‘Clue’ and The Case of the Missing Custard IPA

It’s the perfect pairing — a whodunit and a whodunit! Only the beer doesn’t come with three different endings. 

The Movie: Black comedy-mystery based on a board game / 1985 / Polygram Pictures – Paramount

The Beer: Milkshake IPA that tastes like a coconut cream pie! / 7.3% ABV / Levante Brewing – West Chester, PA

My boyfriend and I got into a “movie and game” phase a little while back. There was Jumanji and Jumanji,  Battleship and Battleship, Twister and Twister; you get the picture. Capping it all off, of course, was Clue and Clue.

The latest format of the board game was a bit jarring (What gives, Hasbro? No more Mrs. White!?) On the flip side, certain moments in the movie did not age well (like the characters getting visibly uncomfortable when finding out another character is gay). That said, there are two reasons Clue remains worth watching today: the cast and the conclusion.

Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Martin Mull, Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan… this is just the shortlist of comedic pros romping around in a mansion, trying to solve a mysterious murder. Even when the plot stumbles, the actors keep it chugging merrily along until the end. And the end! The movie rewards viewers with three different conclusions, each weirder and funnier than the last.

Ironically, it’s these multiple endings that caused the movie to be a box office flop. Turns out, not many people wanted to pay to see the murder mystery solved in a different way each time. It wasn’t until the home video release that all the endings were lined up together in a row, allowing the movie to build up a cult following in the years since.

But now when I go back to watch Clue, I have a new pairing that isn’t a board game (though I’ll still play the board game, even if poor Mrs. White is a goner). It’s The Case of the Missing Custard, a Milkshake IPA from Pennsylvania’s Levante Brewing!

The real mystery here is how the brewers got this beer to taste like a coconut cream pie topped with citrus rind, without actually brewing it with pastries. But if you guessed “Levante in the brewhouse with the lactose, Madagascar vanilla and toasted coconut,” you’d be right on the money. In any case, it’s a darn delicious beer, and I dare say it’s more consistent throughout than the movie.

By the way, there’s a new Clue movie in pre-production directed by Jason Bateman and starring Ryan Reynolds. At least it’s supposedly still happening (COVID has delayed and cancelled many projects). Plus an upcoming animated series was announced this year. So here’s some more Clue beer pairings to keep in mind:

*Bonus Beers*

• In the Ballroom / NEIPA / 5% ABV / Laughing Monk Brewing – San Francisco, CA
• Mrs. White’s Peach Sour / Fruited Sour / 4% ABV / Lake Time Brewery – Clear Lake, IA
• Professor Plum’s Alibi / 6% ABV / Fruited Sour / Roadmap Brewing Co. – San Antonio, TX