I know what you're thinking: Oh great, another super hard to find beer, awesome, how original. Well, shut the fuck up. I wanted to try this and I liked it. So there. The first rule of SuperAggressiveReviews is that we do not apologize. You can't ask the Cobra Kai Dojo to apologize without expecting a round house kick to the scrot. Same as it ever was with SAR. On to the beer...
The label above says that this beer is an "intensely hopped and gushing undead pale ale". I don't know what the fuck that means. In terms of the hops, it's true there is a strong hop intensity. What is a gushing undead pale ale? I know what a gushing undead is:
The label above says that this beer is an "intensely hopped and gushing undead pale ale". I don't know what the fuck that means. In terms of the hops, it's true there is a strong hop intensity. What is a gushing undead pale ale? I know what a gushing undead is:
However, this beer doesn't taste like a shitty character who can incomprehensibly talk in Return of the Living Dead. It tastes delicious. Where does this association with Zombies come from? Why would they want to name their beer after a zombie? Granted, when 3 Floyds Brewery created this beer in the late 90s/early 2000s this wasn't even the title of the beer. Cenotaph is the original name of Zombie Dust. A Cenotaph is a greek word that means "empty grave". It's a monument to people who have died elsewhere, a common occurrence in the ancient world when you cared more about the memory than the physicality of a person. How does this relate to beer? How does this relate to the folks who drink their beer?
In the Night of the Living Dead, George Romero turns the zombie paradigm on its head and creates ghouls that rise from the grave and feast on the living. There were a shit-ton of zombie movies before Night of the Living Dead but almost every single zombie created after it has borne elements of its influence. Ok, neat trick. Why do I care? Because popular culture has pervasively shown you that we contain elements of the living dead and our triumph is in defeating them:
In the Night of the Living Dead, George Romero turns the zombie paradigm on its head and creates ghouls that rise from the grave and feast on the living. There were a shit-ton of zombie movies before Night of the Living Dead but almost every single zombie created after it has borne elements of its influence. Ok, neat trick. Why do I care? Because popular culture has pervasively shown you that we contain elements of the living dead and our triumph is in defeating them:
"They're coming to get you, Barbara..."
Ben: "Now get the hell down the cellar. You can be the boss down there but I'm the boss up here!"
Think about that. That first quote is one of the first things said in the movie and turns a joke into a nightmare for the main character. That second line shows that even in the midst of total upheaval, the social mores of the day hold true.
Ben: "Now get the hell down the cellar. You can be the boss down there but I'm the boss up here!"
Think about that. That first quote is one of the first things said in the movie and turns a joke into a nightmare for the main character. That second line shows that even in the midst of total upheaval, the social mores of the day hold true.
In 1990, a George Romero approved remake was released. Barbare was reinvigorated as a strong character who undergoes a dramatic change throughout the movie. Her summation of the problem is the characterization of our pop-culture of the day:
Barbara (pointing to the living dead): "They're us. We're them and they're us."
This was even before everyone was fucking tied to their cellphone all day. Technology's greatest curse to modern society is the inherent memory loss it causes
Barbara (pointing to the living dead): "They're us. We're them and they're us."
This was even before everyone was fucking tied to their cellphone all day. Technology's greatest curse to modern society is the inherent memory loss it causes
"We're coming to get you, Barbara!"
The tides have turned, we may have been lifeless duds before the zombies took over but now we have life. Unless you're a total slacker, then you'll turn into a zombie. (Spoiler alert, fuck you).
The tides have turned, we may have been lifeless duds before the zombies took over but now we have life. Unless you're a total slacker, then you'll turn into a zombie. (Spoiler alert, fuck you).
Walking Dead is the ultimate survival tale. Instead of stopping just after the plague hits, the series tackles the issues of what it means to live in a world where rescue isn't coming and the dead are a constant reminder of your mortality. My favorite quote so far:
"We're not them. They're not us and we're not them"
That was from Season 5 when everyone was down about a certain character just dying (not spoiler alert, everyone dies all the fucking time in that show).
This walk through zombie lane isn't just a place for me to reminisce about fun zombie movies. It's to get at the heart of why an upcoming beer company would name their aggressively hopped west coast style pale ale Cenotaph. Is this beer a reminder of something that's not there? Or perhaps that Zombie Dust is a reminder of triumph over the shitty beer we've been used to drinking? 3 Floyds' philosophy is to capture the many amazing styles of beer that come from just four simple ingredients: water, malt, hops, yeast. To create a seemingly infinite amount of variety from four ingredients is an innovation from the beer of yesteryear. But, there are limits. This beer tastes great, but it's not incredibly epic. No matter how fucking hard it is to find this beer, it's not epic. This beer is the result of four ingredients pushed to their limits but still maintaining equilibrium. Is it a shout out to our own failure to live life to the fullest until we can't anymore? Is that way too deep for a fucking review about beer that's super hard to find? I don't know. Does the name Zombie Dust make me think of that crazy ass potpouri shit that makes dudes eat other dudes' faces? Yes. Are they us, and we them? Nope. All I know is that everybody tryin to get this beer like:
"We're not them. They're not us and we're not them"
That was from Season 5 when everyone was down about a certain character just dying (not spoiler alert, everyone dies all the fucking time in that show).
This walk through zombie lane isn't just a place for me to reminisce about fun zombie movies. It's to get at the heart of why an upcoming beer company would name their aggressively hopped west coast style pale ale Cenotaph. Is this beer a reminder of something that's not there? Or perhaps that Zombie Dust is a reminder of triumph over the shitty beer we've been used to drinking? 3 Floyds' philosophy is to capture the many amazing styles of beer that come from just four simple ingredients: water, malt, hops, yeast. To create a seemingly infinite amount of variety from four ingredients is an innovation from the beer of yesteryear. But, there are limits. This beer tastes great, but it's not incredibly epic. No matter how fucking hard it is to find this beer, it's not epic. This beer is the result of four ingredients pushed to their limits but still maintaining equilibrium. Is it a shout out to our own failure to live life to the fullest until we can't anymore? Is that way too deep for a fucking review about beer that's super hard to find? I don't know. Does the name Zombie Dust make me think of that crazy ass potpouri shit that makes dudes eat other dudes' faces? Yes. Are they us, and we them? Nope. All I know is that everybody tryin to get this beer like:
Nose: Citrus and slight sweetness.
Body: A little malty sweetness but it's very smooth.
Mouth: Dry bitterness but an overall citrus flavor that begs for another sip. This beer tastes like a pine tree grew a grapefruit. It's fucking delicious.
Body: A little malty sweetness but it's very smooth.
Mouth: Dry bitterness but an overall citrus flavor that begs for another sip. This beer tastes like a pine tree grew a grapefruit. It's fucking delicious.
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