Month: January 2021

When someone says, “I don’t like beer,” we scratch our heads a bit. It’s like saying, “I don’t like TV.” Both terms are used to describe ever-widening spectrums; nearly infinite universes that are (almost inexplicably) continuing to expand. The collision of peak TV and streaming have delivered us an endless flood of dramas, sitcoms, reality shows, lifestyle programming, docuseries… we could go on. The same goes for beer.

Not all beer is yellow, fizzy American lagers and pilsners, which, we can only assume, is what the anti-beer types believe. The combination of yeast, hops, malt, and water has so many permutations that even the best brewers (and beer writers) can’t keep track of them all.

Sure, there are beers out there that resemble seltzer with a slight yellow hue. But even light beers are upping their collective game in 2021. Plus there are countless other lagers and pilsners on the market with crisp, refreshing, complex flavors and enough ABVs to make you take note. And that’s just one small galaxy in the beer universe. Stouts, porters, pale ales, IPAs, amber ales, barley wines, wheat beers, and dozens of other styles are waiting for you to discover them.

At the very least, you should test a few more types before you make broad statements about not liking beer. Have you tried a shandy? Who doesn’t like a shandy?

Today, we’re touring you through ten beer styles by recommending one brew in particular that has something distinct to say about that style. For no real reason, we decided to start at the lightest beers and work our way toward the darker picks. We also only picked beers readily available, because why would you want to read about a beer you’re never going to get a chance to try?

Firestone Walker Pivo Pils (Pilsner)

ABV: 5.3%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The pilsner is the most popular beer style for a reason. It’s crisp, refreshing, and easy to drink. Firestone Walker brings a contemporary taste to the famous style by dry-hopping Saphir hops to go along with Spalter Select and Tradition hops.

Tasting Notes:

This beer is exactly what you hope for when you crack open an American pilsner. It’s light, thirst-quenching, and filled with piney, floral, citrus hop flavors.

Bottom Line:

This is a great summer beer. It’s the perfect beer to drink after mowing the lawn. But if you get overheated (too much sauna time?), you’ll find that it’s just as refreshing in the middle of January as July.

Sierra Nevada (Pale Ale)

ABV: 5.6%

Average Price: $17.99 for a 12-pack

The Beer:

If you ask any brewer or bartender what they’re favorite pale ale is, there’s a good chance you’ll hear the words “Sierra Nevada.” This beloved pale ale offers a widely-beloved balance of hops and malts.

Tasting Notes:

Before your first sip, your nose is filled with the aromas of a pine forest. The first sip is filled with more fresh pine, juicy citrus, and sweet malts.

Bottom Line:

This refreshing, complex beer is the perfect gateway into the world of IPAs. While technically a pale ale, it’s as close to an IPA as a pale ale can get.

Allagash White (Wheat Beer)

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $12.99 for a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

There are many American craft wheat beers on the market, but few (if any) are more well rounded than Allagash White. This hazy, unfiltered Belgian-style wheat ale is made with Coriander and Curaçao orange peels.

Tasting Notes:

This rich, yeasty, refreshing beer is a perfect combination of citrus and spice. Fresh orange, spicy coriander, and pleasing yeast make this a truly unforgettable brew.

Bottom Line:

There’s no better example of the American interpretation of the Belgium-style wheat ale than Allagash White. Seriously, try to find one and savor it.

Ballast Point Sculpin (West Coast IPA)

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $14.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Named for the stinging Sculpin fish, this high ABV, tangy, hoppy beer is one of the highest-rated IPAs in history. It’s won numerous awards over the years and remains one of the best West Coast IPAs, even after all the hype and praise.

Tasting Notes:

Like all West Coast IPAs, Sculpin has a pleasantly bitter backbone. But before you get there, your palate is met with orange, lime, and grapefruit flavors, along with resinous, piney hops.

Bottom Line:

This well-rounded IPA is fruity, fresh, and filled with citrus, floral, and dank hop flavors. It’s the kind of beer you’ll purchase again and again.

Two Roads Two Juicy (New England-Style IPA)

ABV: 8.2%

Average Price: $15.99 for a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

In the past few years, no beer style has taken the world by storm quite like the New England-style IPA. One of the best examples of this hazy, juicy style is Two Roads Two Juicy. This 8.2% ABV unfiltered, cloudy brew is filled with Hallertauer Blanc, Citra & Mandarina Bavaria hops.

Tasting Notes:

Right away, your palate is met with something juicier, hazier than even expected. It’s filled with tropical fruit flavors like guava and mango and citrus flavors like tangerine, orange, and grapefruit.

Bottom Line:

If you don’t like New England-style IPAS, you just might want to avoid this one. It’s not for everyone. But if you’re a fan of the juice-forward style, this beer will tick every box.

Tröegs Hopback (Amber Ale)

ABV: 6%

Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Amber ales are like the middle of the beer spectrum. They’re not light, but also not quite dark. Hopback with its whole-flower hops, Crystal, Munich, and Pilsner malts is a perfect bridge between light and dark brews.

Tasting Notes:

A beer this complex comes with a flavor profile equally as diverse. First, your palate will be treated to hints of tangerine and grapefruit followed by rich caramel and sweet brown sugar notes.

Bottom Line:

If you’re looking to ease your way into dark beer, you can’t do much better than Hopback amber ale. It has everything a beer fan enjoys.

Shiner Bock (Bock)

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $16.99 for a 12-pack

The Beer:

Shiner is one of the most beloved bock beers of all time. This classic Texas beer has been brewed with roasted barley and specialty hops from Germany since 1973.

Tasting Notes:

This dark lager is smooth, refreshing, and loaded with subtle piney hops along with rich, sweet, roasted barley malts. It’s light enough for lager fans and dark enough for stout fans.

Bottom Line:

While Bock beer is commonly released in the spring, Shiner makes theirs available all year long. That’s definitely a good thing.

Cigar City Maduro (Brown Ale)

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $10.49 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Cigar City might be most known for its Jai Alai IPA, but its brown ale shouldn’t be missed. It’s an English-style brown ale filled with flaked oats and other sweet, rich ingredients.

Tasting Notes:

This well-balanced brown ale is smooth, velvety, and filled with hints of sweet caramel, toasted malts, and rich chocolate.

Bottom Line:

Cigar City says this beer is best paired with a fine cigar. But you can pair this silky beer with a night of binge-watching Netflix just as easily.

Anchor Porter (Porter)

ABV: 5.6%

Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Anchor Brewing is one of the OG craft beer brands in America. It’s been making its highly acclaimed Porter since 1972. This blend of roasted pale, caramel, chocolate, and black malts as well as at the brewery’s proprietary top-fermenting yeast makes this a flavor bomb perfect for fans of rich, robust beers.

Tasting Notes:

While this isn’t a barrel-aged beer or even a high-alcohol brew, Anchor Porter is filled with flavors of espresso, creamy chocolate, caramel, and sticky toffee.

Bottom Line:

When it comes to dark beers, many people tend to head directly for imperial stouts, skipping porters completely. Don’t do that. You might find you enjoy this lower-ABV porter more than any of those 12% bombs.

Stone Xocoveza (Stout)

ABV: 8.1%

Average Price: $18.84 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This imperial stout was “inspired by Mexican hot chocolate” and the connection is pretty obvious. It’s made with coffee, pasilla peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and chocolate.

Tasting Notes:

Enjoy a nosing of this brew and you’ll be met with hints of rich, subtly bitter coffee, sweet caramel, creamy vanilla, spicy cinnamon, and a nice backbone of spicy peppers.

Bottom Line:

This winter, instead of wasting time whipping up hot chocolate on a cold day, grab a can of Xocoveza. You’ll get buzzed while you get warm, which feels like a double win.

The Boston Celtics are among the many teams currently dealing with a very shorthanded roster due to players being out due to either positive COVID-19 tests or contact tracing. Their game on Sunday with the Heat was postponed due to Miami not having enough players to play, as the Celtics managed to find eight players to meet the minimum, but their game scheduled for tonight with the Bulls was postponed on Monday for their own issues.

Now, a third straight Boston game has been postponed due to the Celtics still having too many players in the health and safety protocols, with Wednesday night’s game against the Magic being pushed back as well.

Boston is also scheduled to play the Magic again on Friday, and per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s unknown if that game will be played yet as Orlando will not travel to Boston just yet.

This now brings the NBA to five games postponed this season, with three of those involving the Celtics and seemingly more to come soon as teams like the Mavs have recently had to close their facilities due to ongoing outbreaks. The league and NBPA met recently to discuss changes to be made to the protocols, mostly involving player interactions after games, but without a bubble (which was a non-starter for the players) this is just going to be the reality for the league this year and we’re going to learn just how far they can go before needing to put a halt to play.

It’s hard to believe, but the tenth season of The Walking Dead actually began 464 days ago, back in October of 2019. It won’t complete its season 10 run until April 2021, over a year and a half later. When the tenth season of the zombie series began, it was in a completely different place, one where the Alexandrians were recovering from a Whisperers’ attack that left several decapitated.

In that intervening year and a half, the Whisperer War ended, Maggie returned, the real-world has had to contend with a pandemic, and The Walking Dead announced an end date. Along with that announcement was an extension of season ten, which added on six more episodes, largely to fill in some gaps as the series pushes toward its final, 24-episode season. The episodes will explore the origins of Negan; cover the whereabouts of Daryl in the years after Rick’s disappearance; and bring us up to speed on the whereabouts of Maggie since she left the community.

The new episodes will also feature Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) as “Mays” and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s wife, Hilarie Burton Morgan (One Tree Hill), as “Lucille,” along with a new co-star Okea Eme-Akwari (Cobra Kai) as “Elijah,” the masked ninja who appeared in the first season 10 finale along with Maggie.

Along with the teaser, AMC has also released a photo of Hilarie Burton as Lucille and what appears to be a confrontation between Negan and Maggie in the extended episodes.

The Walking Dead will return on February 28th on AMC, although each of the six episodes will also debut early on AMC+ every Thursday prior to the episodes’ linear premiere on Sundays.

As the first artist signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ new label Saddest Factory, Claud has the responsibility of representing the label well on its maiden release. So far, they’ve done just that with a handful of singles leading up to the album Super Monster, which drops in February. Now they’ve shared a new single, “Cuff Your Jeans.”

The lo-fi song is accompanied by an appropriately lo-fi visual, which uses a green screen to place Claud in crudely animated (endearingly so) environments and to give them some long legs, like Tim And Eric long. Claud says of the track:

“‘Cuff Your Jeans’ is a song about yearning. I wrote it after having a fever dream about trying to get on a train to see my friend but missing it over and over and over because there was always some obstacle in my way. The dream left me in a cold sweat and extremely frustrated. All elements of this song are a much needed form of rebellion against my redundant lifestyle, and my pitched down vocals in the verses — which appear in a few more places throughout Super Monster — are a way to further a more courageous and outspoken persona.”

Watch the “Cuff Your Jeans” video above.

Super Monster is out 2/12 via Saddest Factory. Pre-order it here.

French Montana is back with a new video for “Hot Boy Bling” from the deluxe version of his Coke Boys 5 mixtape. Released in November, the tape marks French’s first full-length release since quitting drinking after being hospitalized in 2019.

The Bronx rapper is joined on “Hot Boy Bling” by two rappers in the middle of their own big breakouts, Jack Harlow and Lil Durk. While Harlow is fresh off his first Hot 100 Top 10 in “What’s Poppin” and the release of his debut album, That’s What They All Say, Lil Durk experienced a career resurgence last year, featuring on Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later,” as well as a plethora of hit singles and album cuts from seemingly every hot artist who released a record in 2020. He also capped the year with his own release, The Voice, just six months removed from Just Cause Y’all Waited 2.

The video finds the three rappers flexing in the wreckage of a structure in the desert, channeling the Mad Max films for inspiration (a favorite go-to for rappers dating back to Tupac’s “California Love”). It doesn’t look like Durk was able to make the shoot, so he’s green-screened in. The rappers are also flanked by scantily clad models, decked-out in post-apocalyptic spikes and chains.

Watch the “Hot Boy Bling” video above.

Coke Boys 5 is out now on Montana Entertainment / EMPIRE. Get it here.

Jon Hamm’s big break should have come following his sweet-ass butt cut’s appearance on The Big Date, but the actor would have to wait until 2007 when Mad Men premiered on AMC. In another timeline, however, he would have already been known by that point for playing a good TV dad — arguably the best TV dad — instead of a bad TV dad.

On Rolling Stone‘s “Too Long; Didn’t Watch” podcast, hosted by Alan Sepinwall, Hamm revealed that he auditioned to play eyebrow icon Sandy Cohen on The O.C. “I did audition for one of the dads on The O.C. I was probably 31 or 32. I think it was me and Harry Hamlin,” he recalled. “I remember walking in and going, ‘Is that Peter Gallagher? Why am I here?‘ I love Peter Gallagher, but I was just like, ‘Dang!’” Hamm didn’t get the role — he’s only eight years older than Adam Brody, who would have played his son — but he did eventually get to California, right back where we started from.

The debut episodes of “Too Long; Didn’t Watch” have Hamm and Alison Brie watching the first and last episodes of Gossip Girl and Game of Thrones, respectively. Both shows with good beginnings; both shows with terrible endings. Listen to them below.

Frank Grillo has confirmed that his villainous character, Crossbones, will return in the upcoming animated series Marvel’s What If…? when it makes its debut on Disney+ in 2021. Staying true to the title, the show will examine various alternate reality scenarios like “What if T’Challa became Star Lord instead of Black Panther?” or “What if Peggy Carter took the super-soldier serum and became Captain America instead of Steve Rogers?” It’s that last scenario where Grillo most likely comes into play, considering Crossbones’ history of squaring off with Cap, which made the jump from the comics to the big screen in both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War.

As for getting Grillo to sign on to the animated series, it apparently didn’t make much convincing for him to work with Marvel again, as he told Collider:

“If the President calls and says, ‘I want you to come to the White House,’ you don’t ask why, you just kind of get on a plane and go to the White House. CAA called, my agents called and said, ‘They’re doing this thing, What If…?, and they have four or five episodes planned out, you can do it all in one [day].’ I’m like, ‘Whatever, I don’t care what the money [is], it doesn’t matter, yes I’m going to do it. Absolutely. All day, every day.’”

Since its announcement, Marvel’s What If…? has promised that most if not all of the MCU actors will voice their respective characters in the animated series. That includes the late Chadwick Boseman, who “came in about four times and recorded numerous episodes,” Marvel Studio head Kevin Feige told Emmy Magazine. “In hindsight, it’s very moving.”

(Via Collider)

At just 18 years old, Billie Eilish is one of the biggest global superstars. In 2020 alone, the singer was awarded five Grammys, planned (and then canceled) a sold-out arena tour, and recorded the new James Bond theme song. Now, Eilish is reflecting on her life, fame and all, in a new photo book.

Titled Billie Eilish, the singer’s book will serve as a visual storytelling of her rise to mainstream stardom. It will offer never-before-seen glimpses into her early childhood, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at her tour life. Fans can see pictures of her seated behind a piano as a child, as well as on-set photos of her “Bury A Friend” video.

In order to put the photo book together, Eilish said she scoured through her family photos: “I spent many hours over many months pouring through my family albums and archives, handpicking all of the photos in this book. I hope you love it as much as I do.”

Along with publishing the photo book, Hachette Book Group will share a standalone audiobook where Eilish reflects on her life. She’ll tell previously unheard stories from her personal life to provide an intimate look at her journey as a musician.

Echoing Eilish’s excitement about the book, editor Gretchen Young said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be working on the first book by iconic singer and songwriter Billie Eilish. Her unique combination of sophisticated artistic vision and tenacious creative energy shines through on every page, and the vibrant visual nature of how she has chosen to share herself and her truth captures perfectly the unassailable authenticity for which she is so beloved by her ever-growing legions of fans.”

Pre-order Billie Eilish here.

Vic Mensa‘s nonprofit organization, SaveMoneySaveLife, was reportedly robbed of over $40,000 worth of donated goods on New Year’s Eve, according to a video the rapper posted to Instagram Monday.

“On New Year’s Eve, the entire donation inventory for my non-profit @savemoneysavelife was robbed,” he wrote in the caption. “I founded the organization in 2018 to help the city I call home and since then we’ve donated 100,000+ pounds of food, over 50,000 pairs of shoes, and countless PPE supplies since the dawn of the pandemic. Sadly, we were set up and someone brought a truck to our Southside Chicago location and cleaned us out of over $40,000 worth of brand new shoes, Still, I want to thank everyone who has supported us thus far. Donation links are in my bio.”

The second slide of the post depicts the ransacked warehouse, with shoeboxes opened, emptied, and strewn all over the room. The shoes were collected ahead of a giveaway inspired as a reaction to 2018 reports of the Chicago Police Department using “bait trucks” to try and entrap potential thieves in underserved neighborhoods. SaveMoneySaveLife also provides first-aid training to volunteers, studios and training for aspiring media professionals, and organizes peace walks and back-to-school drives in the Chicago area.

For more information about the organization, visit its website here.

It’s no secret that COVID-19 is having a pretty devastating effect on the restaurant industry. According to data collected by Statista from the National Restaurant Association, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau, the foodservice industry has lost $130 billion in sales between the months of March and October, shed 2.1 million jobs as of this December, and seen over 110,000 restaurants closed permanently or for the long term as a result of the pandemic.

On top of all of the hardships that come with running a service business amidst a (currently worsening) pandemic, chefs and restaurant owners are also having to deal with a customer base that’s living in and reflecting the most overtly divisive political climate in recent American history. For New Orleans chef Jason Goodenough, the toxicity of it all was simply too much.

Goodenough, chef and owner of the acclaimed New Orleans bistro Carrollton Market, announced his departure from the industry on his personal Instagram account, sharing a screenshot that reads, “I am walking away from CM and closing permanently. This is not a financial decision. Instead, now that the stimulus will prop up my staff, I am walking away because my passion for the craft has turned to apathy and my love of serving people has turned into disdain towards them.”

The photo was accompanied by a caption reading #TimeToMoveOn.

Further, Goodenough told NOLA.com, “It’s been so disheartening. It just crushes a chef’s spirit.”

Goodenough’s decision seems to have been, at least in part, motivated by a series of events that first began last month, when the chef received an email from a disgruntled customer who took issue with his restaurant’s pro-BLM display in the Carrollton Market storefront, writing, “We ordered dinner from you Friday. It was delicious. But as we pulled up to your front door… you had a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign in your window. How offensive!!!! We will never eat at your restaurant again and we will tell all of our friends and neighbors in the Garden District that you support a ‘Marxist Organization.’”

In response, Goodenough set up a fundraiser with Cafe Hope NOLA, a local non-profit offering life skills and service industry training to at-risk youth, and raised $10,000 in the customer’s name (revealed only as “Kenneth S”). Soon after, Goodenough shared his reply to another email from a different customer, who seems to have been complaining about the chef’s response to “Kenneth S,” which contained another lengthy screenshot that was captioned with #ThisShitMakesMeHATEServingPeople.

Chef Goodenough followed up his second viral post with an opinion piece published in Food & Wine entitled, “You Don’t Like My Politics? I Don’t Need Your Business.” The announcement that he’s closing his restaurant offers bold punctuation to this series of events, an illustration of the difficulties that come with having to appease a politically divided customer base, and the continued challenges of running an independent service industry business in a pandemic and politically divisive climate.