Panclog

Thirsty Thursday: Authors

Welcome to Panclog’s Thirsty Thursday Episode III: Return of the writing about people we want to have a beer with.  It is a long name,  but I really believe in a title that makes sure you know what you are getting into.

This was a fun week for the Panclog crew.  We released the latest review on Tuesday. It was all about The Wooden Spoon.  Make sure you check that out if you have not yet.  Thursdays are a fun time for us. We love to chat about new beers and amazing people that would be fun to hang out with.

Let us get into it. Enjoy.

BRENTLES – Whom I would have a beer with – Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is one of only a couple authors writing today that I actively seek out and purchase sight unseen. He currently has 15.5 published novels all of which I have read and own. (Well except for that 0.5 which is a reprint of “The Stupidest Angel” that has some extra content). I so enjoy his books that I have read each multiple times and recommend them to others.

His work is comedic, paced evenly, with lots of action, and is well researched. Most of his novels touch on the horror genre, although I would not characterize them as scary. There are moments in his books that seem fresh and new and can only be described as delightfully weird. One example is the god of a cargo cult being unable to bluff Jesus in a game of poker.

Titles like “Bloodsucking Fiends, a Love Story”, “Island of the Sequined Love Nun”, “The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove”, and “The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror”, provide a clear picture of what the reader can expect in the pages. Christopher’s books have consistently given me over to audible laughter, and sometimes true shock; which has caused me to stop reading and set the book aside because I was wholly unprepared for what happened on the pages. “Island of the Sequined Love Nun” even inspired me to write a college paper on cargo cults for a religion class.

I was introduced to Christopher Moore’s book  21 years ago by a gentleman named My Friend Mike. My Friend Mike is an interesting cat to whom I am eternally grateful, and indebted to for letting me borrow “Bloodsucking Fiends”. I remember starting the book with very low expectations as most books about vampires just aren’t good (Bram Stroker’s excluded). From the first chapter I realized I was reading something truly unique. After burning through “Bloodsucking Fiends”, I moved on to the other two books available at the time, “Coyote Blue”, and “Practical Demonkeeping”. Both were just as interesting and fun to read. Subsequent books have delivered on his unique style.

Mr. Moore has consistently turned out books every 1 to 3 years since 1992. Which makes me think we should be due another one in 2017. Some of the content in his books can be challenging so I have always recommended reading “Bloodsucking Fiends” first as it seems to have the lightest content overall. However, with the release of “A Dirty Job” in 2006, I changed that advice.

“A Dirty Job” is probably my favorite book that he has written. The book is entertaining and heartfelt throughout, while avoiding being overly sentimental. The book also possesses all of Moore’s trademarks and, in my opinion, executes those trademarks most effectively. If you haven’t read any of his books, this is the one to start with.

The beer that I would like pair up with him is a sour beer from Boulevard Brewing Co called Love Child. Details from their website concerning Love Child No. 7 suggest it is a return to a Flanders-style red base beer. The beer does have a reddish color, along with a pungent aroma. The first sip is striking. The only way I can describe it is that it is like drinking a Warheads sour candy. Needless to say it is not for the faint of heart.

Actually, the beer seems to soften with exposure to air and the initial tartness begins to wane. That or you just get used to it. Once the flavor has softened though, the beer is good, albeit, it doesn’t taste like one. The reason that I would like to share the Love Child No. 7 with Christopher Moore is that the beer brings an experience that is unexpected, just like Moore’s novels. It would be nice to chat with Mr. Moore over this beverage and discuss his books and the art of writing.

JARED – Author I want to have a beer with – Chuck Palahniuk

I am not known as a savvy reader.  I very rarely find myself entrenched in a book.  This is a trait of my impatience to sit in silence and enjoy some paper in my hands.  There is only one author that has kept my attention through many books.  This author would be Chuck Palahniuk. Choosing Chuck Palahniuk was not a tough decision in the slightest.  He is a different type of author than I have ever experienced. He builds characters and worlds that are nearly seamless.

If you only know Chuck’s name because of Fight Club. I must tell you that you are only at the beginning of his works.  He has written so much more than the epic Tyler Durden.  He has written 18 novels and many other pieces of short fiction stories and even a couple of non-fiction books. I have been a big fan of Chuck ever since one of my Omahomies, Cori, gave me a copy of Survivor to read.  Oh you want to know what the fudge an Omahomie is? It is what I call my friends from the city of Omaha, NE.  Yeah I try to be cool and original. Cori and I wrote literal letters to each other about Chuck. I can not thank Cori enough for introducing me into an author that opened up more literature.

Survivor is about the last surviving member of a cult that committed mass suicide. Dark? You bet. It is more than a simple dark story.  It talks about pop culture and how our media loves tragedy. Chuck does an incredible job getting into the head of the antihero.

Chuck Palahniuk recently released a sequel of Fight Club as a graphic novel. He wrote it with some of the greatest comic writers of the day. And the art was brilliantly done by Cameron Stewart. This novel was released in 10 issues through Dark Horse Comics.  This was a big deal for me.  I am a big fan of comics. So when you put my favorite author with one of my favorite hobbies, I become ecstatic. Fight Club 2 is awesome. Come on over and we can read them together like when we were 8.  Yeah I am talking to you.  Come over.    I implore you to try to find any work of Chuck’s and sit down and enjoy.

I have chosen to share Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Marron. I chose this beer because it is strong, dark, and interesting. Just like Chuck Palahniuk’s books.

Palo Santo Marron is described as an unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade Palo Santo brewing vessels.  This beer comes in at 12% ABV.  It has amazing vanilla and caramel noted from the wood. Palo Santo is an exotic wood from Paraguay.  It adds a lovely tone and smoothness to the beer. Wood is awesome.

Dogfish Head is one of my top 5 breweries I know. They are known to constantly challenge the rules of beer. Like what ingredients are allowed, or can they even compete with Big Beer? They even released a beer with  scrapple in it. That’s a pork product! WHAT!?

Just like Dogfish Head, Chuck Palahniuk changes the game by writing a coloring book.  Yeah. Short stories with amazing pictures that you get to color. Yeah an adult coloring book with stories.  How cool is that? Answer: VERY COOL.

I would love to discuss everything under the sun with Chuck over a nice cool Palo Santo Marron. I think with a nice beer, the conversation comes easier than honey from the bottle on a hot summer day.

Who would you like to have a beer with? What beer would you drink with them?

Let us know at our Twitters: Panclog, Jared, and Brent.

CHEERS!