Hello Everyone, and welcome to another installment of Pop Culture Pairing, a Tap Trail series where we take our favorite pop culture characters and pair them with popular craft brews. Catch up with past articles on Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and The Muppets.
In honor of the official start of the holiday season, this week we paired the iconic faces of Christmas with their matching craft brew. This list is divided into two parts: Classic Christmas Characters and Christmas Movie Characters.
Classic Christmas Characters
Santa Claus: Night Stalker – Goose Island Beer Co.
He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. Santa Claus is all sorts of messed up. How we as a society OK’ed a tradition of pretending some fat old white dude is watching your every move and breaking into your house once a year will always be a mystery to me. Much like this beer, Santa comes off as a sweet, but in reality he’s dark as hell.
Frosty the Snowman: Snow Roller – Magic Hat Brewing
This one takes little explanation. I would bet big bucks every kid at one point or another put a freaking hat on their snowman and prayed that it would magically come to life and lead parades around town.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: Rudolph’s Revenge – Iron Hill Brewery
Okay, there are a crap ton of beers out there named after Rudolph, so let me explain why this one is the most fitting. Rudolph is the comeback kid of Christmas. He went from zero to hero. How did he get his glowing mutant feature? Who nose! (ba dum tss) All that matters is Rudolph took the very thing that caused him so much bullying and shut down all the haters by single-handedly saving Christmas. Who’s laughing now, Blitzen?!
The Grinch: Filthy McNasty Russian Imperial Stout – North High Brewing
He eats garbage, has a crooked smile, and tried to steal Christmas. Plus, he was embodied by Jim Carey. Dude was awful. But then out of nowhere, a sweetness comes out of the filth. This beer is dark, strong, and has a name to ward people off. But after a few sips, you taste its sweet notes and start to feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Christmas Movie Characters
Buddy the Elf: Candy for Breakfast – MobCraft Beer
Buddy likes to stick to the elvish four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup. We already know he likes to pour “syrup” in his coffee, so it’s safe to assume his beer choice would be overly sweet. This pairing, however, is based off that disgusting scene where we have to watch Will Ferrell douse his spaghetti in syrup, load it with candy, and eat it for breakfast. Too much sweet.
Ralphie Parker: Red Ryder – Grand Armory Brewing
All grown up Ralphie wants is a Red Ryder IPA for his 21st birthday, but everyone tells him he’ll just drink his liver out. To his delight, his friends still buy Ralphie a six pack for his birthday! Wasting no time, Ralphie runs to the kitchen to grab a bottle opener. He furiously cracks one open, and the bottle cap flies right towards his face and pops out his eye. His past forever haunts him.
Kevin McCallister: Merry Prankster Imperial Red – Rock Bottom Brewery
Let’s dissect Home Alone for a second here. First of all, how is Kevin’s family shitty enough to leave their son behind on a trip to Paris? Second, why didn’t his parents at least call home when they realized he was gone thus informing Kevin that he didn’t accidentally wish away his family? And lastly, why didn’t Kevin’s family send someone to check up on him until they returned? Given how god awful Kevin’s family is and how much they totally deserved to be robbed, they are seriously so lucky to have a son that is as good at pranks as Kevin. Any normal child would not be smart enough to come up with the pranks that Kevin does. Clearly, Kevin bottled up enough anger towards adults to mastermind some of the stuff he did.
George Bailey: Existential Crisis Hibiscus Saison – Orono Brewing
We’ve all had the “what if I had never existed?” thought run through our minds at some point, but George Bailey got to actually see the repercussions in It’s a Wonderful Life. This beer is delicate, but it packs a lot of flavor, much like Mr. Bailey. George didn’t think he amounted to anything, however the end of the movie proved how much influence he had on those around him. A beautiful, soft ale for a kindhearted man.
Merry Christmas and Happy Drinking!