Like most good things in our life, this beer started with superheroes, nostalgia, and a little bit of “mocking.”

The Backstory

Our family love affair with Marvel goes way back. We really dove in around the time Iron Man 2 hit theaters. Stellan, our oldest son, was just two years old at the time, and he instantly crowned Iron Man as his hero. From there it was all capes, shields, claws, and hammers. He devoured the Thor movie, endlessly streamed old Spider-Man and Avengers cartoons, and had Super Hero Squad playing on repeat. He was rarely seen without some kind of superhero costume or T-shirt; Spider-Man one day, Captain America the next, Wolverine claws the day after, and of course, the infamous Thor hammer!

By the time The Avengers (the real one, the 2012 classic) came out, we were full-blown Marvel junkies. We took Stellan to the theater at the tender age of four, and watching his little eyes widen as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes assembled on the big screen was pure magic. From that moment, seeing Marvel movies on opening weekend became a family tradition. (Well, until COVID… and the slow downfall of Marvel’s good movie-making…but that’s a rant for another time and place.)

There are a thousand stories I could tell about Stellan’s superhero obsession. Like the time he asked Chad to make him a real Iron Man suit. Chad, ever the problem-solver, went to Menards and came back with some tap lights and materials to make makeshift arc reactors. Stellan strapped them on, switched them on, and gave Chad the most unimpressed look in history: “This is cool, Dad… but when are you going to make me a REAL Iron Man suit?” That was the exact moment Stellan realized his parents were not billionaire playboy philanthropists. Chad and I nearly died laughing.

Fast forward through years of opening-weekend tickets, countless rewatches, and enough Marvel quotes to drive our kids crazy… one scene still reigns supreme in our house. Avengers: Infinity War. Thor gets scooped up by the Guardians of the Galaxy, and what follows is peak comedy: Star-Lord, threatened by Thor’s presence, tries to one-up him in a deep, faux-serious voice. “Are you mocking me?” Thor asks. Star-Lord fires back, “Are you mocking ME?” It’s awkward, hilarious, and hands-down one of our favorite Marvel moments.

Now, let’s shift gears — literally.

As a kid, one of my dream cars (besides a deep forest green Jaguar XJS convertible) was the 1969 Mustang Mach 1. Candy Apple Red with the black hood stripes. Totally impractical, but it would’ve been the coolest ride ever. Funny enough, when Chad and I first started dating, he actually owned a forest green Mustang. But in true rom-com fashion, he sold it to buy my engagement ring. The car went away, life moved on, and our dreams shifted to things like strollers, diaper bags, and suv’s.

Fast forward to this year, when our trusty family SUV started coughing its last breath. I was leaning toward a Toyota 4Runner or Land Cruiser….something reliable…something that would last as long as Chad’s 20-year old 2005 Toyota Corolla with 300K+ miles. But then one day, I spotted the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E on the road. Sleek. Sharp. Unexpectedly…perfect. I’d never really considered an EV before, but the Mach-E made me think twice. We did the research, test drove it, and before long we were signing the papers and installing an EV Charger in our garage. Suddenly, my childhood dream of owning a Mustang was coming true.

Sure, she’s not a ‘69 Mach 1 with the thunderous rumble of Thor’s hammer, but she’s got Thor’s lightning in every sense (regardless of what my Mother-in-Law thinks). Her name is Gulfaxi! Meaning Golden Mane in old Norse. Gulfaxi is a renowned horse in Norse mythology, celebrated for its speed and endurance. Its association with gods and giants underscores its role as a symbol of power, victory, and the spoils of battle.

And of course, on the drive home from the dealership, Chad and I started doing what we always do: turning a milestone into a beer. Somewhere between quoting Infinity War and gushing about the new car, Chad cracked the joke: “Wait. Are you… Mach-E-ing me?”

And just like that, our newest beer was born.

Recipe Creation

Once we had the name Are You Mach-E-ing Me? nailed down, it was time to figure out what kind of beer could live up to both Thor’s lightning and our shiny new car.

We knew right away it couldn’t be “just another sour.” We’d brewed plenty of those. This one needed to be different, something with roots deep enough to honor Thor and Norse mythology (and a nod to my Swedish heritage), but still fun, bold, and drinkable. After a lot of back and forth, we landed on a Nordic Farmhouse Ale. Rustic, earthy, a little wild…the kind of beer you could imagine Vikings and Valkyries pouring into a horn before battle.

Chad was ready to keep it simple, but I wasn’t about to let this one play it safe. With the help of Chat (yes, ChatGPT, was instrumental for most of this brainstorming!), we fine-tuned the recipe into something that felt authentically Norse while still being approachable. That meant starting with Kviek yeast, the fast-acting, lightning-quick strain that ferments like it’s running on Mjölnir’s thunderbolts. If the Mach-E is “lightning fast,” then so is this yeast.

But the real adventure came with the additions. Traditional Nordic ales often use juniper branches or spruce tips, which at first felt… risky. We were worried it might end up tasting like we’d bottled a pine tree. But the more we thought about it, the more it made sense: if this was going to be a true Norse-inspired ale, it needed that wild forest character. I found a supplier out of Colorado that ships freshly foraged spruce tips and juniper berries, packed in ice to keep them vibrant and aromatic. When they arrived, our freezer smelled like a Scandinavian forest floor, in the best possible way.

Then came the question of hops. We wanted something that would play nicely with the spruce and juniper, adding dimension without overpowering. We chose Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy. Nelson Sauvin brings this white-wine, gooseberry-like quality that nods to Scandinavian tartness, while Galaxy is bold, fruity, and cosmic (literally named for the stars…how could we resist with all the Marvel space vibes?). Together, they promised to balance the foresty character of the beer with a punch of bright, juicy complexity.

And because I couldn’t resist leaning all the way into the Nordic vibe, we decided to add one more key ingredient: lingonberries. Tart, bright red, a little wild. They add a subtle tartness, a pop of color, and tie the whole recipe back to those cozy Norse roots.

The end result? A recipe that blends Thor’s thunder, the Mach-E’s lightning speed, the spirit of the Nordic forest, and a hint of Scandinavian berry sweetness.

Brew Day, Secondary & Bottling

Brew day arrived on one of the hotter and stickier days of the summer… which, conveniently, is exactly what Kviek yeast loves. While most people were hiding indoors with iced coffee and central air, we were fully committed to turning our garage into a functional sauna-brewery. Kviek doesn’t just tolerate heat…it thrives in it…so we leaned all the way in.

Chad took the day off work, and we “fired up the system” right around lunchtime. With the Brewers on in the background and riding a winning streak, the vibe was hopeful, sweaty, and slightly chaotic…the way all our great brews begin.

To make things even more delightfully Midwestern, Chad’s mom and her husband (Gpa, as we call him) stopped by while they were in town. They sat with us, catching up, swapping stories, and half-watching the game… until the heat finally got to them. Turns out even seasoned Floridians have their limits, and they bailed in favor of blessed air conditioning, leaving us to soldier on in our homemade fermentation hotbox.

Brew day itself is all about building the base: nailing the malt backbone, pulling in early hop character, coaxing subtle notes from the spruce tips and juniper berries, and creating the perfect storm of heat and sugar for fermentation.

Normally, our brews ferment in the cool, dry comfort of our basement. Not this one. This one stayed right there in the garage, basking in the heat and humidity like a proper Nordic sunbather. As soon as we snapped the lid onto the fermentation bucket, the Kviek yeast roared to life, the airlock started bubbling instantly, like Thor had just smacked it with Mjölnir. And it worked, fermentation wrapped up in about 48 hours.

About a week later, it was time for secondary fermentation and dry hopping. Before we added anything, we pulled a little taste test… and were genuinely surprised. The spruce and juniper had added a soft, almost honeyed sweetness, none of the overly piney flavor we were half-expecting (and fully fearing). Encouraged, we went ahead and added another round of Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy hops for dry-hopping to dial up the fruity, slightly tropical, vaguely intergalactic layers.

Then came the showstopper: lingonberry powder. We went with powder instead of syrup to avoid adding any excess sugars. Kviek is already a fast, aggressive yeast, and we didn’t want to dry the beer out too much. Once everything was in, we tucked this batch into our entryway closet (the classiest corner of our home brewery operation) to finish its journey.

Finally, bottling day. Chad handles all the prep work, sanitation, and setup. I sit on the floor with my bottling wand like it’s 1982 and I’m auditioning for Laverne & Shirley. He caps each one with the hand capper, and lines them up proudly…rows of neatly filled bottles that give me the kind of satisfaction only type-A vintage-loving brewers understand.

And of course, the best part: the first pour.

This beer is something special. While it’s technically a farmhouse ale, the hops bring enough citrus and fruit-forward punch that it drinks more like a soft IPA. The color is stunning — a rich, golden yellow with delicate hints of pink from the lingonberries. It’s bold, balanced, and beautiful. And at 6.9% ABV, it’s got just enough bite to match its namesake, Gullfaxi.

Final Thoughts: A Toast to Thor, Tradition, and Turbo-Charged Dreams

So, what started as a joke on the drive home from the dealership — “Are you Mach-E-ing me?” — turned into one of our most meaningful brews to date.

This beer is more than just hops and grains. It’s a tribute to the things we love most:

• Our Marvel-movie memories: full of theater popcorn, costume-clad kids, and inside jokes that still make us laugh
• Our brewing journey: sticky summer days, bubbling airlocks, and that sweet satisfaction of the first pour
• Our heritage: from the foresty bite of spruce and juniper to the tart hug of lingonberries, this one carries the spirit of the North
• And yes, our Mustang Mach-E: fast, unexpected, slightly controversial (depending on who you ask), and cool as hell

We brewed this beer to celebrate where we’ve been and what we’re building: one beer, one memory, one Marvel quote at a time.

Here’s to Kviek-fueled lightning, lingonberry sweetness, and always finding a reason to raise a glass.

Skål.
— Ashley & Chad, We Wendt There