Beer You, Beer Me, Beer Us Together, Naturally
As for many celebrities, it was an honour for Lionel Richie, too, to make a guest appearance on the Simpsons with his hit “Say You Say Me”. And as is so often the case, Homer was unimpressed by anything that didn’t concern his beloved beer. So the song was rewritten. You see, even stars bend the knee occasionally to the power of beer – and it’s incidental that actually a fictitious beer from a TV series is involved. Not only in the case of the Simpsons, but with other sitcoms as well.
You don’t have to be a huge Simpsons fan to know that Homer Simpson would do anything for a chilled “Duff”. Since I was a kid, I’ve grown up with this series and correspondingly great was my delight when Duff was at last available in the supermarkets. Have you ever wondered what Homer’s staple food actually tastes like? In Germany, the famous Duff is marketed by the Eschweger Klosterbrauerei, and tastes like a mild lager. But it should be mentioned at this point that this is not a licensed beer. This means that the creator of the Simpsons, Matt Groening, has never given it his blessing. So in innumerable countries there are highly disparate versions of the cult beer, which began to pose quite a problem for Fox as the broadcaster. So they decided to put the only genuine authentic Duff beer on the market – though unfortunately it’s only available at the theme parks in Orlando and Los Angeles. So whether Homer Simpson would also like the German version remains an open question.
As I’ve already said, though, I don’t want to confine my remarks to Duff Beer. Have you ever noticed that many series have their own fictitious beer brand? In Family Guy, for instance, there is the Pawtucket Patriot Ale. But unfortunately I have to disappoint the fans out there, since it’s nothing other than Duff Beer. This was revealed in the episode “The Simpsons Guy”, a crossover between Family Guy and the Simpsons.
A German counterpart to Homer Simpson, at least in terms of beer consumption, is Werner: a typical biker and rocker never seen without a beer in his hand, he is a familiar figure to most Germans. Werner and his mates drink “Bölkstoff” in a traditional-style swing-stopper bottle. This can also be purchased in real life: the Flensburger Brewery brews the cult beer – a strong, quaffable pilsener. This, by the way, is the genuine “Bölkstoff”, not a bootleg product like the Simpsons’.
Even in the case of more recent, nonetheless very popular and successful series like How I Met Your Mother, one or two fictitious beers are also encountered. The beer from HIMYM is not (yet) available for purchase in real life, but to top it all has been dubbed “Warmpiss”.
So there are plenty of fictitious TV beers – do you know any more? Then I’m looking forward to your suggestions in the comments.
