OKBEEROK!-FEST?

OKBEEROK-(FEST)!

A bit late but here it is!:

Harlen Coben’s Tell No One and Fat Tire’s Hoptoberfest (Fort Collins, CO)

I like this match because it’s really a free for all, full of thrills and wit and suspense and mystery and of course, hops. Neither is new or any of that so to speak, but really, what’s the fun in having to figure everything out all the time? Isn’t a little of the commonplace perfected just as you like it just the thing sometimes? If that’s what you’re looking for, and I think we all are a lot of the time, this is a really good match for you. I can honestly say that Tell No One is a pretty perfect thriller that’s a ton of fun to read (and definitely packed with the twists and turns and the magic of a great pulp book), just as Hoptober is a pretty perfect beer (and equally crafted to excellence, with balanced malts, a rich nose, and the magic of hops!). I’d call this one safe, fun, and, well, pretty perfect, especially when dealing with the October doldrums!

(And ps, here's a clip from the excellent French film adaptation which among others stars Kristin Scott Thomas. Winner of 4 Cesar's (French Oscars))

Roberto Bolano’s Savage Detectives and Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal (Rancho de Taos, New Mexico)

I had such a hard time finding a beer for Bolano’s masterpiece that – yup, you guessed it – it came to the unthinkable. (And in October, no less!) And so Beerok is no longer just Beerok, it’s Beer-and-liquor-ok! And we say, what exceptional heresy! What delicious rule breaking! And what a good book and what a tasty mezcal! Anyways, The Savage Detectives is a lot of fun – pretty ludic, pretty gamey, which is cool – and seems like something Nabokov would’ve written if he’d been born a charming Spanish lover, sipping sangria under the sun all day long. Or tequila. At least that’s my take. Anyways, it’s good. Really really really good. So, try it, but beware, she’s a feisty one! And let me know how you find and it)

Dave Eggers’ You Shall Know Our Velocity! and Pabst Blue Ribbon (Milwaukee, WI)

Don’t laugh. I read this book a long time ago and sort of stumbled into it just the other day while drinking a Peeber… and you know what: I think it fit! it really did! Eggers’ mild and always entertaining brand of intellectual hijinks is ripe with questions of the sentimental -- perfect for that hipster-beer (don't deny it) which makes us so so emo when we want it most. At least for me anyways. Maybe this is a bit of a reach and maybe not. Try it!

xoxo