Craft Beer Collabs to Pair with WandaVision’s Crossover!

We’re five episodes in, and WandaVision is proving to be one gloriously weird show. It’s one of the most ambitious endeavors from the MCU yet, and, no, I’m not just talking about the resurrection of Vision, the introduction of adult Monica Rambeau, or even the jump through different eras of TV sitcom styles.

Warning, if you haven’t seen the most recent two episodes (now streaming on Disney+), there’s a pretty big spoiler coming up…

…right now. The MCU did a crossover with FOX’s X-Men franchise! That is, they swapped out the MCU’s Pietro Maximoff (a.k.a. Wanda’s brother, a.k.a. Quicksilver, a.k.a. actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson) for the infinitely more awesome Peter / Pietro Maximoff / Magneto’s son who appeared in three X-Men movies (and is played by actor Evan Peters).

If you don’t understand why X-Men’s Quicksilver beats out MCU’s, here you go. 

It’s not Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s fault, of course, but Evan Peters’ character just happens to be about 10x more charismatic. The X-Men franchise also did something that so far no other cinematic or TV feature has ever managed to do — they made the power of super speed look effortlessly cool. Turns out, the key to this was showing the character not just as a blur whizzing by, but instead slowing everything down and giving the audience that character’s perspective. Add in some classic rock-pop and Evans’ boyish charm, and you’ve got something not even the MCU can top.

Until Disney bought up everything, that is. Now that the MCU and FOX are both under the same umbrella of this monopoly, er, media giant, a crossover became a real possibility. And WandaVision made it happen!

In his introduction to the show, we got to see Peter / Pietro as an Uncle Jesse-type character (yes, definitely a nod to Elizabeth Olsen’s famous older sisters), and in the last Malcolm in the Middle-type episode, it was a lot of fun watching him romp around with his swiftly-growing nephews. But, it was also revealed that he (supposedly) doesn’t really know how he got there or how much he even remembers of his past life, though he does realize that Wanda is the one supposedly manipulating the entire town into its sitcom stupor. Heck, I’m even wondering if he’s really a supervillain in disguise. Either way, I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen in the next episode, and I can’t wait.

But on that note – I do know what kind of craft beer pairings I’d like to have lined up with the next episodes. In honor of the two franchises crossing over, I’m selecting some special beers crafted by two breweries coming together. Here’s a list of some awesome craft beer collabs to pair with WandaVision!

Make Good Choices Fruited Sour – Drekker and BlackStack

The Midwest craft beer scene is exploding! And while it may seem unlikely, super tropical Fruited Sours are one of the styles the breweries here do best. North Dakota’s Drekker joined forces with BlackStack in Minneapolis to craft this ridiculously fresh Fruited Sour that was apparently inspired by Miami Vice. It contains real portions of strawberry, pineapple, coconut flakes, coconut cream, vanilla and lactose, and it washes down like a freshly blended smoothie. It’s 6.6 %, and it’s darn tasty.

Bananas Foster Stout – Untitled Art and Neon Raptor

Pastry Stouts have risen rapidly over the past few years both in popularity and availability, but it still takes some real brewing skills to get them right. These Stouts are inspired by real dessert flavors and utilize some of the same ingredients that make those treats so delicious. But all too often, the flavors get overshadowed by the Stout’s natural maltiness or roastiness. But Bananas Foster Stout delivers! Wisconsin’s Untitled Art teamed up with England’s Neon Raptor Brewing for this 8% ABV international collab Stout.

They call it a Smoothie Sour because it’s so thick and luscious, but the beer is very much done in the Pastry style with additions of cinnamon, vanilla, milk sugar and a whopping 10,000 lbs of banana purée! And, yes, you can actually taste the decadent flavors. Of course, that could even be because the brewers crafted this one over an open flame (really, that’s what they say!), in true fiery bananas foster tradition.

Bruh, Move Your Van Triple IPA – Mountains Walking and Humble Sea

A good IPA collab beer is a solid choice for any TV and craft beer pairing, especially when it’s a lush Hazy that’s loaded with hops! Montana’s Mountains Walking (a rising star on the national craft scene) got together with California’s Humble Sea to double dry-hop this IPA with a whopping 6 lbs of Riwaka and Strata per barrel. The result is serious waves of passion fruit, tangerine, and mango-kush notes. It’s shockingly pillowy too for 10.5% ABV thanks to plenty of flaked and malted oats, though you’ll definitely feel a buzz by the end. By the way, it’s apparently named “Bruh, Move Your Van” because Humble Sea’s founder and brewer slept in a van outside Mountains Walking’s brewery when he went to visit them. 

Cheers! And let’s hope WandaVision keeps its own collab going for a while. It’s just too much fun!