Beer is an age-old drink, and though it goes hand in hand with a lot of other things, such as peanuts, fried chicken, Sunday sessions, how about the following beating of beer and movies! No, we are not discussing lying in bed and having a Netflix subscription and your favorite IPA on the TV, as that sounds cool. It is all-out tap beer, hearty meals, and a large screen. Meet the brewpub cinema!

The History of the Brewpub

A brewpub, as the name implies, is a venue that serves not only beer that has been brewed, but also serves the beer and is housed under the same roof. These facilities are based on the craft beer movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The concept was to offer artisanal brewing to the exclusive clientele at the place where the craft brewery was located. This was not available in the large production breweries of that era, such as Anheuser-Busch, Pabst, and Schlitz. To consume their bee, you needed to go to a different place.

The introduction of food went on fairly fast, so a trip to a brewpub was an opportunity to eat, drink, and socialize. The Hilltop Brewery in Portland, Oregon, was one of the earliest brewpubs, which was started in 1985 by two brothers, Mike and Brian McMenamin. Today, there are over 3,500 brewpubs operating in the US.

What Is a Brewpub Cinema?

A brewpub cinema goes a step higher, serving brewed-on-site beer, food in front of a huge movie screen. This was inspired by Brewvies cinema-pub, which was founded in 1997 as a food and beer serving cinema, though the beer was not brewed in-house. In order to qualify as a brewpub cinema, brewing must be on premises. A brewpub cinema would traditionally have cult films and beer movies shown.

Flix Brewhouse: The First Brewpub Cinema in the US

The first brew pub theater in the country is Flix Brewhouse, which was established in Round Rock, Texas, in 2011. It is now the grand-daddy of the brew pub cinemas and has 11 branches in the US. The difference that Flix Brewhouse boasts is the fact that it exhibits new-release movies. It also realizes the long life of screening cult movies and provides the same as special events, be it a single day or a whole week. Its website is updated daily.

The question of what to order at Flix Brewhouse is what one would have ordered upon having a meal of craft beer: one would think of burgers and sandwiches, pizza, mac and cheese, and chicken tenders. Flix Brewhouse is a reputable and much-awarded beer that has been showcased in the Great American Beer Festival, but as the US Open Beer. It is based on four large tap beers, namely: 10-Day Scottish Ale, Luna Rose Raspberry Wheat, Nebulas Hazy IPA, and Lucha Libre Mexican Lager. Like everywhere in the US, you must be 21 and over to purchase and drink beer; IDs will be checked. Flix Brewhouse promotes itself as an entertainment venue for people over 17; those 6 to 16 are welcome to see a movie if accompanied by a responsible adult. 

Where to Find Brewpub Cinemas

Flix Brewhouse is the only existing chain of brew pub cinemas in the US. Residents of or tourists to the respective states are not left behind, and there exist Flix Brewhouse restaurants there:

• Indiana: Carmel
• Iowa: Des Moines
• New Mexico: ABQ Coors, ABQ Tramway
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma City
• Texas: El Paso, Frisco, Mansfield, Round Rock, San Antonio
• Wisconsin: Madison

And it is not a classic brewpub, but in case you love movies and are a person who appreciates beer, Brewvies is a place worth visiting. It is a twin-screen theater in Salt Lake City, Utah; it has three to five sessions per day; these are normally second-run films.

Brewvies is socio-culturally determined, and it has a free Sunday Brunch screening with the lunch package. The menu includes burgers, sandwiches, loaded Nachos, and Pizza. It has a big variety of beer, tap, and bottle, and signature cocktails. Brewvies will be a venue where individuals aged of above 21 will be served, and individuals who appear to be below 21 will be asked to show IDs.

Beyond Beer and Movies: Other Surprising Pairings

In the US, we drink beer with peanuts, in the UK, we drink beer and fish and chips, and in Japan, we drink beer and gyoza. All these are customary combinations. The brewpub cinemas are not the only illustration of how strange couples can get along – what at first might appear to be strange couples can turn out to be quite decent partners.

One such combination is peanut butter and pickles. Peanut butter that was used in most households in the US during the 1930s was a household product during the great depression. There was also a great popularity of pickles, which are prepared at home. This may sound weird, but the pickles are a sour, salty, and crunchy blend, which, in fact, counterbalances the creaminess of the peanut butter.

The following are some other examples of weird pairings that work:

• Nature and technology: Smart gardens and eco-friendly buildings are favorites of environmentalists the world over; these two work together to achieve a beneficial purpose.
• Online casinos and fintechs: No longer the domain of credit cards and bank transfers, fintechs are a secure way to deposit funds into an online casino. Many sites, such as the Irish ones found at Casinos.com, now allow deposits via Revolut, for example. Pair that with a Guinness, and you’re golden!
• Shopping malls and extreme adventures: Fancy going surfing in New Jersey? You can! Go to the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford and have a look at the largest indoor wave pool in the world.

The possibilities of the matching items are interminable. The next time you are drinking a craft beer and watching a movie at a brewpub cinema, then, consider what you would like to eat with your next beer. Who knows – one day your local KFC will have beer on tap!