Life is good for Billie Eilish right now. The young pop star is riding the wave for her second album, Happier Than Ever with lots of support for her singles and even an Amazon Prime Show to introduce her new work in a dreamy visual setting. Though she’s already shared quite a few songs off the new record, due out at the end of this month on 7/30, she revealed on Instagram earlier today that yet another new single is coming next week.
The fifth single off Happier Than Ever is called “NDA,” and Billie will be releasing the song along with a video next week. “‘NDA’ SONG AND VIDEO OUT NEXT FRIDAY JULY 9TH JSHVKSJCIKSHCJSKCBUSKSK PRE-SAVE IN BIOOOOO,” she wrote, clearly excited about the news. “NDA” will follow up earlier singles like “Therefore I Am,” “Everything I Wanted,” “Your Power,” and “Lost Cause.” The music has been a bit of a shift from the sound on her debut album, and her new blonde hair has been a major aesthetic shift, but the real buzz around songs like “Your Power” has focused on Billie’s past relationships. With a title like “NDA,” it seems likely this new single will have some drama associate too, so stay tuned for the drop next Friday.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a massive effect on just about every aspect of life. We all felt the devastating effects that the nationwide shutdowns had on the economy. Those early days of lockdown really tested the resilience of small businesses. That struggle pushed some people to completely change the trajectory of their lives, awakening a kind of perseverance that helped them fight through.
“It was a really surreal time to be working in a restaurant; we both lost our jobs and at that point realized we wanted to make something happen on our own,” says Bonnie Hernandez and Shea Montanez, the owner and chef of Happy Mediums, a deli pop-up that operates out of their home. The foundation of the pop-up is bolstered by a sense of culinary creativity and the belief that “food is love.”
“Luckily, I think we both have a pretty good fighting spirit in us to shift this ‘oh god what are we going to do panic’ into ‘hey maybe this is an opportunity’ says Hernandez, “We wanted to, from the very beginning, make sure that we were building into that a model that supported our community. We’re part of a broader movement taking care of each other. You feel more proud because you made it happen all on your own.”
Watch the above video to learn more about Hernandez and Montanez’s triumphant against-the-odds story, their love of food and community, and how Happy Mediums is making a difference. And keep an eye out for additional episodes from our Salud To Summer series, created in partnership with Modelo.
Top Chef Portland had its finale last night, and I’m already distraught. All I can think about are the weeks and months of drudgery ahead, with no cooking competitions or Padma entendres or incredibly specific food criticisms from Tom Colicchio to leaven the load. I’ve just been sitting in the middle of my living room wearing my Ed Lee Replica Statement Hat rocking back and forth crying, muttering about gaper clams.
Bravo
I can’t believe they let him in wearing that thing. I would’ve been afraid that he’d flip a table over, claim the dinner for the country’s peasantry, and carve a Z on the wall with a saber. Even Gregory Gourdet looked glum.
NBC Universal
Poor guy, just sitting there thinking “I was led to believe that I would be the jauntiest one.”
Anyway, this was a three-way, four-course battle (that’s 12 course-ways!) between Shota Nakajima, Dawn Burrell, and Gabe Erales. It pitted Shota’s tasting menu experience against Dawn’s potential for transcendent greatness and Gabe’s steady consistency and elite sauce making. There’s a lot of room for error in four courses, so perhaps it was fitting that the win, in the end, went to the chef who throughout the competition just seemed to make the fewest errors — Gabe Erales, aka Big Fozzy, the Man of 1000 Moles.
Some of the readers gave me a hard time about not being moved by all the crying in episode 11. It all came back around this episode. I admit it, watching Maria shout “Que te dije, cabrón!” and hugging Gabe after the win had me legitimately moved. Maybe it’s being from the San Joaquin Valley, but I really relate to hearing “cabrón” used a term of endearment. “I love you, guey.” “I love you too, puto.”
The margin seemed razor thin. Dawn forgot a few components in dish one (shocker!) and had superfluous seafood in dish two. Shota had a slightly underwhelming vegetable dish and poorly plated (insufficiently cheffy!) dish three. In the end it was a pretty satisfying finale. It felt like the winner deserved it, even if either of the other chefs could’ve won on any given night. Next year we should make t-shirts of our favorite contestants. Sitting in my living with giant foam chicken legs and shit. Then Rob Lowe could show up in a hat that just says “FOOD.”
In lieu of a traditional ranking this week, I thought we could run through the contestants’ dinners dish by dish, reliving that magic.
1. Gabe Erales
NBC Universal
AKA: Good Gabe. Canelo. Fozzy. The Foz. The Masa Father. Jamón. Steady Eddie. Susan Lucci. The Winner.
Tough choice, but I have to go Dawn. If I saw gumbo, “jerk beef cheek,” and yam bread pudding on a menu, I’m ordering that one (even the tendon seems intriguing). Shota might be at a natural disadvantage here, since Japanese tends to sound much simpler than it tastes.
Dish 1
Shota: Sashimi 3-Ways
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Dawn: Lamb Tartare With Beef Tendon Puff
Bravo
Gabe: Fried Pibil Head Cheese
Bravo
Viewer’s Verdict, Dish 1:
Slight edge to Dawn. Again, everything looks amazing, and Shota might be at a slight disadvantage because it’s hard to judge something as simple as sashimi purely on looks. True, like the judges said, Dawn probably doesn’t need all that stuff on there — definitely could’ve gone honey bread OR tendon puff, not both. But it all sounds and looks so good… I guess it’s the maximalist in me, but I’m fine with “too much.”
In the end, she left her bread off two plates and a tendon off of one anyway, all but ensuring that she lost this round. Without that, I think she takes it.
Dish 2:
Gabe: Scallop Aguachile, etc.
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Shota: Octopus Karaage
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Dawn: Green Gumbo With Seafood and Rice Fritter
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Viewer’s Verdict:
Gabe in a walk. That looks amazing and I don’t even like scallops. Even based on looks alone, I have to agree with the judges that Dawn sabotaged a potential winning dish by adding too much stuff to it. With Shota’s, I have to plead ignorance on “water spinach.” That’s a real thing? Come on, you made that up. I kid, but it does look a little like a pile of garnishes.
Holy hell, this course was a murderer’s row. I didn’t think anyone could top Shota’s fried-then-braised beef tongue curry, and then Gabe comes in with short rib and black mole (the best mole, imo). And then Dawn flies off the top rope with jerk beef cheek and buttered turnips. This is the strongest dish for all three, but I give the razor-thin edge to Dawn. “Buttered turnips?” I’ve never even had that but it sounds amazing. Every single syllable sounds sexual. You wouldn’t be allowed to serve that at a convent.
The judges ragged on Shota for his overly rustic plating, and even worse, his “crunchy” rice. How many times have people screwed up rice on this show? I think the secret is to never, ever cook rice on Top Chef.
Course 4
Dawn: Yam Bread Pudding
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Gabe: Candied Squash With Cafe Mexicano Ice Cream
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Shota: Hoji Tea Cheesecake with Cedar Smoked Gelato
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Viewer’s Verdict:
Dawn in a walk. Yam bread pudding? Yeah, no one’s beating that. Gabe loses for putting flowers on the plate — FOH with that. I also don’t really understand squash. You cook it and the texture barely changes, and it’s all spongey… I just never know quite what to do with it. Shota’s looks amazing, but again: yam bread pudding. You’re not going to beat it.
—
All in all, I have Dawn winning three rounds. I have to assume forgetting a component in the first dish and then following that with her weakest dish was just too deep a hole to climb out of with two dishes to go, especially when Gabe was right there with a solid, composed dish in every round. Shota’s crunchy rice in the round when the other two had their showstoppers was the nail in his coffin. No quibbles with the decision at all.
Congratulations to Big Fozzy, the Man Of A Thousand Moles. You done good, cabrón. You’re so good at conceptualizing dishes — can you tell me what to do with my life now that this show is over?
Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.
Never one to spare anyone’s feelings, this week 50 Cent decided to get a joke off at Lil Kim’s expense. The rapper shared a side-by-side comparison of Lil Kim’s look from the BET Awards and an owl to his Instagram, clowning on her in his caption, then using the virality of the meme to plug his own projects. A little corny, anyone would admit. “Who did this sh*t,” he wrote. “This ain’t right. LOL catch FOR LIFE on IMDb Tv now !”
Well, Kim’s husband, Jeremy Neil aka Mr. Papers didn’t take kindly to the rapper bullying his wife and went in on the comments: “Leave my wife out the jokes ya heard,” he wrote.
Instagram
But once Kim herself jumped in, the joke was definitely on 50. She brought up a date she curved him on and was able to laugh at herself at the same time. Oh and the date incident? It’s all laid out in her forthcoming book, in stores this November. Check out her response below.
The accuracy. Hilarious. I ain’t bothered not one bit. My family & friends more mad than me. Sh*t like this don’t move me one way or another cause I’m still a bad *itch that n—–, b*tches, mommies, daughters, and aunties still want to be till this day and I love it!! @50cent I see u still in ur feels about that dinner date u asked me on that I had to turn down. Let it go u have a beautiful girlfriend, I have a loving husband. Let it go. And for those of u coming at my husband, Mr. Papers, he did real n—- sh*t. What a husband is suppose to do. All y’all can go to hell. Not Respectfully. 50cent, I address that situation all in my book coming in November. Make sure you go get it. Pre-orders available now. Be Blessed every one, stay positive.
Cooking brisket in your home oven is very easy and extremely rewarding. While I like to braise brisket in sweet and sour liquids when I don’t have access to a smoker (or sous vide), I also often just do low-and-slow a salt-and-pepper brisket in my oven.
This method yields perfectly cooked, juicy, and delicious brisket in about four to five hours. You also get a cup or two of umami-bomb jus from the cook that you can use for gravy or French dips later.
This method is very low impact. And it’s a very easy way to get excellent brisket without spending all night shoveling coals. You don’t really need much equipment besides a high-walled roasting dish. I used a little handheld smoker, but you can skip that if you don’t have one. Overall, this oven-roasted low-and-slow brisket is a great centerpiece for any backyard BBQ, assuming you don’t have a smoker back there. Let’s dive in!
I got a brisket from the wholesale restaurant store I shop at. That meant I had to trim mine at home. If you go to a butcher, they’ll likely do this for you if you ask. I like trimming the hard fat cap at home because I save that fat for mixing into my own burger grinds down the road.
The rest is simple. Pink salt adds that little extra umami boost. But really, this is all about the salt and black pepper. A lot of black pepper.
Lastly, I’m using one of these handheld kitchen smokers to add a layer of smoke to the mix. It’s light but will be there on the final product. They’re about $25 and usually come with finely ground wood chips.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Large high-walled roasting pan
Foil
Cutting Board
Large knife
Paper towels
Large Ziploc bag
Foil
Greaseproof paper
Handheld smoker
Zach Johnston
Method:
Trim the excess hard fat and silverskin from the fatty side of the brisket making sure to leave a little fat on there.
Mix the salts and pepper in a small bowl.
Pat the brisket as dry as possible with paper towels.
Generously spread the salt and pepper rub all over the brisket.
Place the brisket in the Ziploc bag and seal around the tube of the handheld smoker.
Pump in as much smoke as you can and seal the bag. Let sit at least an hour in the smoke or until it’s completely dissipated.
In the meantime, heat your oven on its lowest setting (or around 225-250F).
Place the brisket into a large roasting pan and cover with foil. The foil should not be touching the meat.
Place the brisket in the oven and leave it alone for four hours.
After four hours, the brisket should be getting giggly. Remove it from the pan, pour off the juices into a bowl (save for making gravy and French dips!), and wrap the brisket in the paper.
Put the brisket back into the roasting pan, cover it with the foil, and place it in the oven for about one hour to steam.
Remove from the oven and unwrap. Since you’ve basically rested the meat while steaming it, you can dig right in.
Use a large knife to cut against the grain.
Serve.
Zach Johnston
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
I mean, look how juicy that meat is! It’s also soft without falling apart. There’s a nice bite to the meat but it’s a very easy bite.
The pepper adds a nice spice while the saltiness isn’t overpowering but definitely there. I tried a few pieces off the fat end while I was cutting this and it was freakin’ great. Meaty, peppery, fatty… everything you want in a slice of brisket.
I piled mine onto a brioche bun (I was out of rye) and smothered some old-school grainy mustard on top. I then poured a little bowl of that jus and dipped my sandwich into it. It was … perfect. The meat never pulled out when you bit down. You could bite through each layer of brisket with ease. The tangy and grainy mustard, jus, buttery bun, and meat just sung together.
I’m looking forward to a whole weekend of this brisket. And it’s so easy that if I run out, I can just make it again!
The return of college football video games is upon us. Ever since EA Sports’ college football franchise went on a pause following NCAA Football 14, fans have been eagerly anticipating a new one. The problem has been the rules from the NCAA not allowing players to make money off their name, image, and likeness. Without a way to legally pay the players, EA was forced to pause the series until the day those rules changed, or until they found a way around the NCAA’s archaic rules.
Back in February, EA felt pretty confident they had found a way to bring the franchise back. They announced the game would return, with follow-up reports indicating it was likely going to be around 2023. A two-year development cycle is pretty standard for most games and would be enough time for them to start a new game from relative scratch. However, they still had one big problem: NIL laws. Obviously, they could make a game with a bunch of generic players that just feature our favorite schools, but that would be missing the details we all love from these games. We want to run the air raid at Texas Tech, the triple option at Army, and take the next Heisman contender QB to a national championship at Alabama or Clemson. It won’t feel the same without the actual players, even if they are just labeled by number and not name.
Lucky for EA Sports, NIL laws are no more. In a recent anti-trust suit, the Supreme Court stated that the NCAA wasn’t above the law and paved the way open for players to finally make money off their name, image, and likeness. If developers want to add real players to their game, this is the perfect opportunity to do so, and reports indicate that they’re already looking into how they can do that for their upcoming game.
Spurred by a major reversal by the NCAA, video game giant Electronic Arts says it is in the “early stages” of exploring the “possibility of including players in EA Sports College Football,” a company rep tells Axios.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. A lot of fans are going to immediately assume that this is a done deal, but unfortunately, it isn’t quite that easy. EA Sports developers can only add the name, image, and likeness of players that choose to be in their game. For their pro sports games, EA will just strike a deal with the players union, and all of its members will be in the game. College athletes do not have a union that EA can go to. That means they’ll need to go speak to every single player that wants to be in their game so they can sign a document allowing EA to use their NIL, and that’s only one part of the process.
This leads to another problem: How do they capture all of these athletes? When rookies enter the NFL, EA can show up to the Combine, Draft, or other events and digitally capture them so they can put them in the game as accurately as possible. There aren’t many countrywide gatherings of college athletes that EA can go get the players in bulk. They can always go around to the different spring games or summer workouts, but this is a significant amount of traveling and effort, especially if all 130 FBS schools are represented.
There’s no question that EA Sports wants to put every single athlete on all 130 FBS rosters in their game. However, considering the amount of effort that is going to take, it isn’t going to be easy. It would be one thing if they were still making these games, but they’re essentially starting from the very beginning — the last college football game came out on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, we’re now at the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
This isn’t going to be as simple as plug-in some names on some rosters and call it a day. Don’t be surprised if the game comes out in 2023 and only half the rosters have real names, or if it’s only the mega stars whose NIL’s are involved. One day, one of these games will come out and it will have every single name on the roster, but it might just take a game or two for EA Sports to get to that point.
Yesterday, Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy did a low-key livestream where he ended up covering Japanese Breakfast‘s “Kokomo, IN,” from the just-released album Jubilee. Naturally, frontwoman Michelle Zauner was delighted, sharing the cover on her Twitter and writing, “I think my soul may have just left my body.” Can we call it now? Is this a Band-Mance? Whatever it is, it appears to be in full swing.
Anyway, it just so happens that Zauner is a big Tweedy fan, having covered “Jesus, Etc.” from Wilco’s classic 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot at Lollapalooza in 2019. “We learned this song especially for Chicago,” she told the crowd at the time, referencing Wilco’s hometown. “So hopefully we do a good job.”
If this is the start of a new Japanese Breakfast/Wilco collaboration effort, we’re here for it. In fact, the singer told Uproxx back in May how Jubilee was purposefully a more collaborative LP than her previous two, 2017’s Soft Sounds From Another Planet and 2016’s Psychopomp:
“I knew with this record I wanted to invite in more people. Some of that came from being on tour for the last three years, and getting to meet people like Adam Schatz, who plays saxophone and also has a network of horn players he brought in. And then Molly Germer, who still does all the violin on Alex G records. And she has her whole network of string players.”
Check out the rest of that interview here, and watch Jeff Tweedy covering Japanese Breakfast’s “Kokomo, IN” above.
Finding the best bottle of American whiskey is no easy task. Liquor store shelves are over-stuffed with label after label. It’s easy to see why folks get confused or frustrated with so many bottles of brown juice in front of them. One way to wade through the weeds is to follow the awards circuit (the best way is to follow us). And that season is certainly ramping up.
This week, the International Wine & Spirits Competition released its 2021 winners list of the best American whiskeys, seemingly timed for the 4th of July. It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that bourbon dominated the list of whiskeys that won the top award, “Gold Outstanding.” After all, bourbon’s boom is tough to deny and its charms are many.
The gist of gaining that top honor at IWSC is pretty easy to get a handle on. The cumulative score for the whiskey had to be 98 or higher out of 100 points. Only seven whiskeys out of 113 made that cut. Only one American whiskey scored an almost perfect 99/100.
Below, we’re providing our take or tasting notes on all seven American whiskey expressions that grabbed the “Gold Outstanding” at the IWSC. We’re relying on two tasting note entries from the IWSC, as two of the winners were very limited special releases that haven’t come across our desk yet. You can click on the prices if you want to give any of these award-winning American whiskeys a shot this 4th of July weekend.
This sourced whiskey from Indiana (MGP) is one of the best examples of how a unique shingle can make whiskey shine. Redemption’s team painstakingly searches the warehouses for just the right barrels to meet their taste requirements. In this case, that was a nine-year-old single barrel of bourbon with a mash bill of 75 percent corn, 21 percent rye, and four percent malted barley.
Tasting Notes:
The nose really gives you a sense of oily vanilla pods with touches of wildflower honey, rich and buttery toffee, and a hint of dark roasted espresso beans. The palate holds onto those notes as the vanilla and honey both become creamy while adding a slight black pepper spiciness with a hint of salty smoked bacon fat lurking far in the background. The end is medium-length and touches back on that vanilla, toffee, pepper, and bitterness on the fade.
Bottom Line:
This is a phenomenal bourbon. While it feels like a special occasion bottle, we fully support this taking a center spot in your regular bar cart rotation.
98 Points — Maker’s Mark Private Select Black Bourbon Society Whiskey
This is the official collab between Black Bourbon Society’s Samara Rivers and Beam’s Maker’s Mark. The bottle is part of Maker’s Private Select program which allows whiskey experts to finish and release their own Maker’s Mark by using a combination of finishing staves in the whiskey. In this case, Rivers finished the juice by adding Roasted French Mendiant staves to bring about the nuttier and more chocolate-forward side of the wheated bourbon.
“Terrific Kentucky whiskey typicity with an intense nose of coffee, walnuts, and sweet malty complexity. Bold with upfront stone fruit, licorice, and nutty spice with elements of caramel, tobacco, and toastiness. Developing balanced cherry characters with a seemingly limitless finish.”
Bottom Line:
While we haven’t tried this yet, we’re big fans of Rivers and Maker’s Mark. We can’t imagine this not being awesome, especially given the love it’s receiving on the awards circuit.
98 Points — Parker’s Heritage Collection Heavy Char 10 Year Bourbon
Heaven Hill’s Parker’s Heritage Collection is pretty tough to track down but is always worth the effort. The key to this expression is that “heavy char,” wherein the barrels are charred with fire for a full 90 seconds, compared to the usual 40 seconds most barrels get. The rye-forward bourbon is then allowed to rest in those barrels for ten long years in a specific location in a specific warehouse. Finally, the best 102 barrels are married and bottled as is.
“Black Forest gateau with chocolate malt and burning vanilla embers. Strong rye with hints of peach, dill notes, and some menthol highlights. Well-integrated, rocket leaf meets cola cubes with balanced heat intensity, bready dryness, and an entirely moreish finish.”
Bottom Line:
Heaven Hill’s Parker’s Heritage drops remain some of the most refined and sought-after whiskeys full stop. While we’ve yet to try this year’s release, we’re always astounded by what this line brings.
A quick note, the IWSC listed last year’s edition as the winner but listed the details of this bottle underneath it. Surely, that was a simple typo since this is the release Heaven Hill sent out to be judged this year.
This single barrel masterpiece is made for the international market but now available widely in the U.S., albeit for a hefty price. The juice is all about the refinement of the single barrel aging process, with masterful finishing to bring this down to a very drinkable 102 proof.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a big greeting on the nose with notes of spicy tobacco leaves next to honey, dark berries, and orange oils. The palate carries those notes forward while leaning into the tobacco and amping up the rye pepperiness, then balancing it with a bit more honey and caramel.
This whiskey takes its time fading out as notes of vanilla, spice, and oak linger — with a final billow of pipe tobacco popping on the very end.
Bottom Line:
I’m going to be honest. I was hesitant about Blanton’s hype for a long time. But now, I’m fully on board. This juice is some of the finest stuff Buffalo Trace puts out and this bottle is hard to deny as a classic.
This is classic Bulleit Bourbon that’s sourced from an unknown but very, ahem, floral distillery (*cough* Four Roses *cough*). It’s been aged for ten years before being masterfully blended by the Bulleit team. There’s really not much more to say than that those extra years really dial this bourbon into something unique and very tasty.
Tasting Notes:
This is bourbon with a capital “B.” There are rushes of Christmas spices next to savory herbs, butter-soaked sourdough, and cinnamon-baked apples in maple syrup. Hints of vanilla, toasted oak, and maybe even dried flowers lurk beneath the surface as all that spice, buttery toffee, and soft-yet-sweet fruit fill your senses.
Bottom Line:
You really can’t go wrong with this expression. While I rarely reach for Bulleit at the moment, I’ve gone through phases of drinking a lot of this exact expression due to its dialed flavor and easy drinkability.
This wheated whiskey from 2008 eschews the more common rye and adds in North Dakota wheat. The juice is then barreled and stored in two warehouses where 73 percent of the whiskey is lost to the angels. Finally, the whiskey is bottled untouched and unfiltered.
Tasting Notes:
There’s soft bourbon vanilla that leads towards almond-encrusted toffees inside a pine box with a dark chocolate bonbon hidden somewhere inside all that nutty toffee. The sip leans into a cherry and dark chocolate bespeckled ice cream with a solid vanilla bean base and a dusting of crushed-up walnuts and maybe even peanut. The end is slightly dry and leans more towards cedar and straw with spicy cherry tobacco buzz.
Bottom Line:
I mean, this is one of my all-time favorite bourbons (and whiskeys in general). It’s also one of the few high-priced bottles I think just might be worth it.
99 Points — Redemption 10 Year Barrel Proof High Rye Bourbon
10-year Barrel Proof High Rye Bourbon took home the top award as both the highest-scoring bourbon (99/100) and top-rated American whiskey this year. Redemption has a knack for sourcing some of the best barrels from MGP in Indiana. This multi-award-winning bourbon starts off with a base mash bill of 60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent barley. After ten years of maturation, the barrels are expertly vatted to make a highly sippable bourbon experience. That marriage of bourbons then goes into the bottle — uncut and unfiltered.
Tasting Notes:
There’s woody vanilla and floral honey vibe on the nose with a touch of almost burnt toffee and worn leather. Espresso beans mix with a dab of smoky bacon fat that leads towards a slightly bitter black peppercorn. Slight creamy vanilla leads towards a hint of soft cherry sweetness as the pepperiness edges towards lemon pepper soaked in honey, with a slight note of green reeds at the end. The finish dries out and amps up the spiciness as a hint of dark chocolate lingers on the very end.
Bottom Line:
I’m on the line as loving this bourbon. It’s a killer sipper that needs no water or ice to enjoy. It also feels classic while taking you somewhere new and fun in the taste.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
Following the controversial news that sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has been suspended from the Olympic team after testing positive for marijuana, Seth Rogen has come to the athlete’s defense in a fiery (and hilarious) tweet that attacks the racist practice of stigmatizing weed.
“The notion that weed is a problematic “drug” is rooted in racism,” Rogen tweeted. “It’s insane that Team USA would disqualify one of this country’s most talented athletes over thinking that’s rooted in hatred. It’s something they should be ashamed of. Also if weed made you fast, I’d be FloJo.”
The notion that weed is a problematic “drug” is rooted in racism. It’s insane that Team USA would disqualify one of this country’s most talented athletes over thinking that’s rooted in hatred. It’s something they should be ashamed of. Also if weed made you fast, I’d be FloJo. https://t.co/swDLNoVcV3
Rogen was reacting to Richardson’s Friday morning appearance on The TODAY Show where she admitted to the marijuana use and said she’s not looking for excuses. “I want to take responsibility for my actions,” she told Savannah Guthrie. “I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do … and I still made that decision.”
However, in Richardson’s defense, she had just learned her mother had died one week before the Olympic trials. “People don’t understand what it’s like to have to … go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain,” she told TODAY. “Who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with the pain or you’re dealing with a struggle that you haven’t experienced before or that you thought you never would have to deal with?”
“So I apologize for the fact that I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions,” Richardson added. “I greatly apologize if I let you guys down, and I did.”
Despite the suspension, there is still a chance that Richardson can still compete in the 4×100-meter relay, but that decision has not yet been reached by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Support from high-profile advocates can’t hurt.
Green Flash/Lord Hobo/Five Boroughs/New Belgium/istock/Uproxx
The IPA is the undisputed champion of the craft beer world. But when drinkers envision this style, they usually think of the bitter hop bombs bred on the West Coast. In recent years, however, the idea of the IPA has begun to change and evolve thanks to the introduction of the New England-style IPA into the American craft beer scene.
The NEIPA style is known for its hazy, cloudy appearance (sometimes it looks more like a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice than a beer). Instead of floral, piney, or bitter hops, this beer is sweeter, much less dry, and filled with myriad flavors like pineapple, mango, guava, and various other mouth-watering tropical fruit notes.
Its juicy, sweet, and refreshing flavor makes the NEIPA (sometimes called a Hazy IPA or just a “hazy”) a perfect beer for the dog days of July. In fact, we plan to sip on offerings from breweries scattered throughout the country from now until at least September (if not longer). To help you pick a few to stock the fridge with for the 4th, we decided to list eight of our favorite New England-style IPAs below.
Each of the beers featured here is juicy, hazy, and well-suited to quenching your summer thirst. You can try them yourself by clicking on the prices.
This hazy, easy-to-drink New England-style IPA is surprisingly simple in its ingredients. Brewed with Pilsner malt and “a double-dose” of Galaxy hops, it’s known for its unfiltered appearance, juicy flavor, and extreme crushability on a hot day.
Tasting Notes:
Before taking your first sip, take a moment to revel in this beer’s nose. You’ll be greeted with aromas of lime zest, ripe grapefruit, juicy mango, sweet peaches, and just a hint of spice at the end. The palate is swirling with lemons, limes, peaches, pineapples, and more tropical flavors as you sip. It’s juicy, mellow, and doesn’t have much malt flavor whatsoever.
Bottom Line:
This is the juicy, hazy, New England-style IPA for fans of citrus. There are a ton of lemon, lime, and grapefruit flavors.
Cooperstown, New York’s Brewery Ommegang is well-known for its Belgian-style beers. But this hazy, juicy, double dry-hopped IPA is its “unicorn.” It’s unique and completely satisfying with the addition of London ale yeast as well as Mosaic, Simcoe, Citra, Centennial, and Topaz hops paired with more Mosaic, Simcoe, Citra, and Topaz in the dry-hopping process.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of ripe, juicy oranges, lemon zest, mangos, and peaches are prevalent on the nose. Sipping this beer reveals more lemon, lime, tangerine, and grapefruit citrus flavors as well as caramel malts and juicy tropical notes. There’s very little bitterness in this summer refresher.
Bottom Line:
This beer is like the IPA equivalent of a fruit salad. There are citrus, tropical fruits, and even berries on the palate. In the simplest terms: this is a fruity, flavorful beer.
Gridlock is one of two juicy, hazy IPAs from Five Boroughs’ core line. Gridlock is brewed with Bohemian Pilsner and Pale wheat malts as well as rice hulls with Amarillo and Citra hops.
Tasting Notes:
After one whiff, you can tell how balanced this beer is. There’s a notable aroma of pale malts and caramel sweetness that pairs well with citrus zest. The flavor is similar to the aroma, with orange peels, grapefruit, and lime taking center stage, paired alongside biscuit-like malts. A mellow, sweet, fruity ending ties the whole sip together.
Bottom Line:
When you look up the definition of what a New England-style IPA should be, this is it. It has a great maltiness to sweet, juicy flavor. It’s definitely a beer you’ll want to drink all summer.
Sometimes a beer’s name tells you everything you need to know about what you’re about to sip. This is definitely the case with Weldwerks’ Juicy bits. This New England-style IPA is brewed with Mosaic, Citra, and El Dorado hops and lives up to its juicy, tropical fruit-centric moniker.
Tasting Notes:
Before you even drink this beer, you’ll be surprised at the massive amount of tropical and citrus fruits on the nose. But that’s not all. There are also prevalent floral and piney hops. Unlike many hazy IPAs, the pine resin hits you almost immediately. It pairs perfectly with the palate of ripe pineapple, guava, mango, and tangerine.
Bottom Line:
This is a great beer for classic IPA fans who want to give hazy IPAs a chance. It has enough resinous, dank pine flavor to appeal to their palates and enough juicy tropical fruits for New England-style IPA fans.
Even though this beer is called “Fancy Papers,” it’s anything but. It’s simply a reference to the designs printed on papers that are applied to cigar boxes to get consumers to purchase them. While we don’t get what that phrase has to do with this particular beer, the can does have fancy handwriting on it that makes us want to crack one open. A hazy, juicy beer brewed with Strata, Sabro, and Idaho 7 hops awaits within.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all ripe orange, tangerine, lime zest, and fresh-cut grass as well as bready malts and sweet tropical fruits. The palate dances with notes of lemon, lime, bright grapefruit, mango, and juicy peaches paired with more earthy grass and caramel malts. It’s a multi-dimensional beer that has levels of flavors.
Bottom Line:
Cigar City makes nothing but high-quality brews. While Jai Alai gets all the press, Fancy Papers is one of our favorite New England-style IPAs because of its balanced, fruity flavor.
Green Flash is another brewery that made its name with bitter, over-the-top West Coast IPAs. They even brewed a beer literally called Palate Wrecker. Its sessionable, low-alcohol foray into the world of hazy IPAs is its Green Flash Saturhaze. The kind of beer you could drink all day Saturday. It might be low in ABV, but it’s high in tropical fruit flavor.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s aromas. There are notable scents of pineapple, grapefruit, cantaloupe, and lime zest. Sipping it reveals more of the same with ripe tropical fruits, tangerine, and subtle piney hops making an appearance. Overall, it’s light, refreshing, fruity, and highly crushable.
Bottom Line:
When many drinkers think of New England-style IPAs, light, session beers aren’t usually what they visualize. But that’s exactly what Green Flash Saturhaze is — and that’s not such a bad thing when it comes to summer beers.
New Belgium might be most well-known for its classic Fat Tire Amber Ale. These days, it’s almost equally as known for its line of Voodoo Ranger IPAs. The best of which, in our opinion, is Juicy Haze. Brewed with American hefeweizen yeast, Pale, wheat, and C-80 malts as well as oats with Citra, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, and nugget hops, it’s hoppy, fruity, and highly juicy.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is packed with aromas of tangerines, lemons, lime, and grapefruit, along with dank, pine resin. The flavor is loaded with grapefruit, pineapple, lime zest, mango, subtle caramel malts, and a nice kick of slightly bitter, floral hops at the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is an extremely well-balanced IPA with juicy, ripe fruits that pair well with nicely bitter, piney hops. It’s zesty, dank, and refreshing on a hot day.
This is a bold, potent, hazy beer that you won’t soon forget. The can is adorned with a mystical, mysterious-looking character holding a beer and pointing menacingly at you, the drinker. The juicy, hazy, fruity beer inside is brewed with 2-row malt, malted wheat, and un-malted wheat along with Centennial, Strata, and Simcoe hops, plus a few others that are mysteriously absent from the ingredients list.
Tasting Notes:
There’s nothing otherworldly about this beer’s fragrance. Unlike Elysian’s other hazy offering, Contact haze (which simply smells fresh and fruity), Full Contact has mango, guava, tangerines, lime zest flavor notes as well as a nice dollop of bitter, floral hops. The flavor mirrors the aromas with melon and peach being added to the tropical fruit and citrus flavors. A nice kick of bitter hops finishes everything.
Bottom Line:
Once you’ve enjoyed the fruiter, softer Contact Haze, work your way up to the bolder, spicier, hoppier, boozier Full Contact. You’ll be happy you did.
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rocking back and forth crying, muttering about 
All y’all can go to hell. Not Respectfully. 50cent, I address that situation all in my book coming in November. Make sure you go get it. Pre-orders available now. Be Blessed every one, stay positive.
