Celestial Beerworks Welcome to the Space Jam Pairs Well with… You Guessed It!

Everybody get up, it’s time to slam now. We got a real jam going now… with some PB&J flavors in beer form!

The Movie: Family Comedy and ’90s Cultural Phenomenon / 1996 / Warner Bros.

The Beer: Fruited Berliner Weisse / 5.2% ABV / Celestial Beerworks – Dallas, TX

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – we Millennials are one nostalgic generation. So, naturally, when I found out Celestial Brewing put out a PB&J-inspired beer called Welcome to the Space Jam, there was no question at all which movie it should be paired with.

For those who are either too young to remember or were living under a rock circa 1996, Space Jam was a cultural phenomenon. Surprisingly meta for the time, the movie follows the story of Michael Jordan during his brief foray into minor league baseball, when he is kidnapped, er, recruited, by Bugs Bunny and friends to help them win a basketball game for their freedom from a group of aliens whose boss wants to enslave the ‘toons for attractions at his space amusement park (whew. You try summing up this bonkers plot in one sentence).

The biggest basketball star on the planet teamed up with the biggest cartoon character ever, alongside Bill Murray and a slew of other basketball stars and cartoon characters (and even the voice of Danny DeVito!) in the mix? Heck yeah. And on top of all that, let us not forget the killer soundtrack that was certified double platinum just a couple months after the film’s release date.

Of course, the whole thing was a total corporate money grab that brought in huge revenues for both Warner Bros. and the NBA – but it worked!

If you’re still asking questions, just go watch Space Jam already. It’s nuts.

But before you do, you might want to grab Celestial Beerworks’ Welcome to the Space Jam Berliner Weisse (it’s tricky to find outside of Dallas though, so if you’re not able to snag it, I went ahead and included some fun alternatives down below). To swirl the brew with plenty of lunchtime notes that remind of after school afternoons in front of the VHS player, Celestial used a surprising amount of additions.

There’s blueberry, blackberry, strawberry and raspberry for multifaceted jelly flavors, plus a dose of oats for a whisper of bread crust. Naturally, the full sandwich experience is completed with the addition of peanut butter. It’s like an old-school sammie you can drink! Only it does come with a 5.2% ABV, so this one’s for grown-up Space Jam fans only.

Turns out, the folks at Celestial are pretty nostalgic too. Plus, as evidenced by their constellation-lined taproom, they also just really like space stuff.

And let’s be honest, Space Jam is the exact kind of movie that doesn’t need a sequel. Like the beer I’m drinking today, it’s enjoyably weird and a fun departure from the norm. That said, Space Jam: A New Legacy is set to drop this July. I’ll probably end up streaming it, because why not. In the meantime though, I’m happy I got to experience the original in all its mid-90s glory.

*Bonus Brews*

• Space Jam / Imperial Stout / 13.99% ABV / Bottle Logic – Anaheim, CA
• Cherries in Berries Space / “Tartshake” Sour IPA / 6.8% ABV / Cinderlands Beer Co. – Pittsburgh, PA
• Space Jammer / NEIPA / 7% ABV / Moonraker Brewing – Auburn, CA
• You Ever Put a Helmet on a Basketball? / Imperial Milk Stout / 13% ABV / Hoof Hearted Brewing – Marengo, OH
• Lunchtime Lager / Lager / 3.5% ABV / Schoolhouse Brewing – Marietta, GA
• No Crusts / Fruit Beer / 6.4% ABV / Funky Buddha – Oakland Park, FL