There’s a million and one cocktails based around everything from Super Mario Kart to L.A. Noire, but you typically have to look a little harder for a beer to match your video game mania.
Every now and again some forward-thinking company realizes that gamers chug more than just Mountain Dew and give us something interesting, as recently happened with Sound Brewery and Mortal Kombat.
Get Over Here (And Bring The Bottle Opener)!
A new triple threat of brews inspired by Mortal Kombat X has arrived in a collaboration between Warner Bros., Sound Brewery and Global Beverage Traders. They are all 8% or above to boot, which is exactly where I like my beer.
That level of ABV is high enough you can get nice and toasty after just three or four standard cans, but you aren’t going to get absolutely wasted if you put it on hold and resist the urge to finish off the entire pack.
These new Mortal Kombat brews come in an IPA, a saison, and a stout based around classic characters Sub-Zero, Raiden, and Scorpion, respectively.
Personally I’m interested in the Sub-Zero IPA, and hope it makes you really work for the buzz. I dig an IPA that hurts you and really makes you crawl your way through the journey to intoxication, and at 8.5%, its a good bet this one is hopped to the max.
New Mortal Kombat Triple Threat Of Brewtality!
You can actually order these online for $7.47 (plus shipping) for a 22 oz. bottle. Obviously its more expensive than a six pack of anything else with the same alcohol content, but that’s what you get with branded products.
Gaming Themed Brews, Past And Present
Surprisingly, there are more game-centric brews than you might imagine, and the new Mortal Kombat X beers are just the tip of the foamy iceberg.
Sadly, finding them is a bit of an issue, as most breweries either aren’t equipped to or aren’t allowed to ship their product in the mail due to various state laws.
You either have to hope your local beer and wine shop stocks them or actually be near the brewery in question to get it on tap. Should you be lucky enough to fit that description, there’s some tasty gaming ale with your name on it.
8-Bit Pale Ale
ABV: 5.2%
Pop that top and press start if you love retro gaming! Released in larger 16 oz. four packs, this brew is consistently highly rated across the web and is frequently praised for being excellent beer, rather than OK beer that just happens to have a Pacman on the label.
Although I’m not a huge fan of anything under 6%, I’d be more than willing to make an exception here, especially on a hot summer day while grilling in the back yard before some serious gaming goes down.
If you are on the east or west coast (or live in parts of the midwest) you are pretty well out of luck, but anybody in the center of the country can actually find this at various retailers.
8-Bit Pale Ale
Thunderbrew Anniversary Ale
ABV: 7.5%
Blizzard decided to celebrate World Of Warcraft’s 10th anniversary in true dwarven style with the Thunderbrew Anniversary Ale from Bottle Logic Brewing back in 2014.
Sadly it didn’t catch on and hasn’t been made available widespread. Maybe we can cross our fingers it will come back if the Warcraft movie does well?
Thunderbrew Anniversary Ale
Dogslicer Ale
ABV: 5.6%
Capitalizing on the adorable (and frequently homicidal) rhymes of the Pathfinder goblins, Paizo teamed up with Scotty’s Brewhouse to make a limited edition brew for GenCon 2013.
While the beer isn’t available anymore, the wicked awesome t-shirt still is. Come on Paizo – tabletop gamers down beer at a rate that significantly rivals that of football fans, so help us out and bring it back!
Dogslicer Ale
Innsmouth Olde Ale
ABV: 7%
Sadly there hasn’t been a legitimate full Lovecraft mythos game in some time to actually play while enjoying something with that Innsmouth flavor (although plenty of titles do work in little nuggets of cosmic horror here and there).
We are getting a new Call Of Cthulhu next year though (maybe – this exact game was actually already nixed and passed off to another developer once in the past).
Personally, I’m way more stoked for the upcoming Stygian: Reign Of The Old Ones, which goes massively old school and looks like a sanity-blasting combination of Baldur’s Gate, Wasteland, Sanitarium, and early Heroes Of Might And Magic.
When the ichthian horrors of those two games finally arrive, I’m very much hoping to have a bottle of Innsmouth Olde Ale in hand to celebrate. I am a bit worried about growing webbing between my feet though…
Innsmouth Old Ale
Good Pairings Without The Game Labels
Of course, beers don’t have to actual have a game character on the label to enhance a session of your weekend playing either.
I mean, what could be more perfect for long Fallout sessions than a pack of Bombshell Blonde or a nice cold Brooklyn Black Ops when running through Treyarch’s Call Of Duty titles?
Interestingly, both Fallout 4 and Black Ops III actually did get limited edition beers of their own, though you’d be exceedingly hard pressed to find any now, and they were only released in Australia and the U.K.
Brooklyn Black Ops / Bombshell Blonde
What’s the best game-themed brew you’ve come across that we should try out, and have you managed to down any of these beers we listed yet?
