Boos and Brews: Day 5 - John, Chris C and Charlie

We all have that one movie we have to watch around the Halloween season, and what better way to enjoy that film than with a nice frothy beer? Boos and Brews chronicles the BGH crew's favorite Halloween-time movies, paired with a delicious beer. Drink up!

John

Boo: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - Director: Tommy Lee Wallace

JOHN: Every October, there’s an annoying jingle that runs through my head a few times a week at least. You know the one, it’s set to the tune of London Bridge and reminds trick-r-treaters how much longer they have to buy a Silver Shamrock mask. I’m an unabashed supporter of Halloween III: Season of the Witch. I wish I lived in an alternate universe where there were only two Michael Myers movies and we were all looking forward to John Carpenter’s 34th annual Halloween anthology movie. We could have had a on-going film series of weirdness, camp and crazy ambition that might have even occasionally turned out some classics, but instead we got the diminishing returns of Michael Myers coming back from the dead again and again, an overly complex mythology for a character who works best as an unexplainable boogieman, and eventually Rob Zombie. I’ll take Tom Atkins, killer robots and brain-bugs over that any day.

Brew: Dry Irish Stout - Brooklyn Brewery

JOE: Two things about this movie have always stuck out to me. The Silver Shamrock song and Tom Atkins’ machismo oozing out of the TV while I watched him. Disgusting? Possibly, but it made me the man I am today. So I guess blame him. But while you’re trying to take all this in I’m going to put down Brooklyn Brewery's Dry Irish Stout and let you bask in all its splendor. If ever there was a  meat and potatoes beer to match all the manliness of Mr. Atkins, it’s this beer. This stout delivers a great coffee aroma and flavor with notes of chocolate and caramel. It finishes dry, as the name would lead you to believe, and only comes in at about 4.7% ABV so you can drink 9 or 10 of these and still stand up. Just like Tom Atkins would want.

Chris C

Boo: Nosferatu (1922):- Director: F. W. Murnau

CHRIS C: Nothing says Halloween to me like the original Nosferatu.  The crackling black and white film, the eerie calm of the silence, and the animalistic take on the Dracula legend make it the ultimate scary movie. Bela Lugosi might be suave, but Max Schreck's vampire is the one that inspires true terror. What urban legend surrounding movies is better than him being an actual vampire? Ninety years later, no one has made a more terrifying vampire. As Jack Skellington sang, "this is Halloween!"

Brew: night Terrors - Only Child Brewing

JOE: Thought you could go all smart on me and pick a movie I never saw did you! Well jokes on you because I watched this one back in my college days when I thought I was smart and cultured. You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on old Joey boy. And I have a 3 year old who already gets up early so I’m up at the crack of dawn just to have some alone time before my little whirlwind of cheerios and smiles comes running out of her room. Sometimes I even drink at this time of day. And if I was going to sit down watch Nosferatu I’d probably pour myself a bottle of Night Terrors by Only Child Brewing from Northbrook Illinois. It’s a cascadian dark ale or black IPA so it combines the hop bitterness of an IPA with the roasted malt goodness of a porter or stout. Plus it’s dark, which is kind of a big deal for vampires. So in closing, if you really want to pull one over on me you might want to just stay up really late and give it a go. I might be up before 6am every morning but I’m a giant mess if I’m not tucked into bed by 10pm.

Charlie

Boo: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - Director: Chuck Russell

CHARLIE: My favorite movie to watch around Halloween season has always been Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. It's the perfect mix of camp, gore, fun, and fantasy. It's the pinnacle of what makes Freddy himself to the masses, and has creative kills all throughout. Not to mention the killer soundtrack headlined by Dokken's "Dream Warriors" ballad!

Brew: Dreamweaver Wheat - Troegs Brewing Company

JOE: Wheat beers are big around the summer months, but I’ve always been a fan of them during the fall season as well. Yes, the days are getting shorter and it’s getting colder but what’s better than a nice tall glass of sunshine after spending the entire day raking leaves in the yard? Nothing is the answer and I thank you to not question me anymore. Troegs Brewing Company's Dreamweaver Wheat is just the beer that I think Freddy would enjoy after taking a day off from hunting teenagers to do some tidying up around the yard. The brewery actually uses open top fermentation tanks that allows them to skim off the yeast as it rises to the top during the fermentation process. This allows them to use the same yeast in the next batch of beer, thus making it unkillable. Just like our favorite knife gloved funny man. Notes of clove and pepper will go well with a nice slice of pumpkin pie and if there’s something more adorable than thinking of Freddy at home with an apron on baking a pie I don’t know what it is.