interview! matt barclay, bierkraft.

logo via bierkraft's facebook page

over the last two pumpktoberfests, i've bought a good portion of my pumpkin beers at bierkraft in park slope, brooklyn. during pumpktoberfest, they always seem to have around a dozen different pumpkin beers on hand, so if you're looking to get your pumpkin on this holiday season, they've got you covered.

last week, i sat down with matt barclay of bierkraft to get his thoughts on the pumpkin beer phenomenon, what makes a good pumpkin beer & which horror films rule.

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pumpktoberfest #30 - robot overlords.

film: deadly friend
beer: sixpoint autumnation

the 80's were a pretty sweet time for horror director wes craven. during the decade, craven launched the nightmare on elm street franchise & directed a total of nine films including such classics as swamp thing (1982) & the serpent and the rainbow (1988). amongst that success, he directed a few questionable films, including halloween of '86's deadly friend, which was based on the novel friend by diana henstell. the plot's pretty simple. paul, a college student studying neurology, moves to a new town with his mom & his remote-controlled robot named "BB" (voiced by comedian charles fleischer). eventually, things take a turn for the EVIL. coincidentally, what other robot-centric film came out five months before deadly friend? that's right...the KING of all robot films, short circuit.

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the fifty states project #5: NY.

if i ever see that car commercial again, the ad with the new york yankees' derek jeter tooling around in a ford whilst jay-z's "empire state of mind" plays in the background, i might have to take a hostage. don't get me wrong. i ♥ new york. i'm indifferent to fords. though i hate derek jeter as a yankee, i respect him as a player. what gets me is that friggin' song. i know it's got the state nickname in the title & all, but it's been played SO often & in SO many places that we risk opening a black hole if we continue to revisit it. let's instead honor new york by co-opting "across 110th st." since interpol's now irrelevant, maybe they can sell off "NYC?" i'd even tolerate the sting version of "englishman in new york" for a while if it meant putting "empire state of mind" to bed. of course, all of these songs are about new york city & not new york state, but that's ok, because new york state is pretty much all about new york city anyhow. deal with it, schenectady.

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only in ny #12: chip shop.

  

snack: fried twinkie
drink: r. white's lemonade

my wicked smart doctor sister is totally obsessed with groupon. she gets it from my mother, who was always careful with money & on the hunt for deals. on sis's phone, at all times, she has access to handfuls of groupon deals. if you're in our immediate family, she already has a good idea of what she's getting you for christmas, as she's already found an applicable groupon for your interests. this past sunday, we met up on atlantic ave to take advantage of a chip shop groupon she had that was set to expire in a few weeks.

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only in ny #11: oaxaca.

  

snack: potato y poblano taco
drink: jarritos toronja

when it comes to food, i often go through phases. over the past year or so, i've gone through a dumpling phase, a sushi phase, a stir-fry phase & a burger phase. basically, during these phases, whenever i eat out i try to get that type of food & whenever i'm at home cooking, i'm trying to replicate my favorite dishes from when i eat out. these days i'm knee-deep in a taco phase, or what a trained pyschologist may describe as a taco "fixation." i always have a bag of corn tortillas in the fridge & a few limes at the ready. when i stayed in astoria this past weekend watching the pooches, i made a point to go to el rey del taco truck. for the last three weeks, i haven't gone more than two days without eating a taco.

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