Books, brews and trivial pursuits

By Laura Guido • October 16, 2018 1:30 am

Something wicked this way comes.

Starks, Lannisters, Gryffindors and even Hufflepuffs are challenged to test their knowledge of the Game of Thrones and Harry Potter universes.

With the help of some ale.

Wicked Teuton Brewing Company and the Oak Harbor Library are teaming up for “Booktoberfest” trivia at the taproom in the back of Whidbey Home Brew Supply.

Winter is coming to Oak Harbor, starting at 6 p.m. Thursday. The event will feature questions drawn from both the pages and the screen of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series.

“Dress like your favorite characters and really get into it,” advised Terry Boese, owner of Wicked Teuton Brewing.

Prizes, such as free pint glasses or a one-gallon brew kit, will go to the winners.

For fans of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter trivia will take place 6 p.m., Oct. 23. Boese said he’s working on a non-alcoholic butter beer to serve for the occasion.

Both trivia nights will include a round of questions about what happens in the book and not the TV show or movies, said Jessica Aws, of the Oak Harbor Library.

“Hopefully people who come have at least one team member who has read the books and one who has watched the shows,” she said. “Anyone who enjoyed both will have a really good time.”

The events came to be after Aws approached Boese to tell him that the library was aiming to add programs for the 20s and 30s crowd.

“It gives younger adults in the area something to do on a week night,” Aws said.

She said the Wicked name of Boese’s brewing company fit her ideas for the trivial themes she was considering. Other Sno-Isle libraries recently started pub trivia nights, but these will be the first in Island County, she said.

“It’s an unexpected way to support a local business through the library,” said Aws.

It helps that the brewer is a bit of a Potterhead himself.

“I have read just about everything JK Rowling has ever written,” he said.

If all goes well, Boese and Aws said they hope to keep the book/movie trivia theme going throughout the winter.

Until then, teams hailing from Winterfell to Hogwarts can draw confidence from the boy with the lightning bolt scar’s advice, “Working hard is important. But there is something that matters even more, believing in yourself.”