Beer and Loathing in Columbus, Ohio

Studio 35 is Columbus, Ohio’s oldest independent movie theater and draft house. Recently they showed Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and featured a plethora of Flying Dog beer on tap. We found out about this via Studio 35’s twitter site. We were also contacted via twitter by Shaun Adams, who attended the event. He snapped some photos and was nice enough to answer a few questions about the venue, the beer, and the experience of watching Fear & Loathing while drinking beer inspired by the late, great Dr. Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson.

What is Studio 35 all about?

Studio 35 is an independently run single screen movie theater & draft house. They’re very community driven and hold a lot of free events there, as well as offering a lot of movies that you can’t see in other theaters in Columbus.

What was the atmosphere like at Studio 35 before, during and after the film?

People are always really relaxed at the beer tastings (I’ve been to three now). People sit in their seats as somebody stands at the front of the theater and reads off descriptions of each beer, and theater staff come around with pitchers and pour you each sample. Each person is given a list of the different beers, and many people bring pencils or pens to write notes on it. It’s really easy to meet new people as the samples come around just by talking about which beers you like and dislike. The movies they show are comedies, and during the film people tend to laugh more or quote along with it a little more than they would at a normal screening. After the film, people linger around a while as they finish their food or drink and chat as they close out their tabs. Some people stuck around for the next movie, District 9.

What Flying Dog beers were on tap?

The different beers sampled were (in order) Garde Dog, Tire Bite, In-Heat Wheat, Dogtoberfest, Old Scratch, Doggie Style, Snake Dog, Double Dog, Horn Dog, and Gonzo. [ed. note: holy shit, that's a lot of Flying Dog!]

Aside from playing Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and serving Flying Dog beer, what’s else is awesome about Studio 35?

There is a lot of great things about Studio 35. They’re the only theater in Columbus that still shows The Rocky Horror Picture Show on a regular basis (first Saturday of each month), they show kids movies for cheap during the day in the summer, they show a lot of sporting events (soccer, Ohio State football games, etc) for free, a free Academy Awards event that I went to, a Cult Classics screening each month, they host monthly beer tastings where a low price gets 10-12 beer samples and admission to the movie afterwards, and they have Guitar Hero tournaments. They also have a better beer selection than a lot of bars that I’ve been to. When they show older movies there, they usually themed events for it, such as a Wii bowling tournament before they screened The Big Lebowski, they’re having a John Hughes weekend this week and having a Pac-Man playoff and mix tape/ CD exchange. They’re also on myspace and twitter, so it’s really easy to find out about events and bargains/deals going on there.

What made that night memorable?

I met up with some friends there whom I don’t get to see that often because we have different schedules, so that was nice. I also met a few new people while I was there, heard stories behind tattoos that people have, and got to try some great beer and watch a movie that I really enjoy. A lot of people just walk to the theater, so it’s really easy to meet a neighbor or someone who just lives down the block while you’re there. Flying Dog has always caught my attention because of Ralph Steadman’s artwork, but I hadn’t tried many of the flavors, so it was an easy way to try a lot of new things for a pretty cheap price.

What’s your favorite Flying Dog beer and why?

My favorites of the night were Old Scratch, Horn Dog, and Gonzo. I think I’m partial to barley wines, and the Old Scratch really caught my attention being a lager / ale hybrid. The Gonzo was a really smooth, delicious way to end the tasting. There wasn’t a single beer that I didn’t like (which honestly, is a first for me).

Thanks a lot Shaun!