The game plays something like a Dark Knight-themed cross between the recent Prince of Persia games and the recent Metroid games. Being a big fan of everything I just referenced, I was bound to get sucked in. A while back, upon first hearing about this blog, my friend Tony immediately asked "Why don't you try Batman: Arkham Asylum with Goose Island Night Stalker?" I knew he was on to something, and a couple months later, I verified that his instinct for pairing video games and booze is highly developed.
Night Stalker is a monstrous imperial stout with substantial hop flavor. When I first tried it several months ago, I was impressed with how well its citrusy, piney hoppiness went with its smooth, dark roastiness. It was released last spring, and since then it has changed a bit. It still pours black as midnight on a moonless night (pretty black), but has a little more bran-like maltiness and a little less bitterness than it did before. I was glad to get to try it again, and I liked it just as well as I had before.When I take control of the Dark Knight and stalk insane foes (who are taking performance-enhancing drugs, no less) in an insane asylum, I don't want to drink Vinho Verde. I don't want to have the shades open or the lights on or anybody talking to me. I want to envelope myself in the shadows. I want to embrace madness, for only when it becomes my closest ally can I defeat it as my greatest foe. I can truly say that Night Stalker literally helped me to achieve all of these things.
I should note that the next night I drank a Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout while playing Batman. While it is one of my favorite beers ever, its relative restraint and refinement made it much less suitable for the game than Night Stalker is. So I guess I have to find a game to go with Brooklyn BCS now.
