The Wrestlemania of Beer Events

If I could have it my way, this would be a 60 page thesis that dissects this topic down to the smallest point. It should and very well may end up being my greatest piece of work when my life is all said and done. These topics have played such enormous roles in my life that I could probably write a 350 page book with no need for research (with 290 pages being about wrestling). The problem with that is the only two people on the planet who would actually be interested in it would be my brother and this guy, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet for rest of you normal human beings. This topic can be as basic or as complex as you want to make it but the similarities are extremely clear.

If the world of alcoholic beverages was to be compared to the world of wrestling, "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan represents the most popular beverage; beer.

Spending the weekend at the Portland Brewfest this weekend made it very clear to me that everyone who drinks alcohol (with the exception of people who are allergic or huge pussies), eventually drinks beer. I know it's a broad generalization but even those people who don't really enjoy the taste will still hang out and sip on a pint, even if it takes them 3 hours to finish. People at the brewfest were there to "taste" the 80 different beers, but clearly were just there to have a good time and slam a bunch of beers with their friends. Please don't get me wrong, I love me some NW microbrews, Belgium, and Dutch beers with a passion. Another positive is there isn't a time of day when there isn't an occasion to drink beers (You don't hear stories of people saying, "We woke up at 8am and started popping bottles of Barolo, it was a crazy Saturday!"). Everyone likes and appreciates an ice cold brew even if you don't know a damn thing about beer. Just like everyone can (and should) appreciate the Hulkster.

The Hulkster at one time, in terms of global popularity, was on the same level as Michael Jackson, Princess Diana and Michael Jordan. Even today, I'm sure if you went to the hills of Uzbekistan you could say "Hulk Hogan" and they'd probably know who he is. They'd mostly likely kill you after you asked them, but they'd know about that yellow tank top and that sexy bald mullet. The truth is Hulk Hogan is by far the most popular wrestler of all-time. But if you ask anyone who knows anything about wrestling, they'd say he was no where near the best wrestler. Everyone loved him and respected him and they really didn't know why (other than he's more American than Ford trucks). The reason was clear, he put on a damn great show and gave people a great experience.

Watch any match and see if you can count over 6 different moves he ever did in his career. It's not possible because it never happened. Punch, knee, boot to the face, back scratch, body slam, big leg drop. End of Match. I loved every single one of those size 16 boots to Macho Man's face but I can only remember a few that are memorable because of their context. Think of any beer event you've been to. Even if there are 100 beers present, you probably still hung out around the two or three stands that you really liked.  Good beer is easy to come by, but it's damn hard to come across an epic beer. The same way it is tough finding a truly epic match involving the Hulkster. 

For me, Georgetown Brewery creates some of the few beers that I can passionately remember. If their beers were wrestling matches, they'd be the classics involving Hulk Hogan. Manny's pale ale is clearly Hulk v. Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III, Chopper's Red Ale is his match vs. Sgt. Slaughter at WM VII and Lucille IPA is WM VI vs. Ultimate Warrior. While there are a few more that I love from around the world, I think it's important to discuss these beers from Georgetown. This is because Wine Moves is throwing it's first Beer Moves event that will be starring beer from our favorite brewery.

Everyone loves beer just like everyone loves Hulk Hogan, and on Thursday at 6pm we will display three of some of the finest examples of the beverage in the Pacific Northwest. Look at it as the Wrestlemania of Beer events.