Frankenstein: the beer and the errors

As we are getting closer and closer to Halloween, pubs here offer as guest ales spooky themed beers. Two years ago, I had that one from Greene King in a local pub (our favorite local pub, that looks eerie any time of year, but especially when Halloween is near). The beer was a disappointing blonde. I find it more fitting to drink a darker ale when Halloween comes. It generally tastes better too. So this seasonal ale was named Frankenstein, just like the famous novel, which I must revisit one day. I am sure you can find at least one mistake with the label. I can find two. The first is that the image is one of the creature, which in Mary Shelley's novel is nameless. Frankenstein is the name of the creator. The beer should be named The Monster of Frankenstein or the Creature of Frankenstein. Or something of the sort. The other mistake is more subtle: the creature on the label has the look of the popularized cinematic monster, which is allegedly made of chopped up parts of corpses. In the novel, it is never explicitly stated how the creature is made and what substance exactly from human body Victor Frankenstein uses. He remains willingly vague about it. It is a bit of an academic distinction, but I used to be an academic in a part life, so I do enjoy to point out such mistakes.

Rocking Rudolph

Two weeks ago, there were major disruptions on the train line I use to commute, so I had to wait a while at the nearest pub to the station on my way back. It infuriated me, but in the meantime I decided to have a half pint waiting. Of course I had a Christmas ale, 'tis being the season to be drinking and all. It is not the first time I had Rocking Rudolph, at least I don't think so, but there are a lot of beers with Rudolph and his red nose on the label. It was quite enjoyable, or at least it made me forget my commute issues. Rocking Rudoplph is a typical Christmas beer: dark and spicy, so it got me in the spirit of the season for a moment. Not my holy grail, but I prefer it to the song that inspired the name of the beer, which I always found utterly stupid. Anyway, a dark beer on a dark night in a dark pub when Christmas is coming is maybe the best of a bad situation.

Gangly Ghoul

This is tonight's countdown to Halloween post (only two days to go). And it is about a spooky beer from Greene King and a too little known monster. So anyway, every year or almost, I have a Gangly Ghoul in one of the local pubs. They serve Halloween themed beers when the season comes and this one comes back often. Well, by often I mean every year. I love it because it is a dark beer that is perfect for a spooky night. And because the ghoul is nowadays a neglected monster of monster lore. Zombies have completely of taken their place as scavengers and eaters of human flesh. This is not what zombies should be, but nevertheless, I find ghouls far scarier. Maybe it's just me, but they are faster and have far more personality. But all these considerations aside, if you love dark beers this one is for you. I know ghouls are from Arabic folklore, but this Ghoul has its place in a British pub.