Brew and View is Back!

We’re back! The Summer Brew and View partnership between The People’s Critic and Pantheon Brewing Co. founder, Michael Kaplan is back for year two! Summer is a magical time of year, so it’s fitting that Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI has released its sixth brew in their planet series: Uranus, nicknamed “The Magician.” This double black IPA is out of this world! Hoppy from the start, this Black IPA deceives you with hints of citrus and chocolate rather than the malty heft usually associated with these styles. This is a sipping beer that pays off big, but have a bite to eat before tackling this 9.5% ABV brew, or the only disappearing act you’ll see is the memory of your evening.

And what better film to pair with a beer as masked in prestidigitation as “The Magician” than one that combines the magic of the silver screen with that of illusionists. That’s right, this week’s film pairing is Christopher Nolan’s fifth movie, The Prestige. Like his film Inception,this film was a follow-up to a Batman film. After Batman Begins, Nolan and his brother Jonathan wrote this suspenseful movie about two rival magicians who become tangled in a dark battle to pull off the greatest illusion ever performed (much like how I imagine the brewers at Bell’s battled as they set out to create the best Double Black IPA). Christian Bale stars with Hugh Jackman along with some very strong supporting work from Scarlet Johansson, David Bowie, and of course, Michael Caine. According to the film, the term “prestige” is one magicians use to describe the final part of a trick where something vanished reappears. This term will likely also apply to your empty glass the moment you realize you’re out of “The Magician.” Enjoy and drink responsibly! See you next week.