‘Mouse Hunt’ with Cat & Mouse Wild Ale

The 1997 family comedy about two brothers teaming up against a clever mouse somehow seems even zanier over 20 years later. Let’s pair it with a wild ale!

The Movie: Surprisingly dark family comedy / 1997 / Dreamworks

The Beer: Wild Ale aged on butterfly pea flowers / 5.3% ABV / 2nd Shift Brewing – St. Louis, MO & Off Color Brewing – Chicago, IL

All I remembered about Mouse Trap was that seven-year-old me had loved it. While I didn’t recall all the fine details, I did know it was the story of two brothers (at least one of whom was the always entertaining Nathan Lane!) being constantly outwitted by a clever house mouse. Oh, and they ended up accidentally inventing really cool-looking string cheese at the end. There was a string factory in there somewhere too.

After getting a bottle of Cat & Mouse Wild Ale (more on this beer later on), it seemed only fitting to revisit the movie. I mean, I was pretty sure there was a cat in there too at some point, and wasn’t the whole thing just a fun game of chase? As it turned out, not quite.

This movie is way weirder and darker than I remembered.

Here’s the premise: two brothers (Lane and Lee Evans) are down on their luck. One’s wife has recently left him, while the other just lost his restaurant after accidentally killing the mayor via a cockroach-in-the-food-induced heart attack. Their string factory-owning father also passes away, leaving to them an odd assortment of items they are to share: a ceramic egg, some spoons, a single piece of string and a “cold and spooky” house.

Naturally they end up at the house, and it’s then that they discover it was built by a famous architect. The boys are overjoyed at the prospect of it being potentially worth millions, but first they’ll have to catch that mouse that somehow escaped the mousetrap they set. The hunt is on!

From here on out, the main plot is fairly predictable with the mouse constantly outwitting the brothers while they also fall prey to their own devices. It’s like if Home Alone blew up in little Kevin McCallister’s face. Only this story also comes with some bizarre surprises, including plenty of not-so-family-friendly violence and an exterminator played by Christopher Walken.

In addition to some unpredictably dark moments (remember, this movie kicks off with multiple deaths), What really stood out is how odd the world itself is. The setting is an alternate universe that’s reminiscent of the one from Babe (90s family filmmakers loved using fictional settings for some reason), with a subtle Tim Burton-esque quality to it.

The whole thing is pretty wild, which makes Cat & Mouse Wild Ale an even more appropriate beer pairing!

This brew is a little tangy, a little funky and a whole lotta fun. There’s a floral quality to it, punctuated with notes of oak and hints of sweet berry tartness. It finishes delectably dry and wine-like, as though the end of the sip were made of straight champagne. You could totally pair this one with string cheese.

And did I mention it’s purple!?

Yep, thanks to the butterfly pea flower it was aged on, this Wild looks like it’d fit right into the weird world of Mouse Hunt.

Plus in the spirit of a movie about two brothers, it’s also worth mentioning that Cat & Mouse is a collaboration between 2nd Shift Brewing and Off Color Brewing. They’re not brothers, but they are two microbreweries in the Midwest, so close enough.

Now all that’s needed is some of that delicious-looking string cheese from the end of the movie. Preferably without a mouse making it though.