Attempted redruM

Attempted redruM
1 draught pint, $8.75, 13% ABV

Gifted by my man Aron

redSo much going on here. My head is spinning – and not from the absurd 13% ABV in this beast. With the horror motif of the labeling, I was wondering if NEBCO landed at the number 13 on purpose. Probably. That’s how they think. But I’m no triskaidekaphobe, so let’s move on.

With all the clever beer names and clever beer labels in the market these days, I’m going to submit the duo of Premeditated Murder and Attempted RedruM as the grand champions. The premeditated was a top-notch barleywine with a label showing a crow thought-bubbling other crows.

A group of crows is, of course, a murder. So while it sounds unnecessarily evil, the label art clearly showed a “premeditated murder” could be nothing more than an innocent bird planning a party.

NEBCO took that barleywine and dumped a bunch of it into rum barrels. Then they let it sit.

NEBCO says:

Premeditated Murder Barley Wine aged in rum barrels. You’ll want to enjoy it forever, and ever, and ever.

Then they wisely turned to their in-house evil genius Craig Gilbert (I’m guessing) to come up with the name of the beer and the label art. Look at that thing. And can I assume you’ve all seen The Shining?

First, the name: Attempted RedruM? Of course “redrum” comes from The Shining (It’s “murder” backwards, you noodge) So from “Premeditated Murder” to “Attempted RedruM?” Wonderful.

the-shining-danny-fingerAlso wonderful? The beer itself. Incredibly complex, perhaps especially because the bottle I had had aged for a year or more. Smooth as could be, it had lost the alcohol bite of the original barleywine a bit. The rum was there, but it took a backseat to all sorts of malts, oak, vanilla, spice, and what I call “perfection.” And I’m not even a rum guy in the least.

I have no idea if NEBCO will do this one again. This run was only 850 bottles and for all I know, those are the only 850 bottles that will ever live. They were sold only at the brewery and lasted just a few hours if I recall. So a huge thank you to my friend in Connecticut craft, Aron, who randomly handed me this having remembered me once saying I had never had it.

Aron is a SHINING example of a good guy. Which reminds me…

Danny: Dad?
Jack: Yes?
Do you like this hotel?
Yes, I do. I love it. Don’t you?
I guess so.
Good. I want you to like it here. I wish we could stay here forever… and ever… and ever.

Yeah, that’s right, NEBCO incorporated one of the iconic lines from the movie onto their label as well. The twins on the trikes also once say, “Hello Danny. Come and play with us. Come and play with us, Danny. Forever… and ever… and ever.”

Also, of course that’s poor Danny Torrance’s finger telling him what to do on the label as well.

52187-622609-shining_bike

And before you call me on the carpet, yes, I caught that too. The design there behind the finger is the carpet of the Stanley Hotel from the movie (which was actually shot at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon – I only know that because I’ve been there as it is on the flank of Mt. Hood.)

Like I said, there’s a lot going on here; in the bottle AND on the label.

I’d expect nothing less from a NEBCO special release.

Overall Rating: A+
Rating vs. Similar style: n/a

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