In 2009 Midnight Sun set to work with a vision. They wanted to brew something really special for the 30th anniversary of Specialty Imports. They are one of the few breweries (maybe even the first?) to brew a black IIPA. They use dehusked carafa to add a smooth rich dark maltiness to the beer without adding the bitterness or overly roasted flavor that some dark malts can impart. But alas, I'm getting ahead of myself. I was looking for the oak aged version but could only find the regular one. The oak aged is MUCH MUCH better. The longer aging smooths it out a bit more and the oak flavor is right on target adding even more complexity and smoothness. That's a beer for another day. I poured it into my snifter and at 8.5% it's got the viscosity of an even bigger beer. It's really dark. Sort of a black dark brown mix with a deep light walnut head with stays for a bit and leaves great lacing. There is a big roasted aroma with oats, bread, and of course those big citrus american hops.
After a couple of longs sniffs i dive into this old friend. It reminds me of Gonzo but not quite so thick. Its got a lot of malt up front but not so much to confuse this beer with an export stout or a Baltic Porter. No there's a lasting bitterness that while assertive, doesn't take over the beer the way it does in most IIPAs. Instead the beer finds this perfect balance between luxurious roasted malts and citrus hoppy bitterness. Midnight sun has found the perfect mix of chocolate and pine, espresso and grapefruit. The finish is strong but not oppressive which allows you to plow throw a bomber without blinking. This beer stands well on it's own as a warmer in long winter nights or would pair well with chili or chocolate. The only reason this beer doesn't rate higher is because I've tried the oak aged version and therefore i know it can be even better.
The movie starts out in New York harbor where a derelict vessel is found adrift. When the harbor Patrol boards it they find no one is on board......except a zombie!!! The boat belonged to a scientist who's daughter finds out he's missing and sets out to find him. She takes this bad comb over reporter with her to a Caribbean island to investigate. The only way to get to the island is by paying this American couple to take them. We soon learn that Americans can't travel from one island to the next without some naked scuba diving. It's one of the more unattractive activities you can do naked. What does she encounter while down there but A SHARK....and a Zombie. But that's not all. They zombie fights the shark. I think this song was the inspiration for the song Zombie vs Shark by Send More Paramedics.
They become stranded on this Island where Dr.Menard (our island quack) has been doing research into why the dead on the island have been rising. (I can think of safer medical fields to participate in.) There's not a lot of plot to tell. The two four travelers try to fend off hordes of the risen dead. It never really explains why the dead are rising other than some quick references to the possibility of voodoo. It is on an island so who knows.
There are some great scenes in this movie. Some of the most memorable scenes in any zombie movie i would argue.
The first of which being the zombie on the boat in the harbor. He was big and nasty and took a nice chunk out of a cop. It sets the pace for the rest of the movie. Oh yea and why are all Italian zombies covered in mud?
The second was the famous Zombie vs Shark scene. They even used green blood for the zombie which i thought was a nice touch. This was very innovative and original. If they were to redo this scene today they might try to use a shark that has teeth. That would make it more believable.
Third was the eye gouging scene. This was the first of it's kind. Dr. Menard's wife gets her head yanked onto a broken board. The splinters gouge into her eye in super slow motion. It looks just real enough to be awesome. Burial Ground did the same gag with broken glass. It just feels cheap after seeing the original.
Forth was the resurrection of the famous "worm eyed" conquistador zombie. Not only does he kill off the naked scuba girl but also has a little head explosion of his own. Judging by how these zombies rose from the grave I'm going to assume that the 6ft rule had not yet been enacted. These zombies were barley covered with leaves.
I know this is going to sound bad but even with all those great scenes i listed i still don't really like this movie. I think it moved slowly, none of the characters were really likable, and the action scenes were boring. I appreciate this movie for what it is and I'm proud to have it in my collection....but it's not the jewel some people make it out to be. Sorry Italy. Watching the special features only made me more angry. The people that they interviewed tried to claim that this was a totally original idea and the movie was better than Romero's Dawn. This movie doesn't hold a candle to Dawn of the Dead. Wiki says it's supposed to be a prequel. The DVD says it's supposed to be its own movie. I think it's hard to make a prequel to a movie that already had a prequel!!! Night of the Living Dead! If you didn't want your movie to get confused as a prequel maybe you should have named it something different. Zombi 2 sounds like your basing it off of zombi. Anyway that's a lot of rant. This movie was ok. The beer was amazing. Rent the movie. Buy the beer.
The Beer:
Aroma – 8/10
Appearance – 5/5
Taste – 8/10
Palate – 4/5
Overall – 18/20
Total = 43/50
The Movie:
Production – 4/5
Plot – 3/5
Gore – 4.5/5
Zombies – 3/5
Overall – 4/5
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