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| Label artwork by A.J. Paglia. |
I can't say for sure that Narragansett Beer's "Lovecraft Honey Ale" will be any good, but I want to have inappropriate physical relations with its product summary:Lovecraft Honey Ale is a reference to space mead consumed by the winged Byakhee, interstellar predators that first appeared in the famed Lovecraft short story, “The Festival.”How can you not love that?
Thanks to his work recently entering public domain, H.P. Lovecraft is on the verge of becoming overexposed almost 80 years after his death. While I love the man's troublesome/troubling work, you can only endure so much Cthulhu-meets-STAR WARS mash-ups without risking permanent brain damage. Lovecraft has become a kind of mascot for horror fans in recent years, with everyone pretending he's some obscure writer only they know about. Fandom can sometimes be precious that way. (Full disclosure: I own between 3 and 6 Lovecraft-inspired T-shirts.)
While Lovecraft Honey Ale might ultimately taste like Nyarlathotep piss, they've certainly got their marketing strategy together.
“When the brewery was shut down, the spirit of Narragansett never died; it went underground, to a deep and dark place," writes Narragansett Beer owner Mark Hellendrung. "Since reclaiming our beer in 2005, we’ve worked hard to stay true to our roots. But after being in that dungeon for so long, we came back with some baggage. Just like the nameless protagonist from 'The Outsider,' we emerged in the light a little different. A little... strange. Think of this brew as our bold, our obscure, our tampered-with mind. It won’t be for everyone, and if it isn’t for you, you’ll know exactly who it is for."
I'm working to get my hands on a can of this brew and will let you know how it goes.
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*I would have used "shitfaced" but ran out of characters in the headline.
