#Beer Insider: 'The Big Lebowski' inspires beer names

The main drink of choice for The Dude in the 1998 Coen Brothers film "The Big Lebowski" was a White Russian cocktail.

But the craft beer community has taken the lead in paying homage to the one-time cult classic that's now preserved in the National Film Registry and has spawned multiple annual festivals.

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Numerous breweries around the country have used the movie as inspiration for beer names.

• Short's Brewing Co. of Bellaire, Michigan, has made a winter ale using figs, honey, cinnamon and orange zest flavors called The Fig Lebowski.

• Fulton Beer, of filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen's hometown of Minneapolis, has an American pale ale called The Ringer and a Russian imperial stout called Worthy Adversary.

Both are odes to lines from John Goodman's character Walter Sobchak — who calls a bag of underwear used a ransom substitute as "the ringer" and Viet Cong soldiers in "black pajamas" as a "worthy adversary."

• Pipeworks Brewing Co. of Chicago has a Russian imperial milk stout called Hey, Careful Man, There's a Beverage Here. That's a direct quote from Jeff Bridges' main character, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, as he's shoved into a limousine with a full White Russian glass in his hand.

Hey, Careful Man, There's a Beverage Here tries to simulate the taste of a White Russian by using cocoa nibs, vanilla bean, coffee and lacto sugar.

• Evil Twin Brewing of Brooklyn, New York, also makes a session India pale ale called Citra Sunshine Slacker that has a cartoon logo that resembles Bridges' character.

• Abide Brewing Co. of Newman, Georgia, plays off the movie's "The Dude Abides" tagline. It also has a rotating imperial series called The Dude Ale.

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• Triple C Brewing Co. of Charlotte, North Carolina, has an imperial milk stout called The Dude Imbibes — imbibes means to drink alcohol.

• Greenbush Brewing Co. of Sawyer, Michigan, made a specialty Russian imperial stout called The Brew Abides. The drink even inspired multiple Michigan Lebowski-themed beer, bowling and movie tours.

• Brash Brewing Co. of Houston similarly previously released a Russian milk stout called Abide.

• Boulder Beer Co. of Colorado released a pair of barrel-aged specialties in 2014 called The Dude's Bane and Scourge of the Dude. Each described the barrels as "tying the room together" on their label, referencing The Dude's affection for a soiled rug.

Both The Dude's Bane and Scourge of the Dude were barleywines aged in bourbon barrels.

•Coen references in craft beer isn't just exclusive to The Big Lebowski.

Fargo Brewing Co. in North Dakota pays homage to the 1996 Academy Award-winning Coen flick titled "Fargo" with its IPA called Wood Chipper — an ode to Steve Buscemi's character being put in a wood chipper.

Follow Jake Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen.

About this series

The #Beer insider is a series that looks at brewery trends and news around the country. To stay up to date on beer news, follow www.facebook.com/sctimeslaxen