4 Guilty Pleasure Movies with Wicked Weed’s Guilty Pleasures Stouts

Ready for some flavors you know are pandering but just can’t resist?

The Movies: Stuff that you can’t help but love despite the lack of critical acclaim. Honestly, those guys just don’t know what they’re talking about sometimes.

The Beers: Imperial Milk Stouts with ridiculously decadent flavors / Wicked Weed Brewing – Asheville, North Carolina

Ready for a treat? Or four?

I first heard of Wicked Weed Brewing’s Guilty Pleasure pack of stouts in 2020. Tragically, however, it wasn’t until recently that I actually managed to get my hands on some. Behold this stunning four-pack of pastry goodness:

• German Chocolate Cake — 8.8% ABV, flavors of coconut and chocolate.
• S’Mores — 9% ABV, with the toasty, chewy flavors of a stacked s’more.
• Milk & Cookies — 8.5% ABV, with hints of cookie crumble and milk chocolate.
• Weed Brownie — 8.7% ABV, flavors and aromas of — you guessed it — a weed brownie.

With this much gooey-gooey deliciousness (and boozy alcohol levels), it only makes sense to space them out over a series of movies that fit the over-indulgent vibe. I’m talking guilty pleasure movies, of course.

What is a Guilty Pleasure Movie, Anyway?

The term “guilty pleasure movie” tends to get thrown around a lot, though not always with accuracy. These are not movies that are merely so bad that they’re good. These are movies that you know full well are bad; yet you enjoy watching them anyway. If anything, you even take comfort with repeat viewings. And sure, the critics may trash a guilty pleasure movie, but if it provides you with entertainment value, does it not serve its most basic purpose as a film?

That may be something you want to ponder after having a few sips of Wicked Weed’s boozy Guilty Pleasure stouts.

Even so, some may consider Wicked Weed itself somewhat of a guilty pleasure brewery. This North Carolina crew sold out to Anheuser-Busch in 2017, prompting criticism within the craft community. While the outcries are understandable, the truth is that Wicked Weed has been able to reach a much broader audience by letting AB-InBev handle their distribution. It’s like an Indie film selling its license to Disney — you can love or hate the situation, but it’s super accessible nonetheless.

4 Movie Pairings with 4 Wicked Weed Guilty Pleasure Stouts

These movie and beer pairings are so full of over-the-top indulgence, you’ll want to tackle them all in a row! Okay, maybe don’t do that and if you do, don’t say Beer-Flicks told you to. But over the course of a week or so? Well, now that’s enough guilty pleasure to last for a while.

German Chocolate Cake Stout with Face/Off (1997)

I’ve written about Face/Off before, and I’m sure I’ll do it again after this. This train wreck is so ridiculously entertaining and so surprisingly watchable.

Of course, the real draw is how zany Nicolas Cage and John Travolta allow themselves to get as two characters who’ve surgically swapped faces. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll cringe…a lot. It’s just the thing for an over-the-top beer like Wicked Weed’s German Chocolate Cake.

This beer drips with the decadence of a real German chocolate confection! It’s velvety thick and boasts an 8.8% ABV — the perfect thing to help smooth out the movie’s more questionable moments. Like that part where John Travolta hits on his own daughter. Or when John Travolta steals another guy’s face and then steals his son. Or when Nicolas Cage dances around as a priest and gets grabby with that choir girl while she’s singing. Yep, it’s all in there, and the beer helps. You’re welcome.

S’mores Stout with Deep Blue Sea (1999)

I won’t say you need to see Deep Blue Sea, but I will say that you should. It’s the kind of movie that feels like it was purposely made to be a guilty pleasure film. It’s basically a ripoff of Jaws on crack. But the real kicker is that the movie is incredibly self-aware, and it leans head-on into the nonsense. Bonus points here for killing off the biggest name in the cast mid-way, immediately after he makes a motivating speech no less. I’ll return to this gleefully bad movie any day.

Naturally, this one pairs well with Wicked Weed’s S’mores. Brewed with real doses of cacao nibs, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and chocolate, this beer is one creamy and fluffy sipper. You know it’s purposely indulgent, and there’s not a lot of hidden depth here. But that’s exactly why you’re going to love it.

Milk & Cookies Stout with Sing (2016)

For some reason, my boyfriend loves Sing. If you’ve seen it, you know that this movie is about a theater owner who needs to put on one last show to save — dum dum dummm! — his theater. To do so, he hosts singing tryouts and gets a bunch of different folks who are regular people but happen to be super talented at singing. The movie is one of those cash-grabs by studio execs with a cast stuffed full of celebrities, and it’s an easy one for kids (or those who just feel like a kid at heart).

It’s comforting predictability and decent vocals from start to finish, so I get why people like it. That’s why I’m pairing this guilty pleasure movie with Wicked Weed’s Milk & Cookies Stout. Brewed with golden raisins and vanilla to accentuate the cookie crumble and milk chocolate overtones, this brew brims with the comforting, simple, flavors of childhood. Of course, the 8.5% ABV is what makes this a beer and movie pairing for adults only.

Weed Brownie Stout with The Love Guru (2008)

The Love Guru is the exact kind of movie I love to hate-watch. It’s so bad, you guys. It’s the movie that made many people forget that Mike Myers is actually a crazy talented guy. Co-stars Jessica Alba and Justin Timberlake are also way better than the shallow roles they’re forced to stumble through here. Vern Troyer is in the movie as well, and his presence just makes you wish you decided to throw on Austin Powers instead.

So, why is the flick even on this list as a guilty pleasure movie?

For one thing, my boyfriend again suggested it here. For another, I have admittedly thrown it on multiple times myself, unprompted by anyone. It’s a really bad movie, but there’s also a strange sort of comfort to it. Sure, the critics were right on the money with this one, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t entertainment value here. It’s the kind of thing that’s not for everyone, but in the right doses, it actually works. Just like weed brownies.

I’m not actually quite sure if this beer is officially named “Weed Brownie” or just “Brownie” as I’ve seen it listed both ways in a multitude of places. Doesn’t matter — it’s delicious. First brewed in celebration of Wicked Weed’s seventh anniversary, this beer brims with the flavors of a dank brownie (thanks, dry hopping and terpenes!). It’s the chocolatey, weed-friendly treat you never knew you craved.

*Bonus movie pairing — Showgirls (1995)

God I love Showgirls. I’m 32 now, so I can say things like that without taking a blow to my reputation as a cinephile (or more accurately, caring when I do). Modern-day critics can’t make up their minds whether the movie is good, intentional camp, or unintentional garbage. I’m mostly in the latter group, but that’s why I love it.

I love Showgirls because it’s so over the top. I love it because the plot doesn’t really make any sense. I love it because I can’t look away. I love that, from a quality perspective, it’s like a dumpster fire on top of a tractor trailer that rammed head-on into a bus stuffed full of trash.

While the acting in Showgirls is pretty terrible, you can’t help but admire how committed it is. And sure, the plot twists may be thin, but they chug right along. The visuals and characters are beyond ridiculous too, but that’s Vegas, baby!

Pop open any Guilty Pleasure stout with this awesome atrocity of cinema. It’s more than worthy.