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!

Our friend, Ryan Havely wrote a great poem to memorialize Hunter S. Thompson today, on the 4th anniversary of his passing.  Thanks, Ryan.

But Not Here, No, Not on Earth

But we all want something from her,
whether it’s food
or to rule.  This is where
Jesus was born, where the winds
playing Mozart with your shingles
start in the sun
and work their way
along seams in the sky
like Gypsy Moths.  Mozart,
too, is from around here.

You tell
stories about a man, how
once, some five hours
after midnight
he tore
the phone cord from the jack
in one sweeping motion
to punish the thing
for ringing.
How he looked like a matador,

spinning

with the AT&T rotary
under one arm, grabbing
the .44 magnum from his mantle.
He walked like a cop

strutting his beat
into the yard, stuffed that phone
in the low hollow knot
of an Aspen, turned

and walked ten paces,
his shoulders back, the traditional
posture of duel, then wailed around
to empty six chambers.

Three hit that phone,
sent it running off into the dark
two whizzed back at us and over the house
like hornets, one just after the other,
the sixth shot grazed the crescent moon.
We saw the trail of dust kick up, only briefly,
as the moon took stray fire from the Rockies.

He reloaded, held the gun with both hands,
his arms locked above his head
like maybe he’d dive, follow
that bullet through.  Instead
he capped another six,
this time at least 5 hit the surface,
each with a plume of gray dust.

He shot it some twelve to fifteen times
that night and never said a word.  Just reload,
take a pull off the Wild Turkey,
let go of another six.  At the end

he couldn’t get out of the chair.
That’s what really did it.
All the sitting, the loafing.
Up there he wouldn’t have needed the damn thing,

up there in a sixth of this gravity
he’d have been riding that dirt bike,
getting a good jump on the dusk
closing on his days like a curtain,

or a flag slowly drawn from its pole
for that final, formal act of folding.
Somebody pulls the rope,
the pulleys do their pulleying,

but gravity brings it down, in the end.
There are some places, though, a curtain
can’t so much as fall, some places
the gravity isn’t trying as hard,
so things there rise painlessly but

Ryan Havely
February 20, 2009

17 syllables.

5.

7.

5.

That’s Haiku.  And we’re having a Twitter Haiku contest.  Here’s how to participate:

1. Write a Flying Dog Haiku. “What’s a Flying Dog Haiku,” you ask? That’s for you to decide and us to judge.
2. Post it on twitter with “@flyingdog” at the beginning. the @flyingdog is not part of your haiku.
3. Do it before Noon on Feb 18, 2009.
4. The top 5 haikus will be chosen by our esteemed panel of Neal Stewart (Prime Minister of Marketing/@nealstewart), Josh Mishell (Visual Viceroy/@joshmishell),  Jim Caruso (Flying Dog CEO), Stephanie Kerchner (PR and Events Ninja/@stephkerchner) and maybe a few more people.
5. Yes, it should be creative.
6. Yes, we like to see our name in lights, so including something about Flying Dog earns brownie points with the judges.  Maybe something about Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, Ralph Steadman - you get the point.  Go to our website for some creative motivation.
7. The top 5 Twitter Haikus will receive $50 gift certificate to our online store.
8. Must be 21 to enter and/or win.
9. All entries must be posted to Twitter.com by NOON, Feb 18.
10. The judges decision is final.  Believe us, they’re not screwing around.

And yes, this contest was inspired by Beer Haiku Daily.

We came across a great piece from BlackBookMag.com on Hunter Thompson’s fashion sense.  Ever wondered what deal behind the aviator sunglasses is?  What about his choice of shirts?

Reading time: 2 minutes.

Click on the photo below for a link to the article.

Technorati Tags: flying dog, hunter thompson, fashion, beer, hst, beer, brewery

A few weeks ago we asked what kind of music Hunter S. Thompson listened to, and we got a few responses. But nothing definitive arrived. Yesterday, Jeff Miers, columnist at the Buffalo News, posted a story about an essay penned by Johnny Depp and Professor Douglas Brinkley about the music from the documentary Gonzo. Any Gonzo enthusiast should love learning more about what made our beloved HST tick.

Gonzo Gift #3: If you’re interested in reading this 8,000 word essay, you’ll have to buy the DVD release of Gonzo (the Alex Gibney film that was released last fall, which comes out tomorrow).

There has been a rash of books and documentaries about Hunter S. Thompson in the past two years and surprisingly, most of them are worth the money.  But for the true, hardcore HST fan, there may be no better purchase than The Gonzo Tapes.

The Gonzo Tapes is a 5-CD set featuring Dr. Gonzo’s personal commentary and notes that he recorded before, during and after writing some of his most famous books like Hell’s Angels and Political Trail.

We want to warn everyone that this may not be the best gift for the “casual” HST fan.  The customer reviews on Amazon seem to indicate that the most loyal of HST fans will love it and another review on Tripwire found The Gonzo Tapes to be “boring.” So do a little research of your own before inking this on your holiday shopping list.

Unfortunately, we here at Flying Dog aren’t on the “comp list” and haven’t had a chance to listen yet - so we’re going to buy our own copy and hold judgment for ourselves.

Technorati Tags: hst, gonzo tapes, hunter, thompson, flying dog, gift ideas

What do you do if you’re in New Orleans during Halloween? Dress up like Dr. Gonzo, that’s what! Brad was there and spent the last day of October in style. And always remember to bring your trusty attorney with you, especially whilst spending Halloween in The Big Easy.

And friend of Flying Dog Siobhan dressed up like our Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale and partied the night away with us during our Flying Dog Pub Crawl down “The Gauntlet” in scenic Frederick, Maryland. Now we don’t want to presuppose anything, but you’re in for a pretty good night if you’re dressed up as anything called “Doggie Style”.

We sort of sprung this concept on you people a little late this year, but rest assured there will be a contest next year, so get started on your costume and win some shit.

Friday. The last day of most of your work weeks. And we all know that Fridays are the day to take long lunches, get your fantasy football team ready, and slack and watch videos on the internet.

And they’re also a day to reflect on our hero, Hunter S. Thompson. So check out this Starz interview of Gary Busey, where he talks about Hunter. Well, mostly about Hunter.

Just remember what F.E.A.R. and D.O.U.B.T. are (what the hell was that all about in the video?).

Well, we should start this off by letting you that it’s not going to be cheap. But our majority owner George Stranahan is selling his ranch up in Woody Creek, Colorado. Even if you can’t afford it, the Denver Post article is a great read and gives some good insight about George and his relationship with his friend Hunter S. Thompson.

Today (July 18) is Hunter S. Thompson’s birthday.  He would have been 71 years old today.

A great way to pay tribute to this American legend is to go out and see the movie GONZO: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson.  Click here or here for where it is playing in your area.

Technorati Tags: hunter thompson, birthday, gonzo, movie, flying dog, brewery