How does a small brewery/cafe get 50 VHS copies of the movie 'Speed'? And what next?
Vennture Brew Co. is releasing a new beer and hosting a watch party for the 1994 movie "Speed" on Friday.
Why? Because a joke between staff and customers made the Washington Heights brewery and café the proud owner of 50 VHS copies of the movie starting Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.
That's quite a feat in a day when VHS tapes are hard to find, and it might be harder to find a VHS player.
It started when a bartender found a single VHS copy of "Speed" after closing the bar about a year ago, co-owner Simon McConico said. No one knew how it got there, or who left it at the bar. He placed it on top of the tap box and left it there overnight.
The opening barista, Ben Malone, got a kick out of the new decorative piece at the bar. When he was at a local bookstore, he found three more VHS copies of the movie and decided to add to the collection.
"Since then people started sending in copies," McConico said. "And we've gotten other collectibles, like someone brought in the movie on Blu-ray DVD. We have a cassette tape of music inspired by the 'Speed' movie. (It is) just kind of this weird thing. There's not really a reason why."
Customers dedicated their "Speed" donations to Malone, who kept the collection going.
"There's all sorts of random nods to the odd collection," McConcico said.
That includes one of the top Google reviews for Vennture, which gave it five stars for being a "fantastic coffee shop" with "phenomenal" hand pies, and also because, "They've got 6 VHS copies of the 1994 movie 'Speed.' It's pretty random, but I think it's a great addition to an already awesome shop," the reviewer wrote in March 2022.
As the joke grew, the owners said that they would brew a special release beer if they could collect 50 VHS copies, which finally happened earlier this year.
The beer "50 Copies of Speed on VHS" is a Kveik blond ale with Triumph hops.
"Kveik is a Norwegian farmhouse yeast that ferments quickly, it has a lot of speed, so we figured that would be appropriate," McConico said. "We used the Triumph hops because we were triumphant in our quest to get 50 copies of 'Speed.' It's a 3.5% nice bready flavor with hint of lemon."
Vennture, 5519 W. North Ave. will release the beer in cans and on tap Friday, when they plan to show the movie at 6 and 8:15 p.m.
Customers who buy a four-pack of "50 Copies of Speed on VHS" will get their very own copy of "Speed" on VHS from the collection, signed by Malone, who will be in attendance to watch the movie himself for the very first time.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How does a small brewery/cafe get 50 VHS copies of 'Speed'? And what next?
