Beer & A Recap: Family Ski Vacation Edition

Hey there Drinkers!

I just got back from a lovely ski trip in Colorado, so I thought I would update you on my Rocky Mountain drinking adventures. Unfortunately, I didn’t do much movie watching, so this entry will be a little thin on a the cinematic end. But I did have some (many) great beers, so I hope that makes up my failings. For those of you who follow BAAM on Facebook (www.facebook.com/beerandamovie1), a few of these will be repeats, but you’ll just have to deal with it. Let’s get started!

Crazy Mountain Amber Ale:
I really enjoy amber ales. I find that they serve as great middle-of-the-road beers that easy to drink but still have some great flavor. Crazy Mountain however was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was a decent beer, but as an amber it was a bit too hoppy and grassy in its flavor. I’ve done some reading and it looks like this is a canned beer. I had it in a pint glass, but I’m mildly biased against canned beers, just to put it out there. Anyway, as this is a local Colorado beer, odds are I won’t be seeing it all too often, which is fine with me.

Avery Out of Bounds Stout:
A simple, solid stout that most anybody can drink. It’s a bit hoppy for a stout but it works quite well. Also, it’s strong chocolatey flavor tends to linger around for awhile which is really nice. Sure, the beer isn’t “out of bounds” crazy delicious, but it’s a good beer to sip after a long day of skiing.

Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA:
A great followup to my review of Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA. With a longer hopping schedule, you can really notice the increased hoppy character and complexity of this beer. Remarkably still, it’s not too overwhelming as an IPA, again confirming that Dogfish Head really knows what it’s doing.

New Belgium’s 1554:
One of my favorite darker beers. The 1554 “Enlightened Black Ale” is a very approachable dark beer that I think surprises most drinkers. Though quite malty and chocolatey in flavor, the beer itself is not too heavy or overbearing. Rather, it ends up being a very easy-to-drink beer that I think most casual drinkers would enjoy. This one is very easy to find, so I suggest you pick up a few and share with your friends.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale:
A simple, classic pale ale that doesn’t get too crazy on you, if you’re in the mood for a casual, refreshing drink. As a pale ale, it’s quite balanced in its hops and malt, relieving some of the bitterness that some pale ales can have. I’ve found that “pale ale” is a somewhat broad and vague term, but this Mirror Pond seems to sit comfortably in the middle of the road, just waiting for you stop by and take a sip.

Paulaner Hefe-Weisbier:
A simple, not-too-sweet hef that does the trick. This German wheat beer is not as sweet or citrusy like its American counterparts Blue Moon or Shocktop, but Paulaner is solid beer. It’s fairly light, refreshing but still has some of the wheaty body. You get hints of citrus in there, but it’s not going to knock you over the head either, which is fine in my opinion.

*Note: The next three beers I had the night I returned from Colorado and went to my favorite beer bar in LA, The Surly Goat. The beers were all (very) high in alcohol and I was fairly tipsy by the end of the evening. Just saying…

Craftsman’s Acorn Saison:
I really love saisons. They are much more wild and flavorful in their profiles than most other beers, which make them great for special occasions. This saison was a bit most tame in it’s flavor but was still quite delicious as you get grain, citrus and floral notes all at once. I didn’t get the acorn, for better or worse, but I’m not too heartbroken about that. And with a not-too-shabby ABV of 8.1%, I could definitely see myself drinking this again.

Ballast Point’s Navigator Doppelbock:
I think Ballast Point is my new favorite brewery and I’ve only had two of their beers. In an earlier post, I mentioned their Inda Kunindra Export Imperial Stout which has an unusual spiceness to it that I loved. Well, the Navigator also exceeded my expectations. This brandy barrel aged doppelbock is not for the faint of heart. Right off the bat you’re hit with strong notes of brandy and alcohol (more brandy). Once that dissipates, the more stable, doppelbock body kicks in to help mellow out the bite from the alcohol. This is a true sipping beer that needs to be enjoyed slowly with friends. So if you see this at your local bar, like I did, I would highly recommend you give this a shot. A long, slow shot…

Dogfish Head’s Robert Johnson’s Hellhound On My Ale:
Another mind-blowing beer from the same evening. To be honest, I was a bit drunk by this point in the evening, so I don’t remember the specifics of this delicious 10% ABV Double IPA. I do remember that the name “double IPA” seemed to be quite fitting for this beer, as it outshined any other IPA I’ve had recently. It was also quite lemony but not in an obnoxious or puckering way. Rather, it helped mask the very high ABV, which is always a good thing. Another great beer out of Dogfish Head, but definitely not for the casual drinker.

Really briefly, I actually only finished one entire movie this past week (I saw others but was never able to finish them, sadly). What I actually watched all the way through was Horrible Bosses. With great comedians and Jennifer Anniston’s unsettling sexuality carrying this film, it was hard not to laugh. It had some great one liners and some fun banter between the three protagonists, but the more I actually thought about this movie, the more it didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Which, I guess, is fine. Considering this film’s premise is already pretty extreme (“Let’s kill each other’s bosses!”), it really doesn’t do you any good to start thinking about relationship dynamics or actual narrative structure. Rather, this movie is just meant to be laughed while you having a few beers after a hard day of Colorado skiing.

Not horrible, just unsettling.

So that’s it, folks. Thanks for bearing with me with me through all this text. Regular BAAM entries will be back by the end of the week, so we should be getting back to normal. For those of you who don’t know, beer and a movie is now on Twitter (@beerandamovie1) as well as Facebook (www.facebook.com/beerandamovie1). The WordPress site is still the hub of BAAM, but Twitter and Facebook let me do some smaller, on-the-fly posts as well as help me get the word out about BAAM. So if you like what you’re reading, watching and drinking, hit me up on and share the love!

Keep drinking my friends!

Rogue’s Juniper Pale Ale & Juno

Howdy Drinkers!

I’m sorry for the gap since the last post but hey, life happens. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been drinking or watching movies. Rest assured, I’ve been doing both. Recently, I saw Mike Mills’s Beginners (beautiful. I highly recommend it) and also rewatched the classic Bond flick Goldfinger (essential viewing for any aspiring Bond-lover). I also drank a few new beers recently. I had a Duvel, which is a classic Belgian golden-ale which I found good, but not extraordinary. I also had Ballast Point’s Indra Kunindra which was fabulous. The Indra is an export stout that is very rich and has a great spice to it (like actual, spicey spice, not holiday spice). If you see it, drink it! But that’s in the past. Tonight, I drank 22 oz’s of Rogue’s Juniper Pale Ale while watching the 2007 indie heartwarming blockbuster Juno.

Soooo for like the .001 percent of you who haven’t seen this totally brainsploding adult-teen dramaromcom, here’s the skinny…Yeah I can’t keep writing like that. But that’s one of the most noticeable facets of the 2007 indie flick Juno. Diablo Cody’s writing style is now unmistakeable and often repeated but back in the stone age of 2007, Ellen Page’s ultra-snarky pseudo-slang was fresh, original and a provided a welcome break from the classic high school comedy milieu with which we are all too familiar. Combined with the somewhat unusual topic of teen pregnancy and it’s blunt vision of the subject, this was the breakout film of the year.  I did find the dialogue a bit tiring after awhile and Juno’s attitude is a bit too flippant and consciously  quirky to suit my tastes, but overall it’s a good film. Visually, it’s simple (in a good way!) and the performances are earnest and caring. Ellen Page does a great job of bringing a character to life who could have easily been a caricature. And sure you it’s a bit baffling as to why Jason Bateman’s character is married to Jennifer Garner’s character (who really remembers the character’s names?)  considering they seem to be inhabiting different lives, but it’s pretty easy to forgive that as the movie progresses. I do actually appreciate how Bateman’s character kind of disappears in the third act because it shows a bit of courage (or laziness) on the behalf of the filmmakers, considering Bateman quite literally isn’t important anymore to any character’s future.  But I digress, aside from the occasionally overwritten scenes and the very carefully (and too obviously) constructed indie/punk/folk soundtrack, I enjoy this film. As I imagine is the case for most viewers, it’s hard to not let this film make you sad, happy, thoughtful and hopeful all while realizing that Ellen Page is the shortest actress ever.

Also, small qualm coming from a former track & field athlete: what event does Michael Cera run?! He trains for distance but he always seems to be competing in sprinting events and wears sprinting spikes…and he eats breakfast burritos as he’s about to run. Just saying.

Oh I just happen to be talking on my hamburger phone. What a fun, little, random, completely unmanufactured quirk of my completely non-purposefully quirky teenage lifestyle.

So let’s talk about Rogue’s Juniper Pale Ale. Here’s the story of how I chose this beer: I like to buy my beers at a small, locally-owned shop in Highland Park called Galcos Soda Pop Stop (seriously, go there. You’ll fall in l0ve). It’s this awesome joint that has a massive selection of craft beer and artisan soda. The real kicker though is that you can buy everything by the bottle, meaning you never have to get locked into a six pack. So anyway, I’m walking down the aisle with a buddy of mine and we stop at the Rogue section. I see a beer that says “Juniper Pale Ale” at the bottom and I say “Juniper Pale Ale? That sounds crazy!” And then I bought it. Fast forward two weeks and I’m cracking this 22 oz bottle open and I have no idea what to expect. Well, to be honest, this Juniper Pale Ale kind of just tasted like a pale ale. I mean, it’s a good pale ale, but I’m not sure where the juniper went. There were some faint earthy undertones but any beer with some margin of hops and malt (like any self-respecting beer should have)  should have some earthy/grainy notes. It was also just barely sweet, which may been the juniper, but it’s hard to say. As someone mentioned on BeerAdvocate, if you’re going to call your beer a Juniper Pale Ale, then you should be able to taste the Juniper. But kudos to Rogue trying out something new because that’s what makes craft beer so exciting. I’ve been meaning to try some of Rogue’s other beers so hopefully we’ll see them again here on BAAM in the near future. Recommendations anyone?

So BAAM is finally back with Juno and a Juniper Pale Ale. Both are good, but not great. Juno is sweet, refreshing and heartfelt but it’s hard to not feel like everyone is trying just a little too hard as a result of the unnaturally witty dialogue. The same goes for Rogue’s Juniper Pale Ale. It’s a solid pale ale, but the juniper doesn’t really shine through or even really make a strong impression. So if you want your juniper, you might be better off with some gin (gasp).

Looking to the future, I’m going home briefly for the holidays, so I’m not sure how regularly I’ll be posting. I’m going to try and get another one up before I head back East but don’t hate me if I miss the mark. Otherwise, I’ll do my best to get you a guys a good New England beer and a movie edition. But until then. Happy Holidays and Happy Drinking!

Tonight’s Tasting Notes:

Rogue’s Juniper Pale Ale: 
Pours a hazy, light golden color
Solid, pale ale flavor
Lacking on the juniper front

Juno:
Earnest & sweet approach to a tricky subject
Witty dialogue is sometimes too witty for its own good
Canadian actors Michael Cera & Ellen Page prove that they can play American characters. Minds explode.