Abe Lincoln vs. Zombies and New Belgium's Belgio IPA

So it’s been a good week for me and zombie movies.  Yes my friends I’m back and more motivated than ever.  I’ve seen glory and the promise of a bright future.  It’s called Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies!!!!  How could one movie meld history (sort of),  humor, horror, and romance all in one movie?  I’ll tell you how….Abe F*ing Lincoln that’s how!  And I paired this movie with a New Belgium beer that my wife surprised me with the other day, Belgo IPA.  It’s supposed to be a perfect blend of Belgian Trippel and American IPA.  You had me at Belgian…….you had me at Belgian.

The movie starts off big with a young Abe Lincoln rushing into his parents cabin after hearing a gunshot.  He found his father sitting in a chair with a self inflicted and fatal gunshot wound.  His mother had turned and was tied up to the wall.  Abe does what needs to be done and beheads his own mother.  Talk about convictions.  Even as a young man they paint the picture of a man with strong character and resolve.  Fast forward to the middle of the American Civil War.  Abe gets a report of a failed covert union attack.  The sole survivor was a Major who was undoubtedly turning into a zombie.  Lincoln decides he will lead a team of twelve men to the sight of the attack to find out what happened.

As Abe formulates his plan of attack I formulate my own plan.  It includes opening the bottle, carefully pouring into my Sam Adams glass and repeating as needed over the next one hour thirty eight minutes.  The beer pours a bright gold with dark hues where the glass widens.  The two and a half finger head foams up in a lively belian fashion.  The aroma is intense and assertive.  Classic American IPA.  Citrus and fruit like a tangerine and orange peel being smashed in your face.  But it doesn’t end there.  No there’s a small child mashing banana in your hair and sprinkling ground cloves into the yellow mushy mess.  Just when you think it’s over and old lady who reeks of flowers comes in and smashes you about the head and face with a warm and toasty loaf of French baguette.  And you’ve only smelled it.  The taste is more intense.  So imagine the same thing but instead of a little scary (but sort of funny) it’s now the most horrifying experience of your life.  It hitting a fruit truck going 110 mph the wrong way on the highway.  After which time your dead body is beaten by a roving gang of flower smelling old lady armed with more French bread than you’ve ever seen.  Only you’re dead because it’s that awesome.  It’s 7% abv 60 IBU bliss.

New Belgium does something very interesting with this beer.  Instead of using a fair amount of a less colorful (less roasted malt) they used a small amount of a much more intense malt.  They achieve virtually the same color but instead of a soft bready sweetness give the beer a more robust and slightly more stringent bite.  It really helps to balance all those hops.  I also appreciate the hop choice on this beer; Simcoe, Cascade, Armarillo, and Centennial.  It’s very American and very Pacific Northwest…..which I guess is synonymous with American as most of our hops are grown here.  Below I’ve taken the flavor wheel from the New Belgium website.  It’s a great tool to capture the many complexities of beer.  Part of me appreciates the simplicity of Flying Dog’s 2 bar, hoppy matly meter.  But the other part of me dares for a more descriptive measure.  Those with a particular craving or especially refined palates will appreciate the flavor wheel.

I’m not going to give away the whole movie but I was comment on some of the hilarious references and interesting parts of this film.  There is a young man from New York whose parents are killed and he fights alongside Abe.  Teddy, none other than Theodore Roosevelt, is not given a gun or sword.  But Abe instead hands him a big stick and tells him to walk softly……awesome!  General Stonewall Jackson appears as the non compliant turned hero confederate general.  And the generally unlikable Thomas Wilkinson is perfect for the part of Tom Wilkes Booth.  There are several other references which escape me at the moment.  I am pretty sure that this is one of those movies where the more times you watch it the more you get out of it.

Several things really surprised me about this movie.  First was the high quality of the CGI.  Normally I really poo poo digital gore but in this film they really make it work.  No there’s not as much close up gut munching but the beheadings look pretty real for a straight to DVD movie.  I’m constantly amazed at what technology can do.  Big movies get bigger and smaller movies get bigger too!  The film quality itself is amazing.  It’s got this professional grey-ish feel that a lot of low budget films just can’t capture.  Aside from the horrible and obviously fake (I really hope) mustaches the props and the everything was first rate!  Especially the opening battle scene!  Cannons boomed and earth exploded.  It was WAY better than I expected.  Also to note is that all the sets were awesome!  Seriously!  The filmed one part at a real fort and then old buildings and even a white house look alike.  I’m amazed at the quality of this movie and I will be purchasing it.

Here's one more picture for good measure!

The Beer:

Aroma – 10/12

Appearance – 3/3

Taste – 18/20

Palate – 4/5 

   Overall – 8/10

Total = 43/50

The Movie:

Production – 4/5

Plot – 4/5

Gore – 2/5

 Zombies – 3/5

  Overall – 3.5/5

Pontypool and New Belgium Trippel

Slow and steady I've begun chipping away at more zombie movies.  This is my favorite zombie that doesn't really have any zombies in it.  It's held together by the compelling performance of Stephen McHattie who plays Grant Mazzy a big time radio host who after being fired finds himself working in small town Canada.  Fueled by early morning booze and coffee this edgy character is a believable radio personality.  He tries to spice up the news-less town with his wild rants.  But he gets a real story.  The beer i paired with this movie has no symbolic connection to it.  It was picked because it's getting into the mid 80's here in Seattle and that is something I am just not used to.  But I don't drink pilsners and a wheat doesn't pack the punch I was looking for so I was forced to look elsewhere.  There at my local grocer, slapped in the middle of what I have begun to call the "token micros" (Stone, Sierra Nevada, Pyramid, Widmer, Red Hook, Deschutes...etc), sat New Belgium's Trippel for only $6.50.  Done and done!  Aside from fat tire i had never tired any New Belgium beers so i was pretty excited.  Well here goes.

First a little brewery background.  In 2010 New Belgium was the 3rd largest craft brewery and 7th largest brewery in the country.  That's pretty good.  Outside magazine named New Belgium Brewery the #1 best place to work in the country.  They use efficient kettles and pay extra to ensure they are buying the cleanest energy possible.  They employ several woman brewers and are committed to the health of their workers.  They have a vast array of beers of all styles and flavors.  They have a Rye ale with juniper and a couple of Bret beers (Brettanomyces for those that don't know).

Now for the tasting.  It is a bright golden color with a foamy white two finger head.  With a gentle swirl and a sniff the Belgian character smashes through the glass and into your nose.  Some spice and noble hops push down most of the alcohol smell.  The first sip is crisp and smooth sweet malts.  It's complex and fruity with a touch of coriander spice in the finish. It's 7.8% abv is noticeable but not overpowering and the 25 IBUs puts just enough bitterness in the finish to balance this beast.  This one is smooth enough and light enough for the frightened novice beer drinker and complex and interesting enough for the thrill seeking sud master.

The beer kicks in as the movie heats up.  As Grant starts spilling the incoming story about a riot at a doctors office all hell breaks loose.  You don't see it, you hear it.  It's terrifying.  The traffic reporter is a guy in a car parked on a hill pretending to be in a helicopter.  As he reports the riot he starts screaming about an explosion and people being trampled.  You hear the reports of people being dragged from their cars and being eaten alive.  The terror that comes through in his account is blood chilling.  There isn't any on scene killings but what you get is much worse.  The series where Grant reports the deaths of all the people in the town.  The cinematography is original and compelling. 

It's hard to go through this film as the premise is pretty complicated.  It has something to do with a virus in language.  I repeat "It's a virus in language".  Caused by the words in the English language.  I don't fully understand how the virus works but it's scary as shit.  Grant begins to realize that his radio program and his talking could be infecting the entire town.  The radio station becomes under siege as the undead break though the windows.  I won't give away the end, you have to watch the rest for that.

Although this film has minimal gore, it is original and scary like few other films in my collection are.  The American parallel (remake, version, whatever) is called Dead Air starring Bill Mosley.  It pales in comparison.  If your a zombie purist who has put off watching this movie please give it a chance.  This movie will shake you!  If you've already seen it then tell a friend.  This movie is a hidden gem and a worth while watch!

The Beer:

Aroma – 7/10

Appearance – 4/5

Taste – 7/10

Palate – 4/5 

   Overall – 18/20

Total = 40/50

The Movie:

Production – 5/5

Plot – 5/5

Gore – 3/5

Zombies – 2/5

  Overall – 4/5