramel-y malts. You also get some fruity hints in there, which takes some of the weight out of the beer, making it perfect for a warm Los Angeles evening. Pouring a hazy gold with a thick, lacy head, this brew is at once easy to drink and multi-faceted in its flavor profile. And while I wasn’t the biggest fan of Anchor’s summer wheat, I have to admit that the Liberty has inspired me to check out some more of this brewery’s creations.

So that’s our evening of Liberty, folks. There were chickens running wild, beer was flowing and I was laughing by myself in my darkened living room. So it was a pretty typical Wednesday for me. Zing!

Remember that if you have any beers or movies that you would like to see here, just leave a comment, hit me up on Facebook or find me on Twitter.

And, as always, keep drinking my friends!

Tonight’s Tasting Notes:
Anchor Brewing’s Liberty Ale:
-Hazy gold color with 2-inch lacy head
-Sweet, floral hoppiness
-Well-balanced maltiness

Chicken Run:
-The Great Escape as performed by clay chickens
-Sharp, British humor
-Mel Gibson plays a douchey American. Shocker.

Anchor Brewing’s Summer Wheat & I Know What You Did Last Summer

Hey there, drinkers!

We’re still in summer mode here at BAAM and we’re getting ready to celebrate the 4th of July! And what better way than to drink a relaxing wheat beer and watching a 90’s slasher film that, for no apparent reason takes place on Independence Day? I can’t think of any better alternatives. None whatsoever. Let’s begin!

Ful disclosure: I’m generally not one for the slasher genre. I find them a bit dull, predictable and not particularly scary. And I think it’s safe to say that the annoyingly titled 1997 slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer fits the bill quite well. After a night of irresponsible underage drinking and pre-marital sex, four teens accidentally hit some dude with their car. Logically, they decide to dump him off a pier rather than notify the police and ruin their upcoming college careers. Let’s take a moment to note that this film takes place in the wealthiest and whitest, small fishing town in the United States. Fact.

I miss 90’s fashion

Anyway, a year later, a hook-wielding killer comes to town to exact his revenge. The film does a pretty good job of concealing the identity of the killer, throwing the audience off by killing of our top suspects pretty quickly. However, all this clever planning collapses when (SPOILER ALERT) it turns out that the killer is really just the random guy they hit the year before. Surprise! But let’s talk about why we really watch slashers: the kills. Unfortunately, the deaths in this film are neither too gruesome or inventive. Obviously, it’s still not a great movie to show your kids but you know what I mean. The most gruesome and graphic death is the first kill and all the other ones are pretty boring or implied (re: off screen). For the most part, they are all variations of “Person gets stabbed with hook. Unfortunate death ensues.” Oh and I haven’t even mentioned the dialogue yet. Ryan Phillippe’s improbably named character, Barry, violently snaps between douchebag and rage while Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt read stock romantic lines like “I understand your pain.”

Okay so maybe some of you have a soft spot for this movie. I know a lot of people from my generation grew up with slashers like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream, but that doesn’t make them good movies. Yeah sure, the film is mildly entertaining in a mindless sort of way, but there have to be better slashers out there that are more satisfying in their dialogue and their deaths.

…okay so maybe not so much with the dialogue, but maybe they must have other redeeming qualities.

Okay now I get it

And our summer slasher beer? Tonight we tried San Francisco-based Anchor Brewing’s Summer Wheat, a nice attempt at a simple light beer with a little bit of wheat body. I say attempt on purpose though. To be honest, I found the flavor of this beer to be a little lacking. That well-known wheat flavor from beers we love like Blue Moon was mostly absent. In its place was just a mild graininess that I did not find particularly satisfying. Simply put, it was kind of plain. I hate to say it, knowing that Anchor Brewing makes so many other great beers, but this Summer Wheat lacked that distinctive wheaty flavor and didn’t back it up with enough of a malt character. Instead, you get a light and mild beer that is easy to drink but not particularly satisfying. Sorry folks.

So that’s it! Our summer continues as we get ready for the 4th with a little blood and beer. However, it hurts me to say that the combo wasn’t too fulfilling. I Know What You Did Last Summer comes off mostly as an excuse to have pretty people on screen (just like any other self-respecting summer movie) while Anchor’s Summer Wheat fails to stand up to the other heavy hitters of the wheat beer world.

Stay tuned later this week, because I hope to get out a 4th of July special that may or may not actually come out on the 4th. We’ll see?

Either way, keep drinking my friends.

Tonight’s Tasting Notes:
Anchor’s Summer Wheat
-Pours a light straw color
-Thick, lingering foam head
-No strong wheat or malt character

I Know What You Did Last Summer
-Classic slasher setup
-Uninspired kill scenes
-People wore funny clothes in the 90’s

Beer & A Recap – Holiday Edition

Hey there drinkers!

Now that I’m back from my East Coast holiday adventures, I thought I’d give you a brief recap of all the beers I drank and all the movies I watched. My next BAAM combo will be in a separate post in the next day or so, this way you don’t have to read too much. Because reading is bad.

Anyway, let’s get started.

(By the way, I’m doing these from memory so just bear with me)

Beers I Drank:

Magic Hat #9 –
One of my favorite beers. It’s light but full of nearly inexplicable fruity flavor. Self-described as a “Not Quite So Pale Ale,” I have to agree that this a very accurate description of this Vermont Beer. Very hard to find here in Los Angeles but whenever I see it, I drink it.

Trout River Chocolate Oatmeal Stout–
A very simple but fulfilling stout. I drank this after a chilly hike in the Green Mountain State and it really hit the spot. Smooth, flavor with strong notes of chocolate. Too bad I can’t get this in LA…

Anchor Steam Liberty Ale-
A very hoppy and rich ale that may be just a hair too hoppy for my tastes. Anchor Steam does some good stuff but their beers tend to be a little more bitter, so bear that in mind if you’re going to give this piny-tasting beer a shot. Otherwise a very solid beer.

Harpoon Winter Warmer-
Along with Sam Adams, Harpoon is pretty Boston beer royalty and this Winter Warmer is definitely up to snuff. I had a few of these with some friends at a local bar and I was shocked at how smooth this dark, winter ale was. With strong notes of holiday spices and a lovely brown color, this Winter Warmer may be one of my new favorites. Again, too bad I can’t get it in LA. I’m sensing a theme here…

Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection New World Tripel-
The shining beer moment of my trip home. Apparently, this season Sam Adams rolled out a new edition of beers called their Barrel Room Collection. These super classy beers are all sold in super classy bottles that pretty much force your hand into buying them. Seriously, see the picture to marvel at their beauty. Anyway, this New World Tripel was pretty much everything you want out of a great tripel. It was light in color, very grainy and citrusy in flavor and deceptively strong. New World Tripel is a whopping 10% ABV but it is remarkably easy to drink. For those willing to shell out a few extra bucks for a great beer and an easy buzz, I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Movies I Watched:

Clerks –
Kevin Smith’s first feature is a rambling, black & white, dialogue-heavy meander through the lives of a few New Jersey convenience stores clerks and the people that surround them. It’s very hard to say what this film is about as it covers topics ranging from Stars Wars, hockey, blowjobs and necrophilia. While the film is impressive in its allowance to its actors to just talk and talk and talk without the camera ever moving, the film really drags. Without a real, compelling narrative and generally annoying characters, I found myself not paying attention by the end of the film. Still, it’s an interesting bit of filmmaking from an independent standpoint, so it may be worth a watch for you cineastes out there.

Die Hard: With A Vengeance–
Yeah! A real man’s movie! Yippe Kay Yeah Motherfucker! And now that that’s out of my system we can proceed. This third installment of the preposterously  still-marketable action series marks a departure from the previous two films in that it takes John McClane (who are we kidding, it’s Bruce Willis) out of the confined spaces of office buildings and airports and out into the streets of New York City. This sprawling action film also features Samuel L. Jackson as a guy named Zeus. Yup. Anyway, this film is successful at never really letting the action die down. For the 2+ hours of the film’s duration, the audience (and Bruce Willis) get very little rest as the plot is pretty much dictated through the action (something not really done anymore). And while the film is successful at carrying us along for the ride, the ride gets a little old after awhile. For the last 30 minutes of the movie, I really just wanted it to end. I wanted Bruce Willis to kill the bad guy and save the day, but it just took him so damn long to do it! I think there was room in there for about three distinct endings to this film. But other than that, it’s hard to complain about these sorts of action movie classics. Because really, who doesn’t love explosions?

Labyrinth (well, I watched most of it anyway)-
Have you seen this movie? Be honest with me. Have. You. Seen. This. Movie. If the answer is no, stop reading and go watch it. It’s…transformative. Actually, that’s a bit of a lie but it’s still very much worth seeing, if only to see how truly odd Jim Henson really was. Oh and to see David Bowie seduce a tween Jennifer Connelly. That’s also worth seeing. That and the Bowie musical numbers where he’s surrounded by creepy little gremlin muppets. Dance Magic Dance! Oh oh oh how I could forget?! Bowie steals a baby. Yeah, that happens too.

Inglorious Basterds–
I realized that I had seen this before when I started watching but it was a long flight and I had time to kill. But really, I wanted to like this movie so much more than I did. I remember hearing about it from my friends who really enjoyed it, but I only got sparse and fleeting pleasure out of this Tarantino film. Undoubtably the writer/director has a great sense of style in terms of his writing and his visuals, but as I think I pointed out in my post on Jackie Brown, Tarantino gets so caught up in his style that he loses track of what he is really trying to achieve in his story. From a narrative standpoint, this films doesn’t really go much of anywhere. It slowly and clumsily hobbles from storyline to storyline amid bouts of relentlessly witty dialogue. Now, to his credit, Tarantino does get some great performances out of his cast. Not that anyone is particularly likable at all, but the actors’ performances are quite strong. Sure Brad Pitt’s character is a bit of a caricature and The Bear Jew loses all of his terror the second he opens his mouth, but in all, I think the all-around performances really helped carry an otherwise slow film. Oh and I think I might be in love with Melanie Laurent.

Crazy, Stupid, Love–
A simple, predictable and heart-warming romcom with enough self-respect to take it easy on the “com.” Have we seen this story before? Absolutely! Do we, as American filmgoers, really care that we’ve seen this story before? Nope! When you have a star-studded cast and Ryan Gosling’s star-studded abs, it’s really hard  for this film not to be a winner. Yes, some of the performances are a bit flat (I’m looking at you Ryan Gosling, even though I think you’re great) and we pretty much know how things are going to turn out but that’s not really what this film wants to be. What this film serves more as a tasteful reminder that we should always be striving towards that impossibility of Hollywood love and romance. And it’s very successful. You kind of want to fall in love after you see this movie, as much as you secretly hate yourself for watching it. For me, it made me want to fall in love with Emma Stone (surprise!).

No but seriously, I think I might be in love with Emma Stone.

Anchor Steam’s 2011 Our Special Ale & Special

Hey Drinkers!

Feeling special? I know I am. Because tonight we’re drinking Anchor Steam’s 2011 edition of their holiday “Our Special Ale” and watching the 2006 indie flick Special starring Michael Rapaport. So let’s find out if this really was a special pairing, or just an average evening.

Special follows the sad, lonely life of a Los Angeles parking enforcement officer (an occupation you never see on screen) who believes he develops superpowers after participating in a drug trial. Spoiler: he doesn’t actually have superpowers. But the film isn’t particularly concerned with convincing you of whether or not its protagonist, Les, actually has powers or is just crazy. Rather, its purpose is more to put us in the shoes of a man in desperate need of a change in his life. In Les’s case, that change comes in the form of a little blue pill called Special. Intended to “suppress the chemicals in the brain responsible for self-doubt,” Les instead apparently learns to float (Criss Angel status), read minds, walk through walls, teleport and be a badass. All of these powers are cleverly displayed, and disproven, using visual tricks, and it just makes you feel sad for Les (except for the badass part. He gets hit by a car twice and can still walk). But loneliness is what this movie really is. It’s a study in sadness. The writing and the acting are a bit stiff and generic, but the film’s photography is deeply infused with loneliness and alienation. Some of the greatest moments in this film are just long, silent shots of Les walking home after a rough encounter with the forces of evil. As Les points out, being a superhero is lonely work. He feels like everyone turns against him and that’s a fairly true assessment. As he comes to believe more and more in his powers, everyone around Les, including the audience, watches him deteriorate into madness. And while the absurdity of the premise and the general comic nature of Les and his powers help keep maintain levity, the film altogether leaves you feeling a down, because we know just how not special the protagonist is, even if he doesn’t realize it himself.

It is important to point out that this movie is very clearly done on the cheap. So with that in mind, it’s quite a remarkable film. The effects are strong, the cast is decent and it is shot beautifully. Kudos, indie filmmakers!

The face of a hero

But was our beer special? That’s a good question. Tonight’s 2011 Our Special Ale has an interesting history. According to the label, this beer is Anchor Steam’s 37th version of the beer. Apparently, every year they change the recipe of this beer with sole intent of creating a beer that people can come together over during the holidays. While I believe that most of these 37 incarnations are probably on the darker, more Wintry end of the spectrum (’tis the season for dark beers), it is hard to judge this beer based on its pedigree or consistency. But regardless, let’s talk about the beer that I drank tonight. It poured a dark, chocolate-y color and had a nice, dark malty aroma to it. Upon first sip, you’ll get hit with some unexpected bitterness up front. However that bitterness quickly dissipates into a sadly mild and fleeting pine-y taste. The woodsy flavor wasn’t bad, it just evaporated and didn’t leave much behind, which meant I easily forgot what this beer tasted like. And with such a dark color, I was expecting a fuller body but it actually went down very easily. Almost too easily for a Winter beer (typically winter beers are heavier, maltier and more complex compared to their lighter, crisper Summer brethren). The beer wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t much of anything sadly. I like Anchor Steam, but they may have missed the mark on this one. I hate to say it, but this beer was nothing special.

So that was my special evening: watching Special and drinking a 2011 Our Special Ale. Neither stands out as an amazing experience, but at least the movie was occasionally thoughtful and, dare I say, beautiful. Unfortunately I can’t really say the same for this beer. It was just too simple and uninspired to be the hearty Winter beer it should be.

Stay tuned for more editions of BAAM in the near future. I hit up my favorite beer shop this week so I have some cool beers (including two IPA’s) coming up soon.

 

Tonight’s Tasting Notes:
Anchor Steam’s 2011 Our Special Ale:
Dark, chocolate-y color 
Mild piney taste
Flavor lacks staying power

Special
Great premise with good execution
Not the best writing
Visually striking and thoughtful