My Bookshelf
One Night with Nora Blonde Ale
Pulp Fiction You Can Drink?
I shit thee not. I was bookhunting in Pasadena one fine sunny afternoon when, seeking shelter from all that damn sunshine, I stumbled across this local brew on the menu at some prefab watering hole on Colorado, just down the street from Vroman’s Bookstore, and I couldn’t resist. I recognized the title and figured there just had to be some connection with the Mike Shayne novel by Brett Halliday (plus I am partial to blondes). So I ordered one, and Goggled it on my phone while I waited for the beer to arrive.
Yep… a definite connection. Is that cool or what?
I mean, really. Check out the art on those cans–it could have come right off the sort of book I was hunting for.
Turns out the brew’s the product of the appropriately named Paperback Brewing Company of Glendale (right down the 210 from Pasadena), and all their brews are inspired by pulp fiction. Some of this brash new upstart’s other beers include Planet of the Pagans, Mad Zambo, Big Trouble in Sexy Town and Bunny with a Chainsaw, and each comes with art work worthy of their titles. Their motto? “Every Paperback has a story to tell, and this is just the beginning”.
I hope so. One Night with Nora is an infinitely drinkable beer; an easy-going blonde ale that went down so nicely I had another. It’s a good afternoon beer, refreshing and honey-tinged, the perfect chaser for a day of bookhunting. And so I wandered back up the street to Total Wine, and picked up a few to bring back home.
Paperback says One Night with Nora is a “visually appealing and has no particularly dominating malt or hop characteristics. Smooth and balanced with a touch of honey malt.”
Uh-huh. I’ll drink to that…*
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
* Responsibly, of course.
