The Walking Dead (Season 1) and Russian River Pliny The Elder

I was hoping to have this one out before the premier of season 2 but I went and had a second kid.  That has slowed down the whole blogging thing.  I found out about the walking dead about two years ago when a friend of my father told him about the comic (ahem....graphic novel).  It was so good that some of volumes actually made me lose sleep.  That's impressive.  So I was a little annoyed when AMC picked up the series.  I know I'm not alone.  I was hoping that HBO would throw down and give it all the uncensored carnage that we all would like to see.  It could have been worse I guess.  It could have went to USA in that time slot right after Monk.  AMC has some pretty great shows out right now with Breaking Bad and Mad Men so I gave it a chance.  I decided the best beer to pair with this series (yes six hours and one beer...well one beer six times) would be Russian River's Pliny the Elder.  Much to my amazement I found a couple bottles at my local supermarket.  I bought all they had!  I had never seen it in bottles before and thought it might be the last time.  For those of you who have never heard of Pliny the Elder it's the famous IIPA that has won TONS of awards!  I read a zymurgy in 2009 that had Pliny the Elder trading off with Dogfish Head's 90 min for best bear in the US for 3 year running.  Pliny the Elder (not to be confused with Pliny the Younger) also won Bronze at the Great American Beer Fest in 2004 and a Gold in 2005.  Pliny also won gold at the World Beer Cup in 2005.  All of these in the Double IPA catagory.  It's supposed to be epic.

So I started off with the first episode and was immediately impressed.  They weren't rushing things as I had thought they might.  And it stayed fairly close to the comic.  I'm not sure why it's so important to me that it follows the comic so closely.  Perhaps it's because the comic was so well done.  The character development in the the comic was so amazing that you actually felt like you knew each character.  You shared their joys, disappointments, and fears.  Each time they deviate from the comic or change any of the characters relationships or mannerisms I take offense.  "That's not how Sean would react!" or "That's not how Andrea is!"  Those are my friends!!!!  The opening sequence in the Walking Dead was spot on and almost frame for frame from the comic.  Except that with the magic of TV everything was even more frightening.  The initial scene where Rick awakens in the hospital and is trying to figure out what's going on captured hopelessness and horror even better than 28 Days Later!!!  And that's saying something.

The Walking Dead is instantly a classic in my collection.  It fills a gap between a gory raw classic and an easily accessible show even my wife will watch.  In that sense it's the perfect show for pulling a large audience into the world of zombie mania.  More people than ever will start coming up with their own zombie survival plans and wearing I (heart) zombie t-shirts.  This will inevitably lead (if it already hasn't) to a slew of watered down zombie flicks looking to cash in on the craze.  The same reasons i love The Walking Dead are the reasons I hate it.  It's beginning to take away something that for a while (at least it seemed) was deeply personal.

 I was lucky enough to be able to try Pliny the Elder once before.  When my wife and I were traveling from Boston to Anchorage we stopped in Santa Rosa to do some wine tasting.  I had heard of the mystique that surrounded Russian River beers but because they didn't distribute to Massachusetts so I didn't have a chance to actually try them.  We were just walking through downtown Santa Rosa when I saw it.  It was like a shinning star!  Russian River was right there in front of me.  I fell to my knees in amazement.  Was it fate?  I had they're amazing jalapeno pizza bites and a pint of Pliny the Elder.  It was a day I'll never forget.  If you ever go there you'll understand what I mean.

The Beer!  So my notes on this review became less and less coherent as the films went on.  Perhaps it was because by the end it was getting really late, or maybe it was the 5 Plinys that went with Season 1?  Go to BeerAdvocate.com (bastards) link for Pliny the Elder or the Ratebeer.com site and you will see that this beer......is a standard setter.  It gets a score of 100 across the board in 4 different categories (including a professional rating).  The beer pours a dark gold with hues of orange topped with a thick cream colored head.  The aroma is overwhelmingly awesome.  There is tons of citrus.  It's like pounds and pounds of grapefruit, apricot, orange peel and lemon.  There's also a bit or resiny bitter hops that push through the barrage of citrus.  With the first sip after sip of this beer continue to push fruit on fruit into your tongue.  There's a certain level of balance with the caramel malt backbone but don't be fooled, this beer is all hops.  The malt is simply there to sweeten your tongue and get you drunk.  The hops are the driving force here.  The hops are much like Robert De Niro in Ronin.

The first season was breathtakingly original.  And that's difficult for a zombie series.  The actors (and actresses) are talented and realistic and the plot is thrilling but believable.  Greg Nicotero is the head special FX guy and his work is inspiring.  He did Planet Terror, Diary of the Dead, and even Army of Darkness just to name a few.  He also did Transformers, Public Enemies, Minority Report, Book of Eli and like 1,000 other awesome movies.  He not only does that bang up job in makeup but he also stars as several zombies along the way.  He's the guy that bites Amy and the guy that kills the deer.  It's one of the reasons this show is so great.  the death just seems so real.

That's Greg!!

For those that live under a rock or in North Korea "The Walking Dead" stars Rick Grimes, a cop who awakens from a coma to find himself in a world of zombies.  I know i know "that's 28 Days Later"!!!  It is but i'm going to give them a pass because they do it differently enough as to not be considered cinematic plagiarism.  He finds his family who have set up camp in a band of survivors just outside of Atlanta.  The biggest problem I had with season one was the rapid deterioration of human decency that was somewhat more drawn out and deliberate in the comic. This was a bit rectified in the second season where things just drag for a couple episodes.  I guess they needed some balance.  The characters they cast in the show bear an incredible likeness both in appearance and demeanure to their comic book counterparts.  It's almost eery actually.  Glenn is the most obvious, but Dale is spot on as well.  This show is so well produced that my wife (who hates TV and horror specifically) gets so excited for Walking Dead that she won't let me watch an episode without her.  It's the real deal.  I can't say any more about  it.  You need to watch it and you need to read it.

The Beer:

Aroma – 12/12

Appearance – 3/3

Taste – 20/20

Palate – 5/5 

   Overall – 10/10

Total = 50/50

  

The Movie:

Production – 5/5

Plot – 5/5

Gore – 5/5

 Zombies – 5/5

  Overall – 5/5

Evil Dead II and Ninkasi Tricerihops DIPA

I'm finally ready to take the advice of a friend of mine and review movies as a set instead of all hodge-podge like.  I have mentioned my biker/zombie loving/punk rocker friend in past entries but I think it’s time I gave him a name.  No he’s not imaginary, he’s just stealthy and there is a “no name drop” clause.  I was going to call him Dr. Know after the guitarist for the Bad Brains but he decided a more fitting name would be John Doe (of X fame).  Mr. Doe and I spent many hours discussing the inns and outs of zombies.  Thank you John Doe for your continued support and insite….Evil Dead II here we go!

While roaming the beer isles in search of a budget friendly bomber of beer (a BUFBOB) I saw a beer that has been on my “yea I’ll get around to it” list for a while.  I put it on my list when Solarjinx mentioned he was drinking Total Dommination (another awesome beer I will be reviewing soon).  This was none other than Ninkasi Tricerihops DIPA.  In my dyslectic (and partially drunken) stupor I had wandered by this beer dozens of times.  I had always mistaken it for Nikiski.  They both start with N and end in I.  The rest I smudged together.  Five bucks….done!  Thanks Solarjinx!

The first time I watched this movie I was confused.  It seemed just like the first one?  Granted, it's not totally the same but it was close.  Instead of 5 people there is just the 2 but they go to the same cabin and find the tape recorder with the translation of the book of the dead on it.  I did some reading and found out that this was the movie that Sam Raimi wanted to make the first time but didn't have the budget to.  The camera work is of the same high quality and creative nature as the first but this time it's a little more fun.  It starts much faster than the original.  In fact it almost starts too fast.  Within 5 minutes the evil spirit has captured Linda's soul (his girlfriend).  Raimi doesn't waste a lot of time with the drive to the cabin, discovering the cabin, and Ash giving Linda the necklace.  It's just "wow what a nice cabin" then "oh shit evil spirit possessed talking zombie things!!!"  Just like that.  I mean....Ash hears glass breaking.....his girlfriend is gone.....then when he finds her outside with crazy white eyes he immediately chops her head off.  No questions, no hesitation, just WHAM!!!!  NO MORE HEAD.  If everyone had this sort of no-nonsense decision making skills I wouldn't worry so much about the zombie apocalypse.

I take every evaluation seriously.  I take all the proper steps and follow the procedures laid out by those before me……most of the time.  Tonight was not one of those nights.  I drank four or five Deschutes Inversion IPAs and hate a Chipotle burrito with extra hot sauce.  So what I’m saying is that my taste buds aren’t at their purest most sensitive state.  My taste buds are a Michael Spinks in the embarrassing 31 seconds of my heavyweight title fight.  But, somehow, bravely, I fight through.  I pop the cap and pour that lazy peach colored liquid into my narrow tulip glass and silently admire as the tiny bubbles form a dense bread like head.  I’m cowering in fear as the rush of grapefruit, salty pine, and orange smash explode in my nose like a face fuck of flavor.  Yea I said it.  Pineapple and honey overtake me as I slip further into the glass.  I sip…..masterful.  Even with my salsa stained tongue I can clearly taste the sweet bready malt, covered with honey, and dripping with hops.  It’s much more balanced than I expected and much less bitter than I hoped.  It was unexpectedly refreshing.  As an IIPA I think it was less bitter than the Inversions I drank earlier (but maybe that’s the beer talkin).  It finishes smooth and long but without that little bite on your tongue.  My fear has subsided (of the beer not the movie, the movie is still terrifying (sort of)).  I welcome everyone with an extra five spot to experience this beer as a nod to the art of beer making.  It’s crafty.  But as a masochist I am left missing the pain that a Double IPA should bring.  I mean where’s the abuse in that?

The special effects on this one are vastly superior to the first movie.  It’s as if Evil Dead got all stoked up on coke and speed and decided to rob banks naked.  That’s what this film is.  And who took the muzzle off Bruce Campbell.  That bit of restraint that he had in the first film is completely demolished.  I’d go as far to say it’s not even the same guy.  His expressions are as over the top as the special effects.  The second movie adds some twists like the bit with the chainsaw (threw me for a loop the first time), the cool mirror effect, and the whole cutting off his own hand thing was pretty nice.  Raimi took everything he did well and made it better.  If there was a pipe that splattered him with blood in the first one, now it sprayed with the power of a fire hose.

It's horror and comedy smashed together into one of the most enjoyable performances I’ve ever seen.  I clearly see why this one is a horror movie classic.  If you haven’t seen it you NEED to see it.  In fact you should probably buy it.  I look forward to reviewing the fun but gentler Army of Darkness next and look out in the next couple years for Evil Dead 4!  It's in the works.

The Beer:

Aroma – 8/12

Appearance – 3/3

Taste – 15/20

Palate – 4/5 

   Overall – 7/10

Total = 37/50

  

The Movie:

Production – 5/5

Plot – 5/5

Gore – 5/5

 Zombies – 2/5 (i'm sorry but they weren't really zombies)

  Overall – 4/5