What stirs in the far-flung corners of this world among those who follow the strange and wondrous path of beer? To unveil such mysteries, we embarked upon a wandering adventure lasting many moons. And then…  Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived its time had come. Oh wait, wrong story…

Actually, Lord of the Rings is a good starting point for our first observation. The movie trilogy helped push the fantasy genre mainstream. Then came The Hobbit trilogy, which critics accused of trying to cash in on the success of LoR (sure, why not?). You may remember our mentioning the The Hobbit collaboration beers in this column a few years ago. That there was an official movie beer seemed new and different… but also gimmicky–an unsurprising development, perhaps, for The Hobbit installment. We weren’t so impressed by the beer. (Of trivia interest, Brooklyn Brewery once brewed a low-alcohol pilsner called Halfling, in reference to hobbits)

More recently, we highlighted beers tied in to another fantasy genre mega-hit series, Game of Thrones. These were produced by Ommegang, a highly respected New York state brewery. These beers impressed us. The last one we had we really liked: a blend of a tart cherry kriek and a smoked porter. It tasted like cake! With this world-renowned TV series having finally ended, what’s next? Do we want more of such collaborations and cross-branding?

It seems to work with the fantasy genre, as there are often scenes of characters imbibing ales in taverns and beer halls. But if you think of TV series or movies outside of this genre collaborating with breweries, does it seem weird? For the fun of it, try brainstorming for science fiction: Blade Runner Neon Ale. Star Wars, The Hops Awaken. Or anime: Howl’s Moving Brewery Lager.

As it turns out, Boulevard Brewing Company (Duvel Moortgat USA) teamed up with 20th Century Fox to promote the 12th X-Men installment, Dark Phoenix. The brewery’s year-round Space Camper Cosmic IPA was named the official craft beer for the movie (which, yes, feels a little weird to say). The tie-up includes limited-edition packaging featuring the Dark Phoenix icon over an X. Apparently, you also get a $3 discount code with your purchase, too.

To wax positive, it’s actually quite remarkable that craft beer has gone from a niche industry to a product that can partner with uber-popular media productions. If you think about it, consumer products have been teaming up with the entertainment industry for decades. Maybe these tie-ups are just a normal part of the evolution of our industry. Surely more are on the horizon.

Another trend of the last few years we’ve reported on is craft breweries acquiring others, taking stakes in them, and/or forming distribution consortiums. We’ve even seen this in Japan (think of Yo-Ho Brewing acquiring Ginga Kogen). One of the biggest surprise announcements so far came recently when Boston Brewing Company and Dogfish Head Brewing announced a merger. The former is the maker of Samuel Adams and America’s second-largest craft brewery by annual volume, while the latter is an influential pioneer of the industry (ranked 13th). Both owner/founders are minor media personalities, too. Consumers in America were so surprised that many thought it was some kind of joke or marketing ploy. You wouldn’t expect Coedo and Shiga Kogen, for example, to suddenly merge, would you? In explaining the move on radio, Dogfish Head owner/founder Sam Calagione said, “…there’s just going to be more to love.” Yes, and more of his beer in distribution channels. Will we see more of such deals in Japan and other countries where the craft beer industry is becoming more crowded? We think so.

There are mergers and then there are …baton passes? In an April blog post on the Stone Brewing Company website, founder Greg Koch announced that the San-Diego based brewery would be selling its Berlin facility to its industry friends at UK-based BrewDog for undisclosed terms. It seems they weren’t getting the growth they had anticipated, among other issues. Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Berlin was an ambitious (and ‘arrogant’?) project to begin with: an expansive brewery and restaurant to produce and introduce American-style craft beer in one of the beer heartlands of Europe. Many were skeptical of its potential for success even when he announced the plans, but as Koch asserted in his announcement, at least he tried. BrewDog, for its part, will be adding another piece to its growing empire. Will BrewDog have better luck? It will be interesting to see what they do differently.

Surely it didn’t escape your notice that we referred to Germany as one of several beer heartlands in Europe. Obviously, England, Belgium, and the Czech Republic also have deep and influential beer traditions. As we’ve highlighted in previous features in this magazine, countries like Poland and Italy are no slouches either. But with the ‘Big Traditional Four’, as we’ll call them, this is a case of national identity. It should come as no surprise, then, that they all have beer museums. You have the Bruges Beer Experience (Bruges), the Czech Beer Museum (Prague), the Beer and Oktoberfest Museum (Munich), and the National Brewery Centre (Burton upon Trent), among others.

New World beer mecca San Diego is now trying to follow in these footsteps by building the Museum of Beer (MoB) by the summer of 2020. The group of individuals behind the project have some good ideas and slick marketing material, though its Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign, which closed in May, only raised 10% of its stated goal. Still, project co-founder Mike Kociela seems upbeat and claims that they have other means of securing funds, including private investment and sponsorships. We have faith in Kociela in part because he was a part of the team that successfully launched the National Blues Museum in St. Louis. The city also has a precedent. The San Diego Museum of Man houses an attractive exhibit call Beerology about the history of beer. MoB, however, would have a more contemporary and decidedly San Diego-focus to it. A similar project has been stalled for a few years in Pittsburg. We wish both groups the best of luck.

Speaking of museums, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. reported on its website Smithsonian.com last August that archaeologists working in northern Iraq discovered evidence of beer in 2500-year-old clay cups. Their scientific findings were originally published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, though the Smithsonian interviewed the two lead scientists, Elsa Perruchini and Claudia Glatz, directly. There have been older finds, but what made this case special was that they used a new technique, gas chromatography, to identify residue. The article further reported, “Mesopotamians usually drank beer from straws in a larger communal jar around the third millennium BC. But in the subsequent millennium, these larger beer jugs start to give way to individual vessels.”

We wonder, what was the local word for kanpai? Enjoy your mugs of beer this summer…

This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.