The Beer Brothers' Halloween Haunt: A Nostalgic Revisit to Candies and Costumes
Oct 31, 2023
The Beer Brothers
Remember that Halloween when you bit into a candy, only to find out it was the dreaded black licorice? Or when you had to squeeze every piece of candy in your Halloween haul, looking for anything suspicious? Well, this episode is a trip down memory lane as we go through our favorite Halloween candies and the ones that made us cringe. From the glory of a Milky Way bar to the mystery of black and orange wrapped candy, we cover it all. We also chat about those well-intentioned yet peculiar handouts like apples and, dare we say, cans of tuna fish.
Ever wondered what the Beer Brothers wore for Halloween? Let's revisit the comical maze of our costume history as we discuss our best and worst Halloween outfits. We talk about the restrictive plastic masks with the elastic straps that made it difficult to breathe, let alone scare anyone. We'll share how we managed to work around the height difference compared to other kids our age and the creative solutions we came up with. You'll hear our thoughts on the most unique costumes we've seen − from inflatable Minecraft characters to a cow costume, nothing is off-limits. So sit back, grab your pumpkin ale, and join us for this nostalgic Halloween special episode.
Remember that Halloween when you bit into a candy, only to find out it was the dreaded black licorice? Or when you had to squeeze every piece of candy in your Halloween haul, looking for anything suspicious? Well, this episode is a trip down memory lane as we go through our favorite Halloween candies and the ones that made us cringe. From the glory of a Milky Way bar to the mystery of black and orange wrapped candy, we cover it all. We also chat about those well-intentioned yet peculiar handouts like apples and, dare we say, cans of tuna fish.
Ever wondered what the Beer Brothers wore for Halloween? Let's revisit the comical maze of our costume history as we discuss our best and worst Halloween outfits. We talk about the restrictive plastic masks with the elastic straps that made it difficult to breathe, let alone scare anyone. We'll share how we managed to work around the height difference compared to other kids our age and the creative solutions we came up with. You'll hear our thoughts on the most unique costumes we've seen − from inflatable Minecraft characters to a cow costume, nothing is off-limits. So sit back, grab your pumpkin ale, and join us for this nostalgic Halloween special episode.
Speaker 1:
The Beer Brothers proudly present the.
Speaker 2:
Best of A podcast about the best of everything, From the mundane to the ridiculous just three buddies sitting around the car table talking about things that absolutely matter to no one.
Speaker 1:
Well, boys, tonight we have a very special Best of episode. It's our Halloween special. So we're just going to be a little off script and talk about the best of Halloween, maybe even a little bit of the worst of Halloween.
Speaker 2:
We really had a script, I think the show would be much better.
Speaker 1:
It's probably true, but having said that, I'm Mark.
Speaker 2:
I'm Chris. I'm Greg.
Speaker 1:
And Halloween. We're actually filming this right after Trick or Treat.
Speaker 2:
And we're recording it right after Trick or Treat. Filming it. Excuse me, we're recording this right after.
Speaker 1:
Eventually, we are going to add a video element to this.
Speaker 3:
I like that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, but for now, no, you're just just recording and let's, let's talk about Halloween.
Speaker 3:
All the trick or treaters we had.
Speaker 1:
Oh, my goodness, all of them. Yeah, I think we went through, realistically I think, five to 600 pieces of candy?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, absolutely Somewhere. It was a busy night.
Speaker 2:
It was busy and cold cold but busy and we really picked up about seven o'clock and it really got Breezing cold out there.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it did, so let's start off with Halloween candy. We've done a candy bar episode before. And we all agreed that Milky Way was the number one Right, I don't have to recall that it was a dark day Also. That was.
Speaker 2:
Mark's favorite. Remember, that was Mark's favorite.
Speaker 1:
Milky Way. It was a very dark day. It was a dark time. It was the best of times and the worst of times. I think I've heard that before, so best Halloween candy Best. Halloween candy.
Speaker 2:
I tell you what's not the best is that the black and orange, the one that's. Some of them are orange, some of them are black that paper.
Speaker 1:
What are they? Unbelievably baby. Where do?
Speaker 2:
you buy those, and what are they?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, what are those kind of like?
Speaker 3:
Taffy. Yeah, I think, taffy. I think you were right when you said it.
Speaker 2:
It's kind of like Taffy. It's kind of it's chewy like Taffy Chalky.
Speaker 1:
Like, almost like, a Charleston shoe it takes it's vanilla, very vanilla-y yeah terrible.
Speaker 2:
But what are? Where do you buy those?
Speaker 1:
Well, growing up that was one that we would pass out. I remember very vividly that. And pal gum I like pal gum, pal gum was as hard as a rock Bingo.
Speaker 2:
The only thing harder gum wise was the little sticks of gum you got in the baseball cards.
Speaker 1:
The pal gum was about, you know.
Speaker 2:
It's half the size, man yeah.
Speaker 1:
And you bite into that and it would crack through your teeth every time.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
So you know.
Speaker 3:
I think black and orange is terrible. I think it's kind of like.
Speaker 1:
It's almost like corn syrup.
Speaker 2:
Okay, again, what store sells that?
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
Number one, it was not in Sam's Club, I can tell you that. Well, number two, who?
Speaker 2:
gives that out, who sits around and goes. You know what I'm going to hand out this year? I'm going to hand out the worst possible candy.
Speaker 1:
You know anybody would ever want. It's nostalgic.
Speaker 2:
It is, I got you. It's terrible.
Speaker 3:
Are there anything worse than that, except maybe black licorice?
Speaker 2:
You know, the FDA came out with a warning on black licorice.
Speaker 3:
That's not a hurt.
Speaker 2:
In case anybody wants to know. The FDA did put a warning out on black licorice before Halloween. The FDA said it sucks.
Speaker 1:
Here's the thing how can, how can like red licorice taste so good, right, and black licorice, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:
It's terrible because black licorice is actually licorice. Red licorice is not licorice, it's a red. Yeah, fake licorice candy, yeah, I think we're kind of missing the point, though. All Halloween candy, whether it's the same. My favorite Halloween candy hands down tootsie rolls like. The longer you get, the longer thin ones, which is my favorites, especially when they're fresh. Those are the ones that look like Lincoln.
Speaker 1:
Logs. You could have built a little cabin with that.
Speaker 2:
That's the big long ones that when I was a kid you get four for a dollar. Now they're like two, 29 pieces or something, but you get those at Southern states when I was a kid. Anyhow, who who's candy? I can't believe I'm going to tell you all this. I'm sure you're all right there with me. All my candy tasted the same because by the time mom and dad got done squishing it all to make sure there were no needles or razor blades or anything else Growing up in a little mud.
Speaker 3:
we didn't have to worry about that. Oh really, you know.
Speaker 1:
And growing up in the seventies we didn't have to really worry about that.
Speaker 2:
Well, this was late seventies, this was late seventies, but here's the thing, my mom didn't care.
Speaker 1:
If you dare to, I think that would have been a preference.
Speaker 3:
A few good razor blades, do you?
Speaker 2:
guys. Remember, though, that the hospitals would advertise that they would X-ray all the kids candy.
Speaker 3:
I do remember that.
Speaker 2:
And you know it's funny because mom and dad would you know. Now I think about it, half my candy would disappear while dad was squeezing it, so maybe that ought to be something right there, but they would squeeze everything and mush it up and make sure there's nothing in there. And it's ironic, I'd never knew anybody that ever came across a needle or a razor blade or anything.
Speaker 1:
Well, I'll tell you I think there is a worse Halloween quote unquote candy that I got as a kid one time. This woman down the street handed out apples literally like a bag of apples. She just hears an apple. You get home with your wanton of Snickers and there's an apple there.
Speaker 2:
I think that's not good, can I want to help you? Well, I Sunmade raisins.
Speaker 3:
Oh, yes, I see I got both of you all beat.
Speaker 2:
Would you get a little money to get a big chew in the back or what? This was not.
Speaker 3:
This was not something that I received. Leave I get it. This is something I gave out. Oh, this ought to be good. It was when I was in law school. I had an apartment. I wouldn't expect in any trick or treaters.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
So I get trick or treaters. I didn't even know it was Halloween, so what do I have?
Speaker 1:
Craft mac and cheese.
Speaker 3:
Canza tuna fish.
Speaker 2:
That is the absolute truth. I had four cans of tuna fish.
Speaker 3:
I gave those out and there were three more kids earned. I had three one dollar bills and give them a dollar.
Speaker 1:
Oh, my God, I'd rather have the dollar?
Speaker 3:
I think no question.
Speaker 1:
But I didn't have anything to give because if I had got a dollar I could have bought some of that pot at me.
Speaker 2:
Please tell me they burned your apartment down that night. I assume they wanted to. Let me tell you something If I go to somebody's house, or apartment and they hand me a can of tuna fish.
Speaker 3:
It was in water at least, oh wait in oil.
Speaker 1:
What about the best Halloween costume that you had as a kid?
Speaker 2:
Again, we all grew up around the same time, except for Mark.
Speaker 3:
Except for Mark Right. Two of us grew up around the same time I'm going to be Al Capone today.
Speaker 1:
We had lucky strikes giving out to us kids, you know.
Speaker 2:
Mark and I were talking before this, greg, when the velocity market didn't carry these costumes like like Mark and I used to get. That's true, I used to get my hex here in town, I think. But was the little plastic masks with the rubber strap that ran around back your head that you would sweat so bad it would cut you around your eyes? Oh yeah, a little plastic costume went over top of it.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, your eyes would be irritated for about a week, yeah.
Speaker 2:
The only one. I remember those that I had. I was ace fraylee from Kiss and then after that it was, you know, draco and that kind of stuff. But my best costume I ever had was the last year I went trick or treating. Now, greg, you probably had this problem. Mark, not so much, I was so much taller than all the other kids my age. Not so much. When I was I don't think I was like 10 was the last year I quit trick or treating because I was so much taller. I kind of stuck out.
Speaker 2:
So Dan got this idea that he took all these balloons and twist them up and basically made legs into a pair of my pants. We borrowed a dress from this great old aunt that I had that lived to be like a hundred and six A balloon head with a with a rubber mask on it and it looked like I was riding this old lady and she was carrying me around. I know you guys have seen similar things to this, but this was before anybody else had ever done anything Right, and in my neighborhood you'd walk around and I would. The head would be behind me of the old lady, kind of head would be down and and people give me two pieces of candy. They thought it was two people in there.
Speaker 3:
I thought this is a good gig man and the ironic thing about that.
Speaker 2:
to sum it all up, it was the coolest costume ever. It snowed that Halloween while we were out trick or treat. So last Halloween I went out and started snowing on us.
Speaker 3:
I think there's a possibility of snowflourish tonight.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think so. Yeah, Chris Bailey said that, so excuse me when I was the kid.
Speaker 3:
We always drifted up in sports outfits. I mean, it was the team we actually played on, Right?
Speaker 2:
So that's called. It's called getting ready for the game.
Speaker 1:
Look not really putting a lot of effort into your costume.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to little mud. Welcome to little mud, you've both been there. Yes, don't drink the water.
Speaker 3:
The water was fantastic. What are you talking about?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it was of a odd hue.
Speaker 3:
Well, you had to have a softener in your house that you had to put the rock solid in.
Speaker 2:
That's just to get rid of the metal from the chair that's sitting in the middle of the creek.
Speaker 3:
Well, details, but yeah, I mean, we didn't. I never had anything special like that. Well. I mean I went in big time, like you guys from the big cities of Lima and the big cities of Frank. Can we tell, no, not tonight. No, so it's Halloween, we can't tell it tonight.
Speaker 1:
I'm not going to talk about the best costume, because I really can't remember the best. I just remember many, many years of worse.
Speaker 3:
So many dresses did you have? How many dresses does he have now?
Speaker 1:
So so the thing is, you know, I like you, I had the elastic mask, you know, with the elastic strap around the mask and all that it was. So. Eventually, though, my mom thought it would be even cheaper if she made a costume.
Speaker 3:
Absolutely.
Speaker 1:
This was not when I was one or two and you make the cow costume and call it like 28.
Speaker 1:
Well, I was like seventh grade, so I remember this like it was. Yesterday I got a friend of ours was going to have a Halloween party and my mom said, well, I'll make it. I was like, mom, just, I'll just you know I'll go as a burglar or something and I'll just you know whatever. And she's like no, I think you know I've got this great pattern and you're going to be a pirate, our lady. So she got this gold satin material.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
And she made this. She made this pirate outfit and she was so proud of it. So I kind of I kind of had to, you know, act like it was great. She drives me, kind of had to. Yeah, she drives me to the party again. Seventh grade is on the other side of town and I she pulls up in, you know, in the car and I'm getting ready to get out and I look and none of the other kids have a costume on Nice. Oh, did you wear anything under?
Speaker 2:
this gold lame.
Speaker 1:
I ripped off the patch and you know, and I saw stuff. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 2:
You probably broke her heart 100% did but, I, also avoided extreme embarrassment.
Speaker 1:
Right Just had a gold lame shirt.
Speaker 2:
So you look like Donna summer instead 100%, I walked into solid gold. That's Marilyn McCoo, wouldn't it?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so that was, that was not. Yeah, I don't have a lot of fond memories of great costumes.
Speaker 3:
What was the best costume? You saw the net.
Speaker 1:
Oh, so I'm just going to say one that just cracks me up. And they're popular now because the have the dinosaur costume inflatable.
Speaker 3:
They're awesome, yeah, they walk.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
Those are great. I just crack up my nephew.
Speaker 2:
My nephew came over and to my house and I had to ask him what it was. It's this big green thing and it looked like I don't know kind of blocks and things and he said it's from.
Speaker 1:
Minecraft.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I know what it was, but it was really unique looking.
Speaker 2:
It was tall and I can't describe it, but it's one of those inflatable things I'm like where do you see in this thing? Right, I would say it had those.
Speaker 3:
Your granddaughter had a cute costume.
Speaker 2:
Oh, she was pretty cute tonight. Everybody loves a little cow.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, she was pretty awesome. What about you? I saw a scarecrow. A little girl had a scarecrow outfit and it was fantastic. I mean, it was all you wanted. She had real straw coming out of it. Oh, that's cool, I mean. So it was the best one I saw tonight. Well, I'll tell you the worst one I saw was high school kids wearing no costume.
Speaker 1:
No costume, they're still asking for candy and asking for it in a way that was like yeah, give me some candy.
Speaker 3:
Right, not true. You can tell that they were in a candy.
Speaker 2:
They must be county school system kids. Oh my goodness, here we go.
Speaker 1:
I will say that we at work today at Central Office, we had a chili cookoff and Halloween costume contest where the different departments had a team dress up thing and we had a couple of really, really, really good, so we didn't.
Speaker 3:
Why didn't you do you?
Speaker 1:
need judges.
Speaker 3:
Guest judges for the chili cookoff.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I, there were three judges.
Speaker 2:
This is nonsensical. What about the community leaders Right? A few others.
Speaker 1:
And it was, it was wonderful. Who won? Matt Osborn won best chili.
Speaker 2:
Shout out to Matt I didn't try his. It was really, really good, matt, I'd like to try it.
Speaker 1:
But I'll tell you, the two departments that won today were the instruction department. They all went as Mario Kart.
Speaker 2:
I liked it, so was one a banana peel.
Speaker 1:
They were throwing bananas.
Speaker 2:
There you go, they were going to the department.
Speaker 1:
So there's about eight bananas on my desk where they ran by.
Speaker 2:
So what did you dress up as today?
Speaker 1:
Well, I have to get on to the other.
Speaker 2:
That tied for first place.
Speaker 1:
It was fantastic. It was Whitney and her team were the Golden Girls.
Speaker 3:
Oh, that's pretty good, it was great.
Speaker 1:
So every every time I saw it, they played the music and you know they looked just like them. It was really funny. So every time I saw it the rest of the day I was like Whitney. I just wanted to say thank you For being a friend. For being a friend, yeah. So what was your question earlier? What did you dress up as Well? Interesting, I got out my truckin. You know my German, yeah, and so I put that on this morning and because I've lost now 46 pounds, it was. It looked like a clown pants, they were out to here.
Speaker 1:
I couldn't wear them, I couldn't wear it, so I went as a plus size Eddie Bauer model, what you see here, or what you would see a superintendent wear on Saturdays.
Speaker 3:
Oh good.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
So he didn't dress up. Correct Right, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Flannel jeans. So no, I did the best I could with, with with having some significant weight loss, and not trying on the costume.
Speaker 3:
So was it a good Halloween this year.
Speaker 1:
It was great we had a. I think we had a great Halloween celebration at work. I think the kids tonight there were a lot more kids than I thought there would be a lot of kids tonight, yeah, so I thought I thought it was really good, and I think we need to finish off the evening by watching the Exorcist or something really scary.
Speaker 3:
My family was watching the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.
Speaker 1:
I just finished the conjuring, so and oh yeah, yeah, now at 12, oh one tonight.
Speaker 2:
Christmas time.
Speaker 1:
You got that right.
Speaker 3:
Thanksgiving. It comes in between Halloween and.
Speaker 1:
Christmas Decorations are going up in my office. I might pull an all nighter going tonight and just decorate for Christmas.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:
All right, we're out boys.
Speaker 2:
And thanks for listening to this week's podcast, the best of presented by the beer brothers.
Speaker 1:
The best of is available on all formats. Wherever you listen to podcasts, be sure to catch our next episode. You never know what or who will be the best of next. Have a great day, everyone.