Revisiting ‘Clueless’ with Drekker’s Clueless Wonder IPA

Amy Heckerling’s modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma may no longer be as modern as it once was, but the charm holds up well. Pair it with a macro beer? As if! 

The Movie: Teen Rom-Com – modern adaptation of classic literature / 1995 / Paramount Pictures

The Beer: Imperial New England IPA with 7 kinds of hops! / 8.3% ABV / Drekker Brewing Co. – Fargo, ND

There’s a handful of things about Clueless that haven’t aged well since its 1995 premiere:

• The relationship between Josh and Cher (He’s her *former* step-brother! He’s in college while she’s in high school! He’s likable because he’s just young Paul Rudd, but still yuck).
• Classmate Amber’s sense of style
• The giant, now extremely outdated cellphones
• Stacey Dash (personality-wise, but that’s a whole can of worms we won’t open today)

Other than those, the movie holds up surprisingly well now more than 25 years later. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling, Clueless uses the familiar, often ridiculous, world of high school teenagers to re-tell Jane Austen’s Emma in a modern setting. The cast and direction keeps the plot bouncy and the characters irresistibly watchable. It’s also worth mentioning that the Beverly Hills setting wraps the whole thing in an amusing aura of vanity and SoCal dialect (totally!)

Where Clueless most succeeds is its ability to charm no matter what the situation is. Cher (Alicia Silverstone) getting mugged? Tragic, but her reaction in the moment adds surprising humor. New girl Tai (Brittany Murphy, RIP) being given a makeover to fit in more with the cool kids? A teen movie stereotype for sure, but Cher and Dionne’s (Dash) good intentions behind their misguided efforts somehow make the whole montage endearing.

Today’s high schools may be more about inclusion and acceptance than ever before, but being trendy is still a focus at all ages. So, let’s pair this timeless teen movie with a trendy beer! And when it comes to popularity, it’s tough to beat the New England-style IPA.

Especially when it has a fitting name like Clueless Wonder from Drekker Brewing! As Cher Horowitz herself would say, I am “totally butt crazy in love” with this beer.

Bursting with six different kinds of hops (Mosaic, Citra, Azacca, Cashmere, Lemon Drop, 007 and Huell Melon), Clueless Wonder definitely delivers the juice. This massive IPA is what the brewers call their “offering to all our favorite presumptuous wanna-be cosmopolitan hacks out there.” Paired with Clueless? Seems about right.

Known for lush fruit character, the NEIPA took over the American craft beer scene over the past several years like Clueless won over younger audiences in the 90s — easily. Adding hops late in the brewing process tends to give this style intense tropical flavors with minimal hop bitterness, while the purposely hazy, unfiltered body means it sips down smooth and pillowy. In the U.S. at least, it’s tough to find a modern brewery today that doesn’t make NEIPAs, and the trend doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

The beer style didn’t exist at all back in 1995, of course. But it’s worth mentioning that was still an important time in the world of IPAs. It’s easy to see Josh (Rudd) and his college buddies getting into the emerging world of craft beer and West Coast IPAs — the brews that paved the way for today’s hazies.

Will the New England-style remain popular 25 years later? That remains to be seen. But for now, it sure feels good pairing this trendy beer with Clueless.

But in case you are looking for some other styles, here are some other beers totally worth buggin’ over:

*Bonus Beers*

• As If / West Coast IPA / 7.2% ABV / Hopewell Brewing Co. – Chicago, IL
• 1995 Called / Amber Lager / 5.8% ABV / Ex Novo Brewing – Portland, OR
• Popular Blonde / Blonde Ale / 5.2% ABV / First Street Brewing – Hastings, NE
• Beverly Hills Cros / IPA / 6/9% ABV / Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC) – Brooklyn, NY