Breweries often stick to certain motifs in their products and branding. Some take style cues from musical genres, science or Greek mythology. But what happens when two very different breweries collaborate? Specifically, what if one is feline-inspired and the other is a death metal- and horror-themed brewery? Where do they find common ground? At the movies! 

Connecticut’s Fat Orange Cat Brew Company and New York’s Nightmare Brewing found a creative nexus in the satirical thriller American Psycho. In the film about a yuppie serial killer, there’s a scene in which an ATM tells the titular psycho to feed it a stray cat—thus the inspiration for this beer’s name. The label for Feed Me a Stray Cat, a double dry-hopped triple IPA, features a panel for each brewery’s interpretation of the macabre movie. 

The beer’s appearance is a hazy yellow with a white head that causes some lacing on the glass. A first whiff has sticky aromas of ripe pineapple, papaya, and orange. There are some underlying bready notes, too.

It’s got a full-bodied mouthfeel just shy of being thick, with some creaminess to boot. The first sip has citrus-tropical sweetness followed by a pronounced bitterness like orange pith. (You might find yourself making a face like Marlon Brando in The Godfather.) There’s definitely a malty backbone here. Since it’s a triple IPA, the 10% ABV comes as no surprise. However, this isn’t a “ninja beer” where the alcohol sneaks up on you—there’s a bit of a warming effect after each sip. The aftertaste is sticky, with some fruit and a little herbaceousness. 

Feed Me a Stray Cat is a bold and balanced triple IPA. It’s a nice beer, but I don’t recommend drinking more than one, lest you might start taking bad advice from ATMs.