There’s something commendable about the cast of Jackass and their willingness to endure pain and suffering for the sake of comedy. Sure, people farting or getting hit in the genitals with a ball isn’t exactly highfalutin, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t laughing. A few years ago, one of the more pretentious movie critics I actually enjoyed listening to, on the podcast formerly known as Cinecast (#32, if you want to listen in), made a surprisingly vigorous defense of the first Jackass movie. His argument is that our society is, in some ways, constructed to avoid pain, and that the Jackass guys are laudable because they intentionally attempt to do things that no one else would ever think of doing. Yeah, that’s a pretty nerdy take on a movie prominently featuring poo, but it is an interesting perspective. Why do we avoid pain, and is that limiting our lives?
I just got out of Jackass 3D, and things have changed slightly. This time around, I’d say that the movie makes me wonder why society is constructed to avoid bodily waste products like vomit, urine, and feces. Oh no, wait, it didn’t. But it did remind me of that defense of the original Jackass, and I wish I had some sort of crazy disgusting beer to drink right now so that I could describe the experience for you, but alas, I have no Bud Light Chelada or Crazy Ed’s Cave Creek Chili Beer handy. Before taking in the cinematic wonder that is Jackass 3D, I did spend some time at another crappy sports bar… naturally, the selection was limited, but there were actually a few interesting beers on tap, so I tried out a stout, a style I’ve been meaning to get more acquainted with and which could potentially have provided me with a solid base for the vomit induced by the film:
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout: Pours a nice dark black color with a full, thick and creamy head that was retained for a surprisingly long time. I couldn’t really pick up much in the way of smells, but the taste was a solid chocolately flavor. It was a nitro pour, so it was very smooth and creamy (it had very little carbonation) It was chocolately sweet, but it had a bitter character as well – it wasn’t exactly the familiar hoppy bite of an IPA or anything, but I guess that’s why they call it a chocolate stout. It has a full body, but not quite as heavy as I expected. I’ve never really been a big fan of Stouts and while this is certainly something I can drink, it’s not something that’s really converted me to a Stout fan (as winter approaches, I plan on trying out more in the style though, so I guess we’ll see). It’s a solid beer, probably even better than I was expecting, but it’s not lighting the world on fire either. I’ll give it a B
I suppose drinking a heavy, full bodied stout on a full stomach before watching the latest vomit-inducing Jackass film is somewhat daring, but unfortunately, I didn’t actually throw up. I would really have enjoyed describing for you, in detail, the tastes and mouthfeel of the beer coming back up, but alas, it wasn’t to be. I’m sure some of you are taking that as a good thing, but I’m thinking of myself as a failure tonight. Thanks a lot Jackass!
Beer Nerd Details: 5.2% ABV on Nitro Tap. Drank from a pint glass.
I love a good stout or porter, and there are a whole lot out there. Stouts went through the same boom that IPAs are currently enjoying, I think. I couldn’t go anywhere without seeing a new stout or porter (the difference between the two is largely semantics…all stouts are technically porters, but porters aren’t necessarily stouts, something like that.) I for one loved the ubiquitousness (ubiquiosity?) of stouts, as they’re one of my favorite styles of beer.
I would start with Guinness. It’s not the best by a long shot, but it’s tasty, exceptionally creamy, and surprisingly light. It makes a great benchmark to measure other stouts by.
I liked but didn’t love Youngs. Chocolate and coffee stouts are tricky for me, I have to be in the mood. Oatmeal stouts, on the other hand, I can enjoy anytime, no matter what. Samuel Smith makes an amazing one.
Not a stout, but similar and awesome: MacEwens Scotch ale…not the reddish super malty type of scotch ale, but the other type, that’s dark and as thick as mud…I haven’t had that in forever…maybe this weekend! 🙂
Of course, I’ve had many a Guinness, and I do enjoy it. This is probably a lame comparison, but Young’s almost reminded me of a toned down version of a carbomb. A carbomb has that sorta chocolatey taste, though it’s obviously a little more creamy and, uh, strong. But yeah.
Samuel Smith is definitely on the list. Indeed, I had a bottle of it in my hand the other day, but didn’t buy it. I did get my hands on a bottle of Southern Tier Creme Brulee (which I believe Sov had recommended a while back) though. I might do a double feature of the Creme Brulee and Storm King Stout in the near future… But now that you’ve recommended it, I’ll definitely have to grab me a Sam Smith Oatmeal…
I figured you must have had many a Guinness. I like my benchmark theory, though. Guinness makes a great test beer to measure other stouts against. And it is slightly better in Ireland, but I didn’t think their was as big a difference as everyone says.
The Creme Brulee is very tasty, but powerful sweet. The Creme Brulee flavors blend really well with the beer. I think it works very well as a dessert beer, so to speak, but I wouldn’t want start the night with that, as the sweetness might mess up your palate.
I still haven’t had Storm King, though I’ve heard good things about it.
I agree completely on Youngs, it’s too heavy and chocolatey. (Shutup, firefox spellcheck, chocolatey is a word.) I find most chocolate and coffee/espresso stouts a bit too heavy and overdone on the flavors…Brooklyn’s double chocolate stout suffers from the same problem. Great Divide has their Yeti, an imperial oak aged espresso stout out, but I haven’t tried it as of yet.
An interesting dark beer style starting to take hold is the dark or black lager. You get the pleasant roasted malt flavors, but with a lighter body and a crisp lager finish. Magic Hat just put one out for their winter seasonal. I tried it last night and was pleased…it beats most winter seasonals, which tend to be overly spiced malty ales. Sam Adams has had a black lager out for a few years now…it’s ok, but it has that cloying butterscotchy diacetyl taste that most Sam Adams beers tend to suffer from.
And Custom Brewcrafters, the brewery my buddy Jeff just left had a fantastic dark lager, which really brought the style to my attention. They also have a phenomenal cream porter…Jeff assures me the recipe is safely stored to memory, so hopefully Trout River will start producing something similar soon.
Something else you might like, Mark, is an India Dark Ale. I’ve never seen one available in stores, only in my semi-local brewpub, but if it’s not out there yet, it’s only a matter of time. It’s just what it sounds liked, a heavily hopped dark ale. I imagine its a bitch to make…getting the hop profile just right to match the roasted malt can’t be easy, but with the right mix, it’s a hell of a beer. I hope you can find one, I’d hate to get your hopes up for a big tease.
Woo, that was a long post…it’s just a relief not to be typing on my phone…I do most of my posts from there, and it’s a pain.