The holiday movie onslaught has begun. Here are my six favorite Christmas Movies, and a thoughtful beer to accompany each of them.

 

 

 

White Christmas (1954)

Song and dance team Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye tag team this one with (pride of Kentucky) Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen in the musical. This movie takes the characters to a failing ski lodge in Vermont run my Crosby and Kaye’s former Army commander. They decide to help him save the lodge utilizing their entertainment clout. A feel good movie with great song and dance number’s. To accompany this one you will need Lawson’s Double Sunshine IPA, one of Vermont’s finest liquids to go with the best Christmas musical on film.

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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

This third installment of the National Lampoon’s Vacation series became an immediate staple to the holiday cannon. Chevy Chase and company return as the Clark W. Griswold and family, as they attempt to be a typical American family, hosting a traditional family Christmas. Hi jinx ensue as a colorful cast of family members invade the Griswold abode, including the return of Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie. With an unending slew of quotable lines, there is enough wisdom in this holiday gem to keep you pondering and laughing through the holiday season. The beer to accompany this movie is Ommegang’s Three Philosophers, a quadruple Belgium-style ale to help you digest such philosophical pearls as, “When Santa squeezes his fat ass down that chimney, he’s gonna see the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nut house.”

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Home Alone (1990)

If you grew up at all in the 1990s you surely know this slapstick sensation. Macauly Culkin starts as Kevin McAllister, a disgruntled son, brother, cousin, and nephew who gets mistakenly left behind on a Christmas trip to Paris. Kevin thinks being alone is the answer to all of his problems until he realizes that the bumbling crime duo of Joe Pesci (Harry) and Daniel Stern (Marv) are trying to rob his house. The crooks’ wits prove no match for Kevin’s as they fall into trap after painful trap, leaving Kevin victorious, but now yearning for his family. Brewery Vivant’s Solitude Abbey-Style Ale is a great match for this movie, as the name indicates. However, it would also pair nicely with the combination of Stone’s Crime & Punishment, giving you the experience of Harry and Marv and they make their way through Kevin’s funhouse.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

This clay-mation classic sends Rudolph and company to the land of misfit toys with Yukon Cornelius and the Abomidable Snowman crossing their path along the way. Fun, kid-friendly, and quite nostalgic when you watch it as a grown up. Hopworks Brewing’s Abominable Winter Ale dons stylings of the Abomidable Snowman on the bottle, and this ale is no joke. A grown up drink for a kid’s movie.

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Scrooged (1988)

If I have not yet professed my love of Bill Murray on this site, allow me to do so now. In this rendition of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Bill Murray takes on Ebeneezer Scrooge as a ruthless TV executive. Murray nails the self-absorbed, power-hungry, money-obsessed Frank Cross (Scrooge). I like the traditional telling of this story on the stage, but I love this modern update on the screen. Stone’s Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale is a nice accompaniment to the arrogant bastard of Murray’s Frank Cross.

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Die Hard (1988)

Highly debated in our household (along with Gremlins) as to whether or not it is a true Christmas movie. Bruce Willis stars as John McClane, a rough and tumble NYC cop who is in L.A. to see his (soon-to-be-ex) wife for Christmas. Unfortunately for Willis, his wife’s holiday party is hijacked by international terrorists. While most of the hostages, are busy whining and trying to cut deals with the bad guys, McClane decides to play Santa and deliver ass whippings to all of the naughty boys. If you are done with all of the sappy holiday movies on Lifetime and ABC Family this is your holiday classic. How about a Renegade beer for a renegade cop: Renegade’s Hammer & Sickle Russian Imperial Stout. After a few of these you will be ready to take on some international terrorists of your own.

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