Beer and Movie Pairing: Duchesse de Brooklyn
“Like, what do you do to get all of this?”
For many people, this is the pairing you’ve been waiting for all season… and it comes with a new twist, just like the movie! We’re pairing this year’s Palme d’Or winner, Anora, with the Duchesse de Bourgogne, a truly unique Flemish beer that has a cult following. This is the first beer and movie pairing for Brunello Bombshell, and it felt like just the right time for it!
Anora (2024) has been acclaimed as the Pretty Woman of the 21st Century. The plot follows the title character, who prefers to be called Ani (Mikey Madison), an exotic dancer who is cajoled into working with Ivan, a young, wealthy tycoon’s son (Mark Eydelshteyn), because of her ability to speak Russian. The rest of the plot seems to unfold simply - boy hires girl to be his girlfriend for a week, boy and girl fly to Las Vegas, boy and girl run down to the famed Little White Chapel and get married. Ani quickly leaves her job at the club to settle into married life… only to find that Ivan’s family in Russia has found out about the marriage, and is threatening a forced annulment. The rest of the movie is a downhill snowball ride of a screwball comedy that needs to be seen to be believed.
Director and screenwriter Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) frequently depicts the lives of marginalized people, especially sex workers, in his films, and as his eighth feature film, Anora feels like a comedic magnum opus that defines the Sean Baker filmography. Baker’s aptitude for gritty, documentary-like shots and editing works to highlight the world Ani inhabits, but the glitz and glam of Ani and Ivan’s romance gets a noticeable sheen to it. Yes, the script for Anora is original, and it is very good, but this is a sweeping directorial effort that believes in the power of an image - not an easy feat when sex work is the subject.
At the end of the day, Anora is Mikey Madison’s movie, and everyone else just gets to be a voyeur. Madison never telegraphs the character’s emotions, instead finding spontaneity and unpredictability in Ani’s actions scene after scene. The acting performance feels true to the character, but allows for Ani’s growth over the course of the movie. Mark Eydelshteyn is getting some hype around his affable performance as Ivan, but in my opinion, Yura Borisov is the character actor to watch here. As the menacing Igor, Borisov has a screen presence that is instantly magnetic, as if Igor is always three steps ahead of anyone else in the movie. The field of Supporting Actors is strong this year, but the final two scenes of Anora have convinced me that Borisov will be high on a lot of nomination lists in the coming months.
Pairing Anora with a beverage has turned out to be trickier than I thought. I wanted to find something that wouldn’t be out of place within the world of the movie, and there was surprisingly little champagne in Ani’s world. It’s a beer-and-vodka kind of movie, but I felt like a shot of Russian vodka was a little too on-the-nose. Instead, Brunello Bombshell is dipping its toes into a beer and movie pairing that feels just right - the quintessentially complex cult favorite known as Duchesse de Bourgogne.
Duchesse de Bourgogne is a Flemish red ale made by Brouwerij Verhaeghe in a novel and complex method. There are rich, roasty malts that are combined with aged hops and aged in oak casks for 18 months. At the very end, the 18 month-old beer is combined with 8 month-aged beer, giving it a freshness that can be felt throughout drinking it. Plus, look at the label! Mary, the Duchess of Bourgogne is pictured on the front, but I think she bears a striking resemblance and a knowing look similar to Mikey Madison as Ani.
Tasting notes are kind of all over the place, indicating a beer with a lot of complexity that’s worthy of meditation. I get a lot of dried cherry and molasses on the nose, but there’s this interesting texture on the palate that reminds me of black walnut bitters that feels delightfully synchronistic with the taste. Duchesse de Bourgogne is one of those beers that can convert wine drinkers into trying something complex, and it’s a treat for beer lovers to drink something different but well made. Like its movie pairing, there’s something accessible about the beer that still carries some weight and intrigue for all its frothy fun. From the first sip to the last, it’s a beer with twists and turns that needs to be completely savored to be fully appreciated (and revisited time and again).
Full disclosure: I actually took this beer and movie pairing for a spin when I saw Anora in theaters (the perks of working at a wine shop across the street from a movie theater!). I may be highly biased when I say my favorite food pairing for Duchesse de Bourgogne is Landmark’s real butter popcorn and peanut M&Ms, but you’ll have to take my word for it that it’s a great combo. If you’re not sneaking cult beer into movie theaters like me, definitely put this beer in a chalice and enjoy it with your favorite holiday foods - spiced ham, a good stuffing, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, it all works.
Duchesse de Bourgogne is available wherever you can purchase craft beer. You can also check WineSearcher for details on stockists near you. Thank you for shopping at your local independent wine store!
Anora (2024) is now playing in select cities across the US. It will become available in a wide release later this month. Check your local movie theater for showtimes.