Stone Spotlight Series Sprocket Bier & The Lego Movie

Hey there, Drinkers!

How are you doing today? Feeling AWESOME? Because I’m not sure if you know this but EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! That’s right Drinkers, today we’re pairing up The Lego Movie with our appropriately themed Sprocket Bier hailing from Stone’s Spotlight Series. So strap in (or snap in? Too much?), grab your glass and get ready!

When I first saw The Lego Movie, I had my doubts. How could you ever turn my beloved, story-less childhood toy into a movie? Didn’t you see what they did to Battleship? (Hint: no one did, that’s the problem). But I have to say that The Lego Movie truly defied my expectations and instantly turned me into a rabid fan. For those of you who don’t have small children or do but still somehow haven’t seen this movie, the film follows the adventures of an ordinary Lego construction worker as he gets hurled into a plan to save the universe from an evil businessman. At its core, the story itself extremely familiar and predictable. Throughout his trials, our hero learns about himself before saving the world, making friends and getting the girl. Pretty straightforward stuff, right? Nope! What makes The Lego Movie special isn’t its story but its execution.

At home with your Legos

First and foremost, the film’s attention to detail in its writing and visual is astounding. If you’re familiar with Legos, you know how detailed a world you can create with plastic bricks and the same goes for the movie. Every shot is teeming with bright, fun and well-thought-out details that make this fantastical world seem alive and familiar. Combined with the fun of seeing the familiar bricks comes to life in fun ways (water is a good example), you can tell that filmmakers took great pains to stay faithful while also maximizing their own pleasure in creating this movie. And the same can be said for the writing. It’s sharp, witty and moves at hyperspeed. I’ve now seen it twice and I still feel like I’m missing jokes. All of this combined with a stellar cast and an entertaining stop-motion-esque visual style  boils down to is a film that radiates love and respect for the toys many of us have grown up with.

Also, Batman!

There’s actually quite a bit more I could say about this movie but for the sake of time, I’ll just strongly suggest you watch this movie (my roommate is watching it while I’m writing this, if that’s any indication). Yes, the movie gets a bit preachy and its themes can hit you over the head (repeatedly) but that’s really a minor flaw for a film that is ostensibly for a young audience. Moreover, this movie is so fun and funny that it kind of earns a pass. Also, that damn song  is just so addictive!

So did our beer just SNAP into place? Mostly, yes. This interesting beer has an interesting history, so let’s start there. Apparently, this Sprocket Bier was the winner of the first Stone Spotlight Series brewing competition. Brewers from several companies teamed up and battled it out in a blind taste test. The winner, our Sprocket, earned large-scale brewing and distribution from Stone. The winner, Sprocket, is a self-described ‘black rye Kölsch-style ale.’ And honestly I didn’t really know what the meant. Kölsch’s are typically lighter in color with a little bit of hoppy bitterness. And frankly, I’m not sure what part of that description applies to this beer. Pouring a deep black with red highlights, the beer comes off as malty, herby and smooth (from the rye). It is surprisingly light for such a dark beer (maybe that’s the Kölsch?) and when combined with the relatively low 5.45% ABV, it makes for an easy sipper. So while this beer maybe isn’t as wild as our movie, it does go down easy.

So there it is, Drinkers. An AWESOME!!! movie with a decent beer. Lots of fun was had and no regrets were made. Thanks so much for reading and please remember to send in any suggestions you might have for future BAAM pairings.

And as always keep drinking, my friends.

Tonight’s Tasting Notes:
Stone’s Sprocket Bier:
-Black pour, red highlights
-Surprisingly light body
-Simple, malty flavor

The Lego Movie
-AWESOME!
-SPACESHIP!
-BATMAN!

Uinta Brewing’s HooDoo Kolsch & Live and Let Die

Hey there, Drinkers!

It’s time to Live and Let Drink! Not a terrible motto, right? Too bad this BAAM combo isn’t exactly worthy of such optimism. Today we have Uinta’s HooDoo Kolsch-style ale and the 1973 Bond flick Live and Let Die. It’s a light (lite) duo with much promise and much disappointment. And since you already know how I feel about the whole ordeal, let’s read more about it!

In 1973, Roger Moore hit the James Bond scene with Live and Let Die, a film mostly remembered for its Paul McCartney theme-song. And rightfully so. That song is awesome. The rest of the film is largely forgettable. Not to say that the details of the film are forgettable, because many of them are actually quite memorable, but rather the film as a whole can be easily lumped in with most other generic Bond movies. So what actually stands out about this film? Mostly its location and its peripheral characters. Unlike most Bond film, Live and Let Die takes place largely in the United States and heavily features African-Americans in leading roles. Not that those roles are flattering or positive or racially sensitive but hey, at least they’re there, right? And maybe most memorable piece of this movie is the occasional henchman Baron Samedi, the extremely well-dressed/never-dressed undying Voodoo spirit. Accompanied by his hearty laugh, Baron Samedi is a weird Bond antagonist who has a very loose connection to the actual Bond villain and mostly exists to add color to the otherwise drab story. In fact, the story isn’t even drab. It’s muddled. I admit I wasn’t paying close attention (but who does for a Bond movie?) but it was very difficult to understand what was going on and why. Fortunately, in classic Bond fashion, the bad guy explains his entire operation before leaving Bond to die in an overwrought and under-thought death trap.

Live and Let Me Be Creeped Out

If you take a step back, you’ll realize that Live and Let Die is pretty much the exclusive basis for the Austin Powers movies. Bond is left die in several compromising but silly situations (death by crocodile farm, death by shark tank, death by over exposition!). He immediately sleeps with every female her encounters. The villain explains every detail of his plan over cocktails with Bond.  Bond has several highly specialized gadgets that very silly (magnet-buzzsaw watch). The villain dies in the most absurd way. And the villain’s secret lair includes a monorail. Seriously. How is that not Austin Powers? But on a serious note, as a true Bond fan, it is always upsetting to watch one of these lesser films. They kind of suck the magic and allure out of the franchise and leave behind a frustrating shell of a movie. To be fair, I still laughed and smiled during this movie. But I was definitely laughing at the movie in the least respectful of ways.

Sorry Roger Moore, this one was just not a winner.

Because guns are just blasé

And how about Uinta’s HooDoo Kolsch-style ale? Well, much like Live and Let Die, I was disappointed. Like the Bond franchise, Uinta puts out great products but sadly, this one seems like a bit of a dud. Full disclosure: I do not typically drink lighter beers like Kolsch’s as I find them to be lacking in complexity. I’ve had a few lighter beers when the weather gets warm but they are always my go-to. That being said, I found the HooDoo to be a bit too simplistic to make me a repeat buyer. It poured a nice, clean golden-yellow that I would expect from a Kolsch. Its aroma and taste were fairly similar with notes of straw malt and light, floral sweetness. The body was probably a little heavier than most Kolsch’s (I assume but again, I haven’t had many beers in this style) but overall it was mostly light and refreshing. The beer is not a bad beer, it’s just not great. It doesn’t do much to stand out against the multitude of summer beers that hitting shelves now. Maybe I’m just a Kolsch-noob and don’t know any better but if you Drinkers have any suggestions for similar beers, feel free to send them my way.

So that’s it, folks! A bit of a letdown of an evening with Live and Let Die and Uinta’s HooDoo (did you get the HooDoo-Voodoo connection?). The movie was flat and silly and the beer was a bit uninspired. But all of that aside, any time you can sit down after work with a beer in hand and a movie on your screen is a thing to be thankful for. Besides, how else can you appreciate the good if you haven’t experience the mediocre?

And as always keep drinking, my friends!

Tonight’s Tasting Notes:
Uinta’s HooDoo Kolsch-style ale:
-Golden yellow pour
-Light, refreshing carbonation
-Simple, sweet straw flavor

Live and Let Die
-Thin, unconvincing plot
-Leans heavily on absurd Bond stereotypes
-At least it has a memorable song?