On Beer
I never really knew that I could love beer as much as I do today until one night at an Archers of Loaf show, many years ago. My friend Russ was drinking the shit out of some Columbus Pale Ale[1]. I joined him in the libations and was glad I did. The beer was so full of flavor and the bitterness was undeniable…but somehow this beer was très quaffable. How could anything that intensified the taste of beer, even drawing out the bitterness, be as good as this beer was?
Back in those days, the local brew was not that easy to come by[2], but I made it a point to order a Columbus Pale Ale whenever I could. Then there was the (once defunct, now back) Hoster Brewing Company[3], Barley’s, and Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Company. All of these breweries made some tasty beers, but I didn’t know what was good and what wasn’t. I knew that they were better than the typical industrial, rice-adjunct lagers served in every bar. However, these beers weren’t as easy to obtain.
So, I drank other beers. There was Pete’s Wicked Ale and Sam Adams. Imports made their way into my belly. I mostly drank Guinness[4] and the occasional Bass. However, I learned to stay away from any German beer in a green bottle. Even back then, Heineken never tasted right[5]. I started frequenting this bar/bagel joint called Bernie’s. It was a hole in the basement, but some great rock shows happened there. Bernie’s was also a place that boasted a huge beer list[6]. On the side they called “the Distillery[7],” one could find a many pewter mugs hanging from the ceiling. Regulars who tried every beer on the list received their own mug with their name engraved. I made it halfway through the list before always settling on Sam Adams Boston Lager or Guinness[8].
Eventually, I ventured out west for a summer, to Seattle. There, I discovered that same intense feeling I got from that first Columbus Pale Ale. The bitterness and citrus of the hops burst into my mouth with each new northwestern beer I tried. There was a lot of Redhook (pre-corporate takeover), some Elysian, and some breweries I can’t remember. Of course, there were still the nights of Corona I’d rather forget, but craft beer was taking a hold of me. I just didn’t quite realize it.
After several years of floundering with imports, “microbrews[9],” and the occasional seasonal release, I sort of reached my summit in beer drinking or so I thought. I was comfortable ordering anything that wasn’t made of rice and sold via ads during the Super Bowl. I wasn’t a connoisseur, but I wasn’t a bro either.
Then, one night, it happened.
I hoofed it up to the corner beer and wine shop at the end of my street while I waited for a sandwich to be delivered. I wanted a beer, maybe two. I didn’t really want to buy a whole six-pack. So, I perused the the stacks and coolers for something interesting. All the sixers that looked good were more than I was used to spending. Then, I walked around the corner and saw a cooler full of these big beer bottles with the most sinister images of gargoyles daring me to pull them from the cooler. One bottle caught my eye in particular. It said “Stone Ruination IPA” around a gargoyle ready to charge. The green and gold paint on the bottle told me that this was no ordinary beer. The narrative scrawled on the back confirmed this assumption. This beer challenged me to drink it and taste anything else for the rest of the night. I took two home right away[10].
Stone Ruination is the beer that “ruined” me. All that citrus and bitterness. This was nothing like the pale ales and IPA’s I had had previously[11]. It certainly wasn’t anything like the imports that once satisfied me. I grew to be obsessed with the beer. As soon as I discovered the pizza place down the street kept Stone on tap, I always made a point to go there for dinner or to see a show no matter who was playing. My bachelor party started at that very pizza joint and was lubricated with a pitcher of Stone IPA[12].
Then, we moved nine hours away to Missouri. I had no idea there would be no Stone, no Columbus Pale, and certainly none of my previous haunts[13] to supply me with the beer I was learning to love. However, I discovered some new beers and learned to appreciate those I had taken for granted back in Ohio.
It started with Boulevard and Schlafly, the “local” Missouri beers. Then, there was Flat Branch, the Columbia brewery[14]. I rediscovered Bell’s and learned to appreciate Two-Hearted Ale[15], a beer that was too much for me pre-Ruination. There was no Stone, but I was making due.
That was probably three years ago. I never really thought things could change, but they did. That was just the beginning for where I am today with my beer geekery. To learn that part of the story, you’ll have to come back Monday.
To be continued…
Notes:
1If you haven’t been reading this blog for long, I’m from Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Pale Ale was the beer we drank at nearly every bar in town. It was a heavier, more bitter pale than one would normally find. However, that flavor-forward character has waned in recent years. This is either due to my evolving palate or a change in the recipe.
2None of the locals bottled and not every bar served the local brews in the beginning. By the time I left central Ohio, nearly every bar in town served Columbus Pale Ale.
3Hoster had a nice restaurant/brew pub in the Brewery District, but it eventually closed. In recent years, another company bought the rights to the name and recipes and Hoster lives on.
4This was my session beer through most of my senior year of college. At the time, this was impressive. However, now that I know Guinness has an ABV just over 4%, it’s not such a big deal and explains why I could drink so much without getting drunk.
5What’s funny is that some people still prefer Heineken, despite the fact that those green bottles are perpetually skunked in this country.
6I believe the list was somewhere in the 70’s or 80’s. It was boosted by a ton of weird imports they rarely had in the case anyway. I grew tired of drinking skunked imports for extra cash and eventually turned to a few favorites.
7It wasn’t actually a distillery, but it did serve a lot of drinks for such a tiny bar.
8I’ve explained my healthy intake of Guinness, but I drank a lot of Sam Adams as well. To me, it was heavier than the Guinness and quite tasty in those days. Then, things blew up for Sam Adams. While I still respect all that they’ve done and do for the craft beer community, the beer just doesn’t taste the same.
9The old term for “craft beer” was “microbrew.” This contrasted with the corporate brewers being called “macrobrewers.” This false dichotomy suggested that what microbrewers did and macrobrewers did was the same aside from the scale. However, it is clear today that craft brewers produce beer that is completely different from anything churned out by their corporate counterparts.
10I think in an earlier blog post, I reported that I purchased one of these bottles along with a sixer of something else. Upon further review (meaning that I thought about it for a moment), I remembered taking two bottles home. I planned to drink one, but I drank them both instead.
11It was a long time before I discerned the difference between pale ales and India pale ales, but it’s rather clear today. Honestly, aside from a few American pale ales, I don’t really care for the basic pale. Give me an IPA every time.
12Yes, it was not Ruination, rather Ruination’s little brother. Still, that IPA on tap is potent hopbomb.
13Some of these “haunts” include two beer shops that I had no idea were as stocked as they were. I recently revisited two beer stores within a five minute of my old house and found pretty much every beer on my theoretical wish list. Sadly, I don’t make enough money to fill that list, so I made due with what I could gather.
14At the time, there was another brewery that didn’t last long. The owner also happened to be a bee keeper. So, there was honey in every beer and not in a good way.
15This beer used to just seem so heavy and filling to me. Now, it’s a go-to beer.
On Selling Out
All over the beer blogosphere Monday morning was the story that Anheuser Busch-InBev purchased Chicago’s Goose Island, a fairly popular craft brewery. The words “sell” and “out” were thrown around more than once. Such conversations reminded me of the early nineties when selling out was a bad thing for musicians. Of course, most of them did it anyway. I even wrote a pretty terrible paper on the subject for an English course I was taking[1]. Every indie band who jumped ship for a major label (and there were a lot of them back then) was scrutinized for their decision. Were they sell-outs? Why did it matter?
It was a pretty big deal to an idealistic and naive me. Of course, I had little idea of what it selling-out actually meant. I vehemently defended bands I liked as not selling-out despite huge contracts with corporate recording companies. I felt at the time that subverting the mainstream from the inside was a way to counteract taking a huge payout from corporate overlords. Then, I started to see how some indie bands were doing the same thing without compromising indie-ness by refusing to sign to major labels and sticking with the indies that gave them their first shot[2].
As I grew older, I came to realize that idealism is cool, but we’ve got to get paid eventually. For example, I wanted to make a difference in the world by working with kids, but getting paid to do that surely didn’t hurt[3]. I saw the same opportunities for bands. Some were signing major label deals, careful not no run up huge amounts of debt the way their predecessors had[4]. Other bands sold songs to movies and advertisers. At first, this turned me off, but I soon realized that between the additional exposure and guaranteed paycheck, these bands were able to extend careers, making the music I love[5].
Still, it’s not as simple as saying selling-out is bad or getting paid is good. There’s a ton of gray. Getting a huge paycheck from a faceless corporation can be good, bad, or somewhere in between. It all depends on how one handles it.
To demonstrate what I mean, the following examples show how selling out ruins or even imporves an indie band or musician[6]:
- Sonic Youth’s reputation took a huge hit when they signed to a major in 1990. After years of indie bands mostly floundering either on their own or because they had foolishly signed with a major, Sonic Youth gambled with an offer from Geffen. This moment marked the beginning of the 90’s bum-rush of the underground for the next big thing[7]. Luckily, Sonic Youth never compromised their sound and used their new platform to expose better music to more people. Even though SY had signed with a major label, they somehow maintained their indie spirit through the bands they with which chose to tour and by making some rather non-mainstream music. Today, they release records on their own label and/or indie Matador Records.
- Speaking of Matador, they, like their brothers in Seattle (Sub Pop), signed distribution deals with some majors[8]. One of those deals was with Capitol Records. One musician on Matador’s roster, Liz Phair, had built a pretty promising run of two nineties, lo-fi classics in Exile in Guyville and Whipsmart. Phair’s somewhat mediocre Whitechocolatespaceegg was co-released by the two labels[9]. Eventually, Phair made the leap to that very major…and promptly released the shittiest material of her career, pointing out that her new goal was to make some cheddar while she could[10]. Phair compromising her art to write pop tunes was certainly a bad long-term decision.
- Built to Spill developed a pretty solid following during the mid-nineties with their catchy ditties about adolescent disillusionment. Warner Bros. saw an opportunity to grab hold of a hit machine a la Weezer or Green Day or whatever one-hit wonder was topping the charts at the time[11]. Because of the band’s growing popularity and potential, the label agreed to sign them while allowing a lot of creative control. What resulted is a pretty uncompromising album in Perfect From Now On, filled with anything but three-minute insta-hits[12]. The band has continued to make music the way they want to and WB lets them.
- The story of Modest Mouse is somewhat mixed. I wouldn’t say that they’ve compromised their music for mainstream success, but their breakout hit “Float On” suggests otherwise. Still, even with their Billboard success, they found a way to make it work.
- Nirvana was basically talked into signing with Geffen because Sonic Youth sold them on the idea. Yes, Nirvana sold a shit-ton o’ records, but at what cost? Although Kurt Cobain was destined to go out the way he did, I sometimes wonder if his discomfort with the industry contributed to his ultimate demise. If you listen to Bleach and Nevermind back-to-back, it’s easy to tell that it’s the same band, but a lot of oomph was lost in the production of that second album. They got some of it back with In Utero, but the damage was done. It would have been interesting to see what Nirvana could have done had they not signed with
the devila major label.
There are plenty more examples than these, but the point still remains that selling-out has mixed results. The Goose Island deal does not have to be a bad one. We’ll have to wait and see.
Another related topic that I’ve been mulling over for while is the fact that many indie bands and craft brewers don’t need corporate money, promotion, or distribution to be successful. So, selling-out might be unnecessary, but that’s another topic for another post[13].
The key to this deal is that Goose Island was plenty successful before they sold out to ABI. They enjoyed more success when ABI took over their distribution, adding a ton of Belgian-inspired beers and expanding the Bourbon County Stout line. My suspicion is that Goose Island will be more like Sonic Youth than Liz Phair, but we’ll see.
As with bands who sign with majors, this move for GI can go well or bomb. Either way, craft beer drinkers should judge GI on their beer and not the company who purchased them. If the beer’s good, continue to drink it. If ABI wants to cut costs and the quality drops, don’t drink it. I still listen to bands who make the leap to the majors if the music is good. Interpol tried it and failed. The result is that I don’t buy Interpol records anymore. Conversely, I think the Flaming Lips’ best work (which is now most of their catalog) is on a major. Selling-out doesn’t necessarily equate failure or success. It all depends on the individual entities involved.
I for one will give Goose Island the benefit of the doubt and wait to see whether their beer stays the same, deteriorates, or even improves before I make my final assessment. However, knowing the company who bought them out, I will watch this developing situation closely.
Notes:
1Upon discovering and rereading the paper again, I found that my real thesis was more along the lines of “you’re a sell-out if you suck.” I ripped lame hair metal bands for appealing to the lowest common denominator and called them sell-outs. Meanwhile, a band like Pearl Jam was not a sell-out because…well…I liked them a lot at the time. I have no idea how I got an ‘A’ on that paper. I even think I ripped on a few of the instructor’s favorite bands along the way.
2Favorites like Pavement and Archers of Loaf come to mind. I don’t actually think Pavement received that much attention (especially after Wowee Zowee), but it’s well-documented that AoL turned down offers.
3To be honest, I was always paid to work with kids. However, at some point, I had to make the choice of public school teacher over YMCA camp staff. The pay and benefits for the former were much better than the latter.
4There are way more stories of bands who signed with majors, were forced to rent studio space and tour buses, and were left with thousands in debt that was left unpaid when the hits stopped coming. The smart bands refused using expensive studios, producers, and tour busses. Major labels are really just good for distribution and maybe promotion, but that’s it.
5It’s pretty easy to see the lasting effect of this practice. Indie bands of the eighties often fizzled out due to an inability to make a living playing tiny clubs and selling a couple hundred 7″ singles. Conversely, a lot of my heroes from the nineties have extended their careers well into the next century. I envision a day when all the bands of my college years are doing huge world tours like the Rolling Stones. It will either be amazing or totally suck.
6At this point, you might be wondering what this has to do with beer. The examples of craft brewers being bought out by corporate beer makers/promoters is a short list of mostly failures. One doesn’t have to look far to find the examples of Leinenkugel, Rolling Rock, or Red Hook to show that selling-out to corporate beer producers is a bad idea. However, I think this Goose Island deal might be different. That and I like to connect craft beer to indie rock whenever possible.
7Some like to point to Nirvana’s signing as this moment, but Nirvana was signed as a result of Sonic Youth signing. Sonic Youth was the gateway band. Nirvana blew the whole thing wide-open, but Sonic Youth’s signing was the beginning.
8In reality, indie labels signing deals with major labels better correlates with the Goose Island deal, but I didn’t have the time to research all the labels who signed deals with major labels. Basically, the ones that I know of, put out the same kind of music they always had. Some survived, but most were dropped when profits tanked. Matador and Sub Pop were able to sign deals that allowed them to continue to do what they were doing long after the majors faltered. They made it work by simply using corporate resources without adopting the corporate homogeneity.
9As was Pavement’s Brighten the Corners, easily the closest the band ever came to a cross-over album. The difference is that Pavement’s newfound willingness to appeal came off as a coincidence. The reason I say this is because the album they jointly released with Matador and Warner Bros. was Wowee Zowee, a decidedly un-mainstream-appealing record. The band never made overtures to go mainstream the way Liz Phair has.
10I don’t blame Liz Phair for selling out. She had a kid to take care of. Ironically, she had better career options as an indie rocker than she did as a pop songstress. Check Pavement’s reissue and reunion tour sales figures. Indie rock worked out for them.
11Writing a lot of catchy, three-minute punk/pop songs is usually a sure way to get signed. The only part that wouldn’t have worked out for BtS is that they have never looked the part of angst-y adolescent heartthrobs. No thirteen-year-old was going to fall for that.
12To put this into perspective, the band’s previous release contained thirteen tracks clocking in at around 46 minutes with only two over the five minute mark and the rest in the 2-4 minute range – ideal for major label releases. Perfect From Now On was 54 minutes long spread over eight tracks. The shortest tracks were 4:52 and 5:33, respectively. The other six tracks were all over six minutes.
13I am considering proposing craft beer and indie rock as models of business success that could be copied in helping our economy recover. There has to be a reason these sectors are doing well despite the failures of their respective industries. Craft beer continues to grow while overall beer sales shrink. Indie labels and bands flourish (or at least make a living) despite all the major labels crumbling around them. There’s something about small, independent businesses that are sustainable and productive for communities in ways that corporations just can’t match. This topic has legs.
The Neglected Beer Blog
A beer blog this is not, but I do post about beer all the time. That is, when I post. After the True/False onslaught and a weekend of strep and pink eye in the house, I have fallen behind. This blog is supposed to be about beer and music. Here’s the beer post for the week with a music post to follow. There’s no time for footnotes. Just bear with me.
Folks have been all over the black IPA trend. No one is obsessed with it the way folks drive all over the globe for sours or barrel-aged beers, but they’re into the Cascadian dark ale enough to send the message to every craft brewer that they need a black IPA. It’s easy to taste why. The black IPA/Cascadian dark ale has the best of both worlds. There’s the sweet maltiness of stouts and bocks mixed with the floral bitterness of your favorite IPA. It’s a rather versatile beer for pairings and is naturally balanced.
I brewed one of these beers and named it after the seminal indie/math rock band Big Black. IPA’s of all colors are bitter, so I tend to call the style “black bitter.” All this adds up to the name of my beer: Big Black Bitter.
Originally, I had planned to design a label to print at Kinkos, but I wanted to save money while labeling my beers over the long haul and went with a rubber stamp and labels. You can see the results below.
Look at the head on that mother.
How is the beer? Well, it has a pretty incredible head. There’s no need for an aggressive pour. The lacing is wet and almost foamy, not sticky. The sent is a cacophony of citrus and grassy hops with a touch of the roasted malty goodness. However, there’s something not quite right. I’m chalking it up to the Amarillo hops as the same aroma is in another beer I did with loads of Amarillo. I thought I liked this hop, but I’m beginning to discover that it’s not my favorite.
Anyway, I tasted the bugger. Bitter roastiness dominates with a touch of citrus to finish it off. As it ages (which is days and weeks in an IPA’s lifespan), the bitterness grows, making this a beer true to its name. Luckily, the sweetness provided by the malt balances the beer out. There isn’t much in the way of mouthfeel, which is typical for an extract homebrew. It’s something I can live with. There’s a little heat, but not too much.
Overall, the beer is a success. It’s not as mind-blowing as I had hoped, but this style rarely is. What it does do, once again, is live up to its name. It’s black and bitter. It looks good in a glass and feels good going down. In the end, that’s all that matters.
—-
Soon, my favorite brewery will makes its way to Missouri. Stone has hinted before that they’re coming to the Show-Me state, but has backed out on that promise. Apparently, it’s hard to get a foot in the door in this state. It’s as if some conglomerate, industrialized rice-adjunct beer maker owns property here (hint: ANHEUSER BUSCH). Whatever. Stone is finally coming to Missouri.
Of course, I’ve had a pipeline to Stone’s product for some time. My family all live in Ohio where Stone is readily available. My brother recently grabbed me the 2011 Old Guardian Barley Wine as well as the new Belgo version. Plus, he grabbed me the beer Stone collaborated with Green Flash and Pizza Port Carlsbad breweries, Highway 78 Scotch Ale.
Good, not great scotch ale.
Typically, the Stone collabs are pretty amazing. This one was really good, but somewhat ordinary. I don’t know whether the style has limitations or the breweries just tried to make a really good scotch ale. The ABV isn’t high, which suggests they didn’t press the limits with this brew. Plus, there’s nothing extra going on here. It’s just a really solid scotch ale. I have no complaints, but I was hoping for something more. At least I won’t have to wait for my mother to deliver me Stone anymore.
Speaking of new beer arrivals in MO…
Half a flight and plate of fries to go.
Favorite beer nerd local Sycamore celebrated the arrival of another Southern Cal brewery, Firestoen Walker, with a tasting event. They didn’t get the free glasses promised, but the beer arrived. A flight of 5 oz. samples of FW beers cost $14. That and a plate of fries for my daughter and I made a nice pre-dinner session. The beers in the flight were consumed in the following order.
- Double Jack IPA – Grapefruity and balanced, this IPA might have ruined my taste buds for the rest of the evening and I was thankful. Seriously, though, this is as good an IPA as you’ll find. We now get several of the great IPA’s from the west coast. If we could only get all of them…
- Reserve Porter – I don’t know whether it was the fact that I drank the IPA first or this is just your typical, run of the mill porter, but I was not impressed. Sure, it was smooth, clean even, but I like my porters to taste like…well…imperial stouts. So, that might be a me problem and not a Firestone Walker problem.
- Abacus – Ah, barley wine brewed in bourbon barrels. You really can’t beat that. All kinds of dark fruits and booze runneth wild over my tongue. I wanted to make sweet love to that beer, but my daughter was present and there was only 5 ounces in the glass.
- Anniversary 14 – Of course, then I met Anni. Man, what a mouthful this beer was. More bourbon barrel goodness only in the form of a strong dark ale. Tons of molasses, fig, vanilla…It was maybe the only beer that could follow Abacus, yet it was so smooth and tasty.
I’m really looking forward to more from Firestone Walker and Stone in the coming months. For now, I’ll have to settle for the Double Jack I purchased at the Hy-Vee yesterday and my Old Guardians. Oh, and I still have loads of that homebrew.
Cheers.
I Am a Lukcy Basartd
I am a lucky bastard for many, many reasons. There’s my family, including the two loves of my life. One of those loves is my daughter who always comes before beer and Pavement[1]. There’s the smartest, most interesting woman I have ever known who allows me to sleep in a bed with her[2] and was willing to fill out marriage papers with me five and a half years ago.
As demonstrated in this blog, I have little about which to worry. There have been the jobless scares, that time I hit a deer, and a few other minor brushes with misery, but my problems are typically first-world problems[3]. The kinds of problems I have are the kind that only happen in America to middle-class, white dudes. So, that makes me pretty lucky.
I’m lucky that I can write about craft beer and indie rock as a hobby. Hell, I’m lucky enough to be able to afford craft beer and indie rock. Someone who reads said writing even offered me a free Archers of Loaf poster, circa 1997. That too makes me pretty lucky. Life’s good.
Another way in which I’m lucky is that I have family in another market who will fill my need for hard-to-get beers[4]. Even though we here in Missouri will be getting beer from Stone in the spring, there are some brews for which I can’t wait. Tonight was my lucky night because I popped open a Lukcy Basartd[5] Ale, a blend of all the Arrogant Bastards (regular, oaked, and double).
Oily, grassy, citrusy hops smack you as only a bastard would. The sweet maltiness of all Bastards is there and it’s welcomed. The dry-hopping sets this beer apart from its brethren IMHO. With all that, this beer is not as intense or astringent as the originals. The right touch of oak and hops balances this beer nicely. I truly am lukcy to be able to drink this beer. Now, if only they’d hurry up and ship some to the Show-Me state.
Notes:
1Especially when she tells me that she will drink and brew beer with me when she’s bigger and when she asks me to sing the “Ooh-Ooh Song” (aka “Cut Your Hair”).
2When I’m not snoring, that is.
3Of course, it’s all relative. Problems are problems. Problems don’t compare outside of their context. For example, the protests in Wisconsin and the Middle East are not the same thing, but there are parallels to be drawn. However, I won’t do that here as this blog is about first world worries: beer and indie rock.
4This too is relative. Beers that are hard for me to find are easy for my family in Ohio and vice versa. Luckily, I’ve done right by all them to afford me the luxury of “importing” beer from the fertile markets in the Buckeye state.
5This is how they’re spelling it. You should see the narrative on the back of the bottle.
Free Association Blog Post
I have some things in the works and some other things I wanted to mention, but none of that is ready nor does it interest me at the moment[1]. So, for your reading pleasure, I will do a little free association blog post that will hopefully hit on some of the things not quite worthy of their own blog posts.
Looking for a new way to label my homebrew, I designed and ordered the following rubber stamp.
The plan is to stamp some big mailing labels, write in which beer is in the bottle, and slap those mothers on. It will save me from having to print out extravagant labels at Kinkos while providing me a uniform way to mark my own brews. A good point was made regarding the new name of my fictitious brewery: It’s better than naming it “Watery Domestic,” a name I never considered. For those of you not in the know, Treble Kicker was Pavement’s made-up label for their first few singles. They later just put it on every release, sort of for publishing purposes or something. I’m using it as the ideal moniker to connect my two loves into my homebrews[2].
Speaking of homebrewing, I did this collaboration with a friend. He used leftover malt to brew a pale ale and I supplied leftover hops[3]. We split the beer to see what we each could do with dry-hopping. I had several mishaps with bottling, making me label the caps “FML” or fuck my life[4]. The first bottle was opened seven days in at a homebrew tasting last weekend. It was awful, but the veteran homebrewers in the room assured me that waiting it out might result in a better beer. Well, I opened one last night and it is getting better. Hopefully it will continue to improve.
I’m also hoping that the new Bright Eyes’ album will get better. It’s supposedly the last album to be released under “Bright Eyes” and that might be for good reason. Conor Oberst appears to be all out of ideas at the moment. When he did that pre-emo, cathartic thing he did in his late-teens/early-twenties, he was supposed to be the next Dylan[5]. Really, it was some good stuff. Then, he released maybe his best folk album alongside a semi-electronica record[6]. Okay. Then, after a live album and a rarities collection, he went down the alt.country[7] rabbit hole, seemingly never to return. This would have been acceptable as so many artists do the same. Plus, he typically aligned himself with some excellent musicians. Alas, alt.country Conor was not meant to be. He released the regrettable People’s Key last week. I’m holding off judgement to see if it will grow on me, but I’m not hopeful[8]. At least the artwork and design of the record sleeve is interesting.
Speaking of “interesting” album artwork, I finally unwrapped Tennis’ Cape Dory. This album is everything that Bright Eyes’ “effort” is not. It’s fresh, moving, interesting, enjoyable, etc. Of course, one has to get over the awful, awful artwork on the cover[9]. It’s low-fi with that echoey, Phil Spector-ish doo-wop feel and retro vocals[10]. It reminds me a ton of Camera Obscura if they recorded from bedrooms instead of studios. Still, this will be a nice record to enjoy as the weather turns.
And as the weather turns, March approaches. I try not to write too much about the sports-ball in these parts, but I have to address this at least one time before March Madness descends upon us. My boys at Ohio State are the best college basketball team in the nation[11] and early favorites to win it all in March/early-April. They are lead by a core of experienced players that seem to have played in Columbus for 15 years as well as three freshman stars. One of those freshman is Jared Sullinger whose ass[12] keeps defenders off as he puts up 18 and 10 on a nightly basis. Look for Ohio State to make a deep run this year in the tournament.
Something else happens in March…
The first weekend of March in these parts is dedicated to the True/False Film Festival. It’s our very own documentary film festival and it’s the best thing that happens here every year. We have reservations to see somewhere between 16 and 17 films[13] over the weekend (starting Thursday), plus a few parties and live music in between. There will be a full report here and possibly more somewhere else[14]. It’s going to be an incredible weekend this year. I can just feel it.
… feeling it, I feel as though I’m about to have my mind blown. I’ll be imbedded in said festival like never before[15], there are some interesting records coming my way, and there’s a ton of beer on the horizon. So, there will be a lot to discuss here. Come back, even if you noticed the lack of footnotes in previous posts. They’ll be back. Don’t worry[16]. Sorry for the filler. I’ll wrap up the Archers of Loaf oeuvre on Wednesday, plug in something interesting about either beer, indie rock, or both on Friday, an preview the film fest next week.
Notes:
1In other words, I have several barely-started posts sitting there in the dashboard and another dozen or so ideas I just don’t feel like posting. This three posts a week thing is getting tough. Still, dear reader, I feel you deserve better than filler. However, that’s what you’re getting.
2Plus, the design and name scream punk/lo-fi indie rock. There’s no way that there’s a better (fake) brewery out there, anywhere.
3Using leftovers should have been my first clue that the beer would be questionable, but we carried on the experiment anyway.
4I’m worried that there was too much oxygen pumped into the beer, which is not a good thing. Consider that there is a reason beer is sealed in kegs, firkins, casks, bottle, or cans and not just sitting out in the open. There could have also been some unwanted bacteria, but I hope not.
5This never made much sense to me. Dylan’s the superior songwriter; Oberst is the better performer, musician. Still, I hold Oberst in high regard as a songwriter. For me, they are two very, very different kinds of rock stars/folk singers. Any comparison is silly, even lazy.
6The songs were okay, but the musical direction was a mistake.
7I realize it is 2011, but I think I have a statement to make on alt.country in an upcoming blog post. Oberst’s turn to the cow punk is not surprising, nor is the demise of Bright Eyes. I will explain once I piece together an argument with examples.
8Honestly, I hate writing bad things about musicians I like. They work too hard at what they do to be ridiculed by a hack with a blog like myself. That said, I feel it disingenuous not to be honest. I just try to make it a practice not to go on and on about bands I like letting me down.
9Just look at it. It’s awful. AWFUL!
10Actually, everything about this release is retro. The cover looks like it’s out of the early 80’s. The music is 60’s pop and the aesthetic is 90’s lo-fi.
11Some would argue that this is not the case as they have dropped two of their last three games. However, both of those games were on the road to the 2nd and 3rd placed teams in the conference. This was the meat of the schedule where everyone knew they’d lose some games. All I know is the next four teams on the schedule better look out as Ohio State will be on a mission.
12It’s big.
13I suspect we’ll fall short of this goal. That’s a lot of documentary film to watch.
14I’ve taken on a project to help another local blogger get a Columbia blog thing going. I’ve written a post and am formulating the next. I only have to post twice a month, so that shouldn’t be too hard. There’s one in the can on The Foundry Field Recordings, another in the works on a seminal album by locals Bald Eagle, and another will happen covering the music of True/False. It should be interesting.
15There’s the Lux pass upgrade, my name on a guest list for an exclusive party, and a Twitter account that’s not mine. It’s not as exciting as it might sound, but it makes me feel like I’m on the inside of this thing.
16Man, I haven’t had sixteen footnotes in forever. This feels good!
A Beer, A Record
Monday night, we all sat around waiting for the #snowpocalypse/#snowmageddon to happen[1], so I busted out some beer[2] and turned on some tunes. What follows is an account of those two indulgences. I’m not sure what either has to do with the other except that this blog is about beer and indie rock and that’s enough.
Schlafly No. 20 Vol. 1 Imperial Pilsner
We were supposed to have a cellared beer tasting this evening, but the (threat of) inclement weather caused us to postpone. I considered breaking out one of those cellared beers, but a bomber of a 10-12% barley wine is not always the best beer to have alone. Of course, the beer I pull out sits at 9% ABV, but it’s just a lager, right? Anyway, this beer provides me with a lot of topics to cover…
- It’s semi-local, as in it’s from St Louis. Schlafly makes a lot of your regular, everyday kinds of beers, but they venture out and brew something truly tasty now and again. Between their hoppier fair (APA, AIPA[3]), barrel-aged monsters (Imperial Stout, Barley Wine), and delicate Belgian facsimiles (Tripel, Dubbel, Biere de Garde[4]), I know Schlafly can brew a tasty beer. It makes it easy to support the Saint Louis Brewery when they do such fine work[5].
- It’s a special release. The Saint Louis Brewery is 20 this year and they’re releasing some special brews to celebrate. Most likely, this will be the only chance I’ll get to try such beers, so it’s good to snatch them up whenever they’re in stock.
- Although it’s a lager, it’s imperial, which means it’s big on flavor in one way or the other. The beer looks like a pale lager and smells bready like a lager. The head is rather thick and creamy, but not unusual for some lagers. Then, I tasted it…tons of bready sweetness in this beer, almost cloying[6]. Still, it’s way more satisfying and interesting than your run-of-the-mill pale lager.
- Speaking of lagers, there’s something about them that just doesn’t agree with me. I was never as sure of this as the time my beer club had an all-lager tasting. I felt so rough despite most of the beers measuring in at 5% ABV or less. I had that same feeling last night. Sure, it’s 750mL of a 9% beer, but I sipped it slowly as the evening passed and during dinner. Lager yeast just doesn’t agree with me[7].
- Not enough breweries paint labels directly onto bottles. While this is a pain for homebrewers, they make for excellent souvenirs[8]. Plus, it gives sort of an old-school feel to the drinking experience. It’s a little thing that has little to do with the beer itself, but it’s a nice touch.
KC Accidental – Captured Anthems for an Empty Bathtub/Anthems for the Could’ve Bin Pills
This re-issue of pre-Broken Social Scene material came out some time in 2010, but it fell off my radar somehow. I finally ordered it and the double-LP arrived late last week. Monday was really my first chance to give it a proper listen. I had heard this stuff before but never was able to spend time with it. And, like the beer above, this record gives me some topics about which to write…
- As mentioned above, this double-LP is a re-issue of two releases by pre-Broken Social Scene band KC Accidental. So many bands record and release material before they break big, and that material is often lost[9]. Eventually, bands are often able to give the material a proper release that allows fans to dive into their discographies even further. I am a sucker for this sort of material, especially when the original project is as good or possibly better than the current band.
- KC Accidental was more along the lines of a Rachels or Sea & Cake than what BSS currently represents. This worked out well in my house as my partner prefers Rachels and Sea & Cake to almost anything else I might play. The comparisons are uncanny. I was surprised at how much anyone could sound like Rachels[10]. Punk rock chamber music is hard to replicate, but KC Accidental did it. There are some rock songs, but expect Rachels-like indie if you pick this record up.
- This record is worth it for both BSS die-hards as well as people new to the Toronto collective. It’s certainly an important part of the canon for sure.
What have you been drinking or listening to? Please share in comments.
Notes:
1It did, something like 16.6 inches of snow as of 6 pm on Tuesday night. I haven’t heard the final tally, but they were talking in the ballpark of 20 inches of snow.
2I also wanted to note that I polished off a Great Lakes Nosferatu Stock Ale, Founders 2010 KBS, Boulevard Dark Truth Stout, and a 2008 Bell’s Old Ale Tuesday night. Let’s just say that I was plenty warm.
3One of the more underrated IPA’s I’ve had in the last year. I sort of expected it to always be around, but I haven’t seen it since its short run last year.
4All three of these beers are good to keep on hand for dinners and such. They store well, look nice, and pair with a variety of foods.
5Unlike a certain other industrial adjunct lager producer also found in St. Louis.
6That one’s for David. He uses “cloying” all the time. That and “vegetal.”
7I don’t know what it is, but it’s not because I drink too much. One lager can make me feel crummy. 750 mL certainly didn’t help. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s the sweetness, something I’m starting to pick up in every pale lager I try.
8I collect Stone bottles, but this will lose its luster once they begin distributing to Missouri. I have all their regular releases and am just missing a few of their one-off bottles. Still, they are cool bottles to collect with their gargoyles and unique narratives.
9Sometimes that’s for a good reason. Sometimes it’s too bad.
10There’s more rock instrumentation (drums, bass, guitar) than Rachels incorporate, but the influence is certainly heard.
Hopslam Vertical
I recorded a Hopslam vertical for posterity. Check the images and read my commentary afterwards.
Batch numbers 9501 and 10115.
I admit it. I love the new caps.
There's more red in the '10 and the '11 is cloudier.
This is where the fresh Hopslam dominates (in the nose).
I fully recognize that a hopbomb like Bell’s Hopslam should not sit around in one’s cellar for a year, nullifying said beer’s hop presence. Still, I ended up with a case of the stuff last year and figured it would be fun to sample a sixer throughout the year. Prior to Saturday’s vertical experiment, I found the beer pleasant with the honey coming out stronger with each tasting. It’s been maybe 4-5 months since I’ve cracked open a Hopslam, so this one is quite a jump from the rest.
First, the 2010 Hopslam demonstrates almost no hoppiness at all. This does not mean that it’s a bad beer. There’s a huge malt presence, almost like a mash smell. Grainy, bready, it’s covered. The residual sweetness from the honey is there, but it’s not pronounced. This beer reminds me of Bell’s 25th Anniversary Ale, making me think that Bell’s just bottled old Hopslam in hopes of passing it as their anniversary ale. Of course, I know this can’t be true. Still, it’s an interesting discovery.
The bitterness of the hops were still there…That is, until I sipped more and more from the ’11. The huge hop presence of the fresh beer overtook any residual hoppiness in the cellared beer. Eventually, the ’10 didn’t seem bitter at all. It began to taste like an American strong ale, a la Rogue’s Double Dead Guy.
This brings me to this year’s masterpiece. All the hoppy goodness is still there, but the beer actually tastes like freshly-cut grass when placed next to it’s elder. If anything, this vertical made me appreciate the beauty of the fresh beer even more. There’s no way I’ll hold onto a Hopslam for an entire year ever again. My only six-pack will last maybe a week. Then, I’ll return to pining for next year’s edition.
Still, it was a worthy experiment. If there’s anything to be learned here, it’s that you should always drink your IPA’s and DIPA’s as fresh as possible.
(Sorry for all the beer talk, mostly surrounding one beer, as of late. I’ll get back to more diversity in coming posts.)
Top Five Beers and Records to Always Have on Hand
The Hopry is starting a new series where they list top-5 beers that fill a particular need. The first post in the series focused on the top-5 beers you should always keep in the fridge. You can see their list and eyeball mine below. After that, I’m also including a list of top-records to always have around.
Keep in mind that these might not be the five best beers/records. The idea is to have every need covered with just the five selections. While I recognize my fives don’t have everything for everyone, it’s still my house. This is what I have to offer.
So, check it…
5 Beers for the Fridge
Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale – Saisons are a versatile alternative to the over-hopped/hyped IPA’s and dirty, dirty stouts. They are light with a touch of tartness and spice, perfect for pairing with fish and/or poultry. This is easily one of my favorite saisons. Now that it’s available in 12 oz. bottles[1], it’s easy to keep some on hand for any occasion. I considered sticking The Bruery’s Saison Rue in this slot, but The Bruery is not available in Missouri and they only come in 750 mL bombers.
Ska Modus Hoperandi – One has to have a hopbomb around, right[2]? Modus is quickly replacing spots in fridges around Middle Missouri that were once held down by Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale[3]. The fact that this beer comes in a can makes it perfect for this list. Cans tend to keep IPA’s better than bottles and they’re easily stored. I eventually want a beer fridge and have fantasized filling the “can dispensers” in those things usually reserved for PBR and Coke Zero with some Modus.
Bell’s Expedition Stout – This is maybe my favorite beer. Bigger, blackerer, and full of molasses[4], Expedition is a go-to imperial stout that should be in every fridge and beer closet. Besides sipping on the good stuff, I periodically make ice cream out of this Texas (via Michigan) tea. The best part is that the ice cream recipe leaves me a half bottle to finish as I churn the creamy concoction.
Cantillon Kriek – I considered New Belgium’s La Folie for the token sour stand-by, but that only comes in bombers. Cantillon is the fine wine of the beer world and they sell their beers in smaller bottles for a somewhat affordable treat[5]. This beer fills the sour need as well as showing your guests that fruit does belong in beer from time to time.
Dogfish Head[6] India Brown Ale – This is the only beer not readily available in Missouri, but I try to have it around as much as possible. Besides being a really great beer, IBA is the perfect beer to pair with almost any food, especially those of the greasy, meaty variety. I essentially proclaimed that the most perfect pairing ever was a Booches burger and a DfH IBA and I still stand by that assertion[7]. The combination of hops cutting through grease and sweet malty goodness balancing the richness of the meat is too good not to experience at least once.
As you can see, my beer list is pretty diverse. The records didn’t turn out that way, but my taste in music is much, much narrower than my taste in beers. Just look at the blog’s title[8]. I identify a band but refer to beer in general. That can tell you a lot about this blog. Now, on to the records…
5 Records for the Turntable
Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane of the Sea – This is an absolute classic that will hold down a spot on my overall top-5 every time. No other record is as good a discussion starter as Aeroplane. Aesthetically, it has some folky acoustic guitar, trumpet flourishes, love for our lord and savior Jesus Christ… Really, everyone should own this album[9].
A Tribe Called Quest The Low End Theory – You need dance music? Wanna kick it old school? Your only black friend is over for dinner[10]? Drop the needle on this hip-hop classic and let the groove take over. Not only does your cred go up a notch for actually owning hip-hop record, but you own one of the most revered and highly decorated albums of all time.
Pavement Quarantine the Past – Put this one on for your kids and explain that this is what the nineties sounded like. Normally, I’d put a specific Pavement album (or possibly their entire catalog) on this list, but Quarantine the Past is a near-perfect compilation that spans the group’s run quite nicely. Now, you can expose your friends to Pavement without making them sit through every 7″ and reissue extra[11].
Slint Spiderland – At this point, my musical biases have gone over the top. Nearly all the nineties essentials are now covered with Spiderland joining the party. However, this album is diverse enough to handle both a dark mood and the end-of-the-evening comedown. That and like Aeroplane, this record offers plenty about which to talk. “Did you know that Will Oldham took the picture on the cover?” “Did you know that PJ Harvey answered the band’s call for a female singer in the liner notes?” “Did you know that there’s a children’s book created for the final track?” This record is a discussion-starter for sure.
Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion – Want to lighten the mood while simultaneously raising the discourse in the room? Put on Merriweather Post Pavilion, one of the most cerebral dance records of the last decadea[12]. Plus, you can stare at the “moving” record sleeve all night long.
What are your five to always have on hand? Are my musical tastes too narrow? Leave a comment or three.
Notes:
1Interestingly, for those who are not familiar, Tank 7 is part of the Smokestack Series, celebrating Boulevard’s famous smokestacks bearing their name. The original series came exclusively in tall, like smokestack-tall 750 mL bottles. So, the move to 12oz. bottles was awkward, but Boulevard pulled it off beautifully as they chose a taller, sleeker 12 oz. bottle.
2This is rhetorical. Of course one must always have a hopbomb in the fridge/cellar. I have been known to go buy an IPA or DIPA even though I have a cellar full of perfectly good beers simply for the purpose of insuring that I have at least one hoppy beer around. And those are the beers I consume the quickest, so it makes sense to always have some around. Don’t question the logic. Go out and buy an IPA right now.
3Two-Hearted is still a perfectly acceptable option here, but Modus is newish around these parts and it comes in cans.
4I like bourbon, oak/vanilla, and chocolate in my imperial stouts, but molasses brings it. This preference is possibly due to my dad’s practice of pouring brown sugar all over his Cheerios. Yes. You read that correctly. The best part was when you came to the end and had nothing left but creamy brown sugar.
5The 750 mL bombers run in the $30 range. So, ten bucks for 12 oz. of really, really good beer is sometimes justified.
6Dogfish Head has been taking it on the chin as of late. It’s most likely a backlash from the Brew Masters debacle/nondebacle. Let’s get this straight. Dogfish Head makes some of the best, if not most interesting beers in craft beer. Additionally, founder Sam Calagione has maybe done more for the growth in craft beer aside from anyone named Michael Jackson or Jim Koch.
7Seriously, I challenge you to find another better pairing. Do it. Until you’ve had this pairing, you won’t ever understand the food and beer pairing. This is the standard. See if you can exceed it.
8It does seem to me that I judge music based on degrees of Pavement. I’m OK with that.
9In fact, I know several people who own it but don’t appreciate it. I suggest for those who don’t get it (and this may very well go for any so-called classic record) that they should read the book in the 33 1/3 series to get the context. If you can’t appreciate Aeroplane after that, there’s nothing I can do for you.
10Oh, I know my demographic: middle-class white folk who can’t seem to rid themselves of white guilt. It’s okay. Embrace your racism. I’ve made peace with mine.
11Doing so would be a perfectly acceptable practice as well.
12I don’t like dance music. So, I’m sure you could name a better dance record. Still, this album would have to be in your top-10 of the last decade.
File Under: Miscellany
Several things have crossed my network of RSS, Facebook, and Twitter feeds that could be worthy subjects on this blog. I’m using this post to sort through them and hopefully stumble upon one that can be developed[1]. I’ll at least have a complete blog post when it’s all said and done.
Archers of Loaf Reunite
As I once proposed, it’s time for Archers of Loaf to get back together. Well, they did, but there’s no indication it will happen again[2]. Still, one has to suspect that a tour is in their future. However, how many dates will they play and how far will the tour stretch? Some bands do a weekend in a major city. Others do the full-on Pixies/Pavement model. I’m hoping for the latter as Middle Missouri gets so few great bands as it is. That and I suspect Loaf will do smaller venues like they did way back when. I’m certainly not hopeful for a reunion record, though. There’s a reason that bands like Pixies and Pavement didn’t do much if any recording after reuniting[3]. With band members taking up various projects, these bands stood no chance at picking up where they left off or even resembling their former selves. I’d be happy with a tour that stops through Missouri. That’s all.
Still, if you click through to the videos of the show last weekend, you’ll see why Archers of Loaf were considered among the best live performers in the indie circuit. They were so good that I think they’ve ruined live shows for me forever. So, let’s hope they make it this way at some point in the coming year.
Hopslammed Cont’d
The Beer Holiday I described on Wednesday has come and gone. By early afternoon, Sycamore’s keg was blown and nearly every store carrying the beer was sold out. There are rumors that more is coming to town, but it won’t be much[4]. It was like a Depression-era bank run a la It’s a Wonderful Life.
That said, an offshoot of the Coalition emerged. My beer club pooled their resources and insured that none was without Hopslam on this great day. Facebook group threads kept folks abreast of developments. And when a few unlucky beer enthusiasts were without the sweet nectar of the gods, a few generous members either offered some of their own stash or provided hints as to the whereabouts of additional cases of the good stuff. For these efforts, this Coalition salutes you!
Here are some pics from the day. Those blatantly lifted from Facebook are so noted. Now, enjoy the beer porn…
Lifted from FB and taken at Sycamore by Father of the Month.
Father of the Month again.
Mine. (Notice the retro rotisserie.)
And while you’re thirsty from all those pics, check out this review from It’s a Fucking Beer[5].
No Rock Show
Even though my Freshly Pressed post claimed that attending more local rock shows is the way to get back into music, I skipped out on a show Wednesday night. Why? Well, it snowed like a foot here, I had a glass full of Hopslam, and there was a basketball game on TV[6]. So, no rock show for me. Besides, I’m not 100% sure I wanted to see a poor man’s Animal Collective or whoever was playing[7]. It’s probably for the best. I’ll hit the upcoming show on a Friday for my token local show this year.
January Catch-Up
At the end of every year, I find a ton of records that I somehow missed over the year. I’ll slowly begin to order said records just to see hear what I’ve been missing. A few arrived in December, but I honestly haven’t given them enough of a listen to tell you what I think[8]. There are two more coming soon. So, I’ll have old records to tell you about in the coming week. Stay tuned.
The Ace of (Indie Rock) Cakes
The Pavement reunion was etched in digitally-televised stone forever and it wasn’t MTV, rather Food Network did the honors. That’s right. MTV doesn’t do music anymore. Nope, Food Network’s Ace of Cakes featured Pavement receiving one of those ridiculous cakes only possible on basic cable. With Brew Masters on extended hiatus[9], Ace of Cakes had to fill a void Thursday night.
While it was nice to see my heros on TV, I had my issues with the episode. First, the Pavement cake split time with a cake for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Who cares? Second, the person in-charge of decorating the cake, Elena Fox, was supposedly a big Pavement fan. Of course, there was no way to confirm this fandom as Fox didn’t share any knowledge about the band and used this past year’s greatest hits comp as inspiration for the cake. The kicker was when Fox blushed that she never thought she’d get to see the band until now. Really? How is she such a huge fan that she’s never seen them before? Yes, it’s a bit ageist, but painting her as a huge fan was a stretch[10].
That said, the tiny bit the band was actually on the show was sorta cool. We got to see the band with their spouses and kids. Mark Ibold wore a t-shirt that proclaimed “Good Evening We Are The Fall[11].” The cake itself was well-executed as it depicted a horse as featured on the artwork from Quarantine the Past and various other images from the record. I heard several snippets from “Cut Your Hair,” but that was all the Pavement Ace of Cakes could fit into the eleven or so minutes dedicated to the Pavement cake. Still, it was nice to see the band get a little love from basic cable that wasn’t nearly as awkward as their visit to The Colbert Report.
Beer Marketing Rant
A beer blogger went on a rant about gimmicky beers. While I recognize that this is not a huge surprise nor a new development, the rant itself is perplexing. The Mad Fermentationist rants about brewers using odd ingredients or over-the-top amounts in beers as marketing devices rather than sound brewing choices. In other words, he complains that the marketing around such “gimmicks” overshadows whether or not the beers are any good.
I find this odd as this blog mostly features homebrewing topics. The one thing nearly every homebrewer does is experiment with one-off brews that feature strange ingredients or hyperbolic amounts and varieties. And what is TMF doing but judging brewers and their beers by the marketing and not the actual quality of the beers?
Whatever, it’s a fucking beer. It’s good or it’s not. It might be good because it uses an ungodly amount of hops. It might suck because the combination of malt just didn’t work. Whatever. Judge the beer by how it tastes, smells, and looks, not what marketing tells you. That’s all.
Hellbender
Nanobreweries are growing all over the country and there’s one right here in Columbia. Hellbender is the brainchild of fellow beer geeks Jarrett and Josh who brew constantly and have a ton of great beers in their repertoire. Hellbender is certainly a welcomed member of the Coalition, a relationship that could blossom in coming months. The boys are primed for big things as their entrance in The Bruery’s Batch 300 contest is a sure finalist. “Rosemary, Baby” is the kind of beer The Bruery makes. It’s delicate, subtle, and an ideal pairing for poultry or fish with hints of rosemary (What else?) and low ABV. The nano is planning a party next month in preparation for the stretch run toward finalizing some paperwork that could make them a legit brewery. Cheers, boys! The Coalition supports your endeavor!
Monday’s post should be more of a normal post. In the meantime, stay warm, put a record on, and drink all your Hopslam before those hops fade into the ether.
Notes:
1This is mostly because I don’t want to write an entire post about any of these things.
2Of course, we all know it means that they will play more shows. Once the rumor or even reality of an indie rock reunion begins, it will happen. It might be at an ATP or a full-fledged tour, but it will happen.
3A Pixies album would be awful and a Pavement album would be a simplified version of SM’s solo work. Neither would do these bands any favors. It’s better to leave their legacies alone and play the hits for all the kids who missed them the first time around.
4And now I hear we won’t even get any minikegs. I was hoping to score one for a birthday bash next month. Hopefully my Ohio hookup can…well…hook me up.
5I apologize for the misogyny. The kid’s just trying to drive home the point that the beer is really good. Let’s just say that he’s excited.
6My Buckeyes are now 19-0 and #1 in the country. Their schedule gets really treacherous over the next 2-3 weeks. So, we’ll see what they’re made of. It’s a team loaded with a solid group of seniors and a talented group of freshmen. Ohio State could have a football-sized dynasty in the making.
7Admittedly, that was a bit harsh. The bands playing all sound like Animal Collective is a major influence. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m just trying to justify not going. I’m the lame one. They rocked out in a snowstorm.
82010 records purchased: Double Dagger, Screaming Females, and Born Ruffians.
9Apparently, it’s coming back, but Discovery is trying to kill it. Why else would they continually change the nights it’s on and wait months between episodes without a programming note. #fail
10I’m not denying this woman a right to like or even love Pavement. In fact, I support her love of the band. My problem is that the show worked really hard to paint her as a huge fan and she wasn’t. Why not point out that Fox is in a band herself and knows something about indie rock? I’m probably just jealous, but I thought that connection to the band was forced. That’s all.
11Pavement has long been compared to The Fall. Some have even suggested that the band ripped off The Fall’s aesthetic. Whatever. The Fall wasn’t on Ace of Cakes, were they?
Hopslammed
A really dark iPhone pic of said beer.
A little over a year ago, I wrote my first post for this blog (January 14th, to be exact). It was about waiting for Tuesday, the day Hopslam[1] was unleashed in Middle Missouri. I compared it to the wait for Tuesdays when all the new albums are released[2].
Anyway, Hopslam has arrived once again and I feel I need to address it’s return to our shelves and, more importantly, our bellies.
First, after several delays, the beer we all covet was supposed to arrive in stores yesterday. It didn’t come due to yet another snafu. Meanwhile, my sister who happens to work in a Cincinnati-area Whole Foods said she witnessed 20 cases being delivered to the store last week. Our little college town is only (re)scheduled to get 30. So, jealousy is setting in[3].
In order to interrupt our Hopslam envy, the favorite local watering hole of the local beer nerd circuit[4] tapped a keg Tuesday night for a Bell’s dinner they were hosting and made it public to the average beer enthusiast. Of course, I and every other beer geek within 50 miles was there for this year’s offering, even if we didn’t have tickets for the dinner.
How was it? It was like the year before last. Last year’s was full of grapefruit courtesy of loads of Simcoe hops. This year’s version toned down the cattiness brought a ton of heat. It’s super-balanced and not annoyingly sweet or syrupy. It’s a near-perfect DIPA and doesn’t disappoint.
Sure, the beer is good, but why do we want need it so badly?
Well, it’s actually one of the few highly-sought-after beer releases we get here in Middle Missouri. It’s like going to a show for a band you’re kinda into mainly just because their only stopping in a few cities and towns[5]. A lot of breweries who do special seasonals on par with Hopslam either don’t distribute here[6] or don’t send us their special releases[7]. So, this is a pretty big beer holiday in Columbia, Missouri.
Also, a seasonal that depends on so many hops really varies from year to year. The debates will begin instantly whether this year’s version measures up or not, especially since there are no more bottles of last year’s batch still lying around[8].
Hopslam Day is like Xmas in these parts. We talk about it all year long and chase this white rabbit as long as it holds down shelf space and bar menus. I remember a few years ago three mystery cases showed up about a month after our initial shipment. Last year, one bar discovered a rogue[9] six-pack in the back of the cooler. In both cases, the beer was consumed quickly.
Music doesn’t have this same effect on me anymore, but I’m beginning to wonder if beer is close behind in my waning interest. The last couple of years, I’ve probably purchased a case or so of Hopslam for each release, but this year is looking like a one-and-done kind of year. Sure, the beer is as good as ever, but I have more diverse interests and don’t have the funds nor time for just one.
What I’m getting back to is actually enjoying beer again[10]. I plan to pick up some new releases by Epic and Stillwater to supplement the hole in my cellar left by unpurchased sixers of Hopslam. It’s time to diversify and get back to rediscovering other kinds of beer.
Besides, cutting back on the Hopslam might actually help me to enjoy and appreciate this seasonal even more. Just as I am stepping back a bit from tired practices in music listening, I’ll get back to some discovery and a smorgasbord mentality when it comes to my beer consumption. Still, Hopslam will be relished for the fine beer that it is. And when it’s gone, it’s gone. It will be time to move on to the next great beer.
Notes:
1Huge imperial IPA from Michigan brewing company Bell’s. It’s a yearly release that features tons of hops, particularly those of the Simcoe maybe Amarillo varieties, and lots and lots of booze. Plus, it has the malt backbone to hold up to even the most distinguishing tastes.
2Does anyone do this anymore? I try to pre-order records from Insound so that they arrive on Tuesdays, but they always come anywhere between the Friday prior to the following Wednesday. We need release days like Tuesday to keep the middle of the week interesting.
3I was so close to having her grab one for me, but I knew that we’d get our share eventually. It’s cool. I can wait.
4This is the swanky Sycamore. They feature just a few rotating taps, but every beer is high-end. Then you see their bottle list and know that you’re home. It is rare to find fine dining with such an extensive beer selection and excellent comfort food these days. And when you find it, I give them as much of your money as you can afford.
5However, I’m not really doing that anymore. I’ve made a point in the past to see bands I’m so-so about simply because they’re coming through town or doing an outdoor gig in the fall or spring, but that’s almost not enough these days. (See this post.)
6This list is very long, but instead of naming the breweries who refuse us their delicious beers, I’ll list a few who are on their way this year: Stone, Firestone Walker, Stillwater, and Epic.
7Looking your way Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Avery, etc.
8Generally, it’s a bad idea to hang onto an IPA/DIPA for a long time. What makes them great (citrusy, piny, bitter aroma and flavor) fades over time. However, Hopslam is one of the few DIPA’s that’s boozy enough to be cellared. What comes out are the notes of honey and caramel. I honestly have one more I purposely held onto for a mini-vertical. I won’t do this again, but at least I can say I did it once.
9That’s a “rogue” with a little “r,” not to be confused with Rogue out of Oregon. No one’s going ape-shit for their beers.
10That and homebrewing, bug I think I’ve caught again. I’m thinking up an IPA, Saison, and Wit for the coming spring.
Beer and Pavement 
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