To Beer and Back Again..A Hops Tale

 In honor of the recent news that The Hobbit would be turned into three movies instead of the original plan of  two I struck out on my own unexpected journey...a journey of flavor. Let's face it most of us have seen the Lord of the Rings dozens of times so the review is nothing new here. But the added twist of attempting to match a great beer to this great film seemed almost as difficult as Frodo's journey to Mount Doom (ok not really). The LOTR Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition runs about 3 hr 30 min so finding a beer that could endure the journey started at the beer section at the local grocery store...yes my local World Market would have been better to find a more international brew selection they have many. Seeing as the urge to watch this film struck me on my drive home I had but one option. But don't discount what I had access to was no mere domestic selection Fred Meyer has expanded there beer section to include many great micro brews as well as international selections. I decided to go with a German Lager cause in Europe the Germans GET beer better than any. I was naturally drawn to one of favorite choices one that until recently I had only been able to get at my favorite local German Food vendor Gustav's. The Warsteiner Premium Dunkel. It is a smooth and rich textured lager with a slight but sweet aftertaste, fantastic dark color and aroma that sits well at room temperature without losing it's pleasantness. The kick of flavor comes from the great barley roasting. It was a journey that paired well as I watched Frodo (Elijah Wood) inherit the One Ring of Power From his Uncle Bilbo (Ian Holm) at the willing of the wizard Gandalf the Gray (Ian McKellan) and leave the comfort of his home in The Shire to journey to take the ring to a council that will decide the entire fate of Middle Earth. This film is fantastic to say the least and sets the other films up so in it's right it is not as dark as those that proceed this one. We go from green pastures decorated for Bilbo's 111th birthday to the darkness of the road ahead and the town of Bree where our heroes come into contact with Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) who carries them away from the pursuing Ringwraiths who are desperate to reclaim The Ring for their master Sauron. Sword fights, chase sequences, spell casting, monsters, elves....I could literally go on for ever this movie has everything. I sipped down my last bit just as the finale of the film was getting gaining on me. As the credits rolled I was left wanting more....more of the Hobbits and company.... more of my delicious brew. In the War    of the Ring, the Warsteiner is the only choice for me. Out of the bottle its great but it's best out of the tap so prepare for war, stop in at Gustav's and get a growler of the Warsteiner and get ready to journey to beer and back again. The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey opens December 14, 2012  followed by The Desolation of Smaug on December 2013 and There and Back Again on July 2014 This has been a Cinema Breview drink safe watch happy.