Month: June 2022

In some circles, the term “pale lager” seems to have gotten a bad rap. If ever there was a legitimate reason for that, it was the style’s association in the minds of many with mass-produced beers from giant, soulless conglomerates, often brewed with un-crafty “adjuncts,” like corn syrup.

If anything, the pale lager’s only crime was being popular enough to be co-opted. The pale lager is a style that has been around forever, prized for its clean, fresh, crisp, often times dry, slightly hopped character. They’re generally brewed with Pilsner malts and noble hops, but some (as mentioned above) do contain adjuncts like corn, rice, flaked wheat, and other ingredients. Pale lagers — including the infamous although sometimes highly refreshing and crushable adjunct lagers — also include pilsners, helles lagers, Dortmunder Export, bocks, and other varieties. They’re also perfect for summer due to their refreshing, easy-to-drink flavor profile.

And since we’re in the business of helping you up your beer game, we went to the professionals for assistance once again. We asked a few well-known craft beer experts and brewers to tell us their picks for the most refreshing pale lagers to drink this summer. They chose old-school European, classic American staples, and craft interpretations in almost equal measure, meaning you have no excuse for not having a cold crispy boy within easy crushing distance this pool season.

Narragansett Lager

Nancy Lopetegui, taproom general manager at Wynwood Brewing in Miami

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $6.50 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans

Why This Beer?

Narragansett Lager is my go-to pale lager. You can never go wrong with a classic. Clean, crisp, refreshing, and perfectly balanced — if it was good enough for Quint in ‘Jaws’, it’s good enough for me on a hot summer day.

Trumer Pils

Jeremy Marshall, brewmaster at Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, California

ABV: 4.9%

Average Price: $8.50 for a six-pack

Why This Beer?

Trumer Pils. This is an outstanding American representation of a fine European lager and fulfills in every way. You just can’t go wrong, and it transports you to Europe so well I can’t believe that it’s made in the Bay Area. It’s crisp, with a slight kiss of green apple, slight bread, slight but enjoyable amount of sulfur—all balanced in a neat ester package that wraps up in that authentic lager-y profile with just the right amount of noble hops and expensive malt.

Green Bench Brewing Bench Life

Dan Esperon, owner and brewer at Crazy Dingo Brewing Co in Fort Myers, Florida

ABV: 4.6%

Average Price: Limited Availability

Why This Beer?

Bench Life, brewed by Green Bench Brewing. Dry, drinkable, and can be put down one after another. Brewed with malted barley, flaked corn, and Mount Hood hops, it’s the crisp, fresh, summertime beer you crave on a hot, steamy day.

Zero Gravity Green State

Matt Canning, assistant manager and beer concierge at Hotel Vermont in Burlington, Vermont

ABV: 4.9%

Average Price: $19.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

Why This Beer?

We do not put pale lager in a box. Warm weather, cold weather no weather for the love of lager. Our favorite is Zero Gravity Green State Lager poured from our side pull Lukr Faucet. It’s crispy yet soft with that wet foam. It’s hard to beat the crisp, refreshing flavor on a hot, sunny day.

Hopfheiser Old Time Lager

Jeff Hancock, co-founder and brewmaster at DC Brau in Washington DC

ABV: 4%

Average Price: Limited Availability

Why This Beer?

I love this question. It’s a new entrant to the DC brewery scene, but my pick is Old Time Lager, brewed by the Hopfheiser Brewing Company. The highly quaffable, no-frills, approachable American Light Lager has everything I’m looking for. Great malt backbone, subdued hops, and a super light body with light carbonation allows me to savor or chug this new offering. If you haven’t had it yet, go get some. As Old Time’s saying goes ‘Anytime is a good time for an Old Time.’

Miller High Life

Justin Tisdale, head brewer at Rejects Brewing Co. in Middletown, Rhode Island

ABV: 4.6%

Average Price: $6.50 for a six-pack

Why This Beer?

While this may be unconventional for a craft beer article, I’d have to rely on my brewers’ sensibilities here and go with Miller High Life. While this may be sacrilegious to a lot of people, any brewer will tell you that most of their favorite beers are beers they don’t have to think too much about outside the brewery. When I’m outside the brewery, it’s fairly easy to find me with a champagne-of-beers pony bottle.

Hill Farmstead Mary

Courtney Servaes, owner of Servaes Brewing Company in Kansas City

ABV: 4.6%

Average Price: Limited Availability

Why This Beer?

Lagers may seem like easy beers to brew, but the reality is that while they are easy to brew, they aren’t necessarily easy to brew well. The best Pilsner I’ve ever had is Mary by Hill Farmstead Brewery. It’s brewed with German pilsner malt, German hops, and German lager yeast and it’s super crisp and clean.

Pilsner Urquell

Mike Kelly, senior brewer at Harpoon Brewery in Boston

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $9.99 for a six-pack

Why This Beer?

Pilsner Urquell has a history of being one of the best pale lagers in the world. The first of its kind, this pilsner is iconic for its pronounced ester profile and clean, soft malt body. It’s also crisp, thirst-quenching, and perfect for summer drinking. It’s the first pilsner and it’s arguably the best.

Brockton Frederick and Main

Dan Lipke, head brewer at Clown Shoes Beer in Boston

ABV: 4%

Average Price: Limited Availability

Why This Beer?

Brockton Beer Frederick and Main is a great American light lager that’s super refreshing. Pale in color and only 4% ABV so you can refresh yourself with more than one. Light malty toastiness with only a hint of hops, it finishes dry and clean. Fresher and slightly fuller tasting than macro brewery versions, it’s a fantastic crispy lager.

North Park Birdie to Bogey

Chris Pinns, tasting room manager at Societe Brewing in San Diego

ABV: 5.4%

Average Price: $17 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

Why This Beer?

North Park Beer Co. Birdie to Bogey. A West Coast-style Pilsner. A clean, light body backed by a hefty dose of bright, citrusy west coast hops. What’s not to love? It just might be the perfect summer pale lager.

Radeberger Pilsner

Marshall Hendrickson, co-founder and head of operations at Veza Sur Brewing Co. in Miami

ABV: 4.8%

Average Price: $8.99 for a six-pack

Why This Beer?

Radeberger Premium Pilsner is hard to beat. This beer is a quintessential German Pils to me, light and refreshing with some great Noble hop flavor and aroma. It goes great with food or if you want to knock back a couple on a warm day. It’s a wonderful beer.

Grain Belt Premium Lager

Ty Nash, head brewmaster at Little Dry Creek Brewery in Denver, Colorado

ABV: 4.6%

Average Price: $10.99 for a twelve-pack

Why This Beer?

Grain Belt Premium. This is my favorite “cheap” beer and it is coveted in my house. It all goes back to a trip to North Dakota 20-plus years ago where I was desperately searching for a beer that wasn’t served in a can and happened upon it in a dive bar in Grand Forks. From then on, I’ve been hooked. The malt character is slightly higher than most Pilsners, lending to a fuller body that is more in balance with the hops. Unfortunately it’s not available in Colorado, so I have to rely on friends to obtain it.

Victory Prima Pils

Daryl Hoedtke, senior brewmaster at Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago

ABV: 5.3%

Average Price: $9.99 for a six-pack

Why This Beer?

Victory Prima Pils is my favorite pale lager. Beautiful floral, citrus and a spicy hop aromas jump out of this beer. Clean malt and a firm bitter backbone make this beer crisp and drinkable. Keeps me going back for more.

The 2021 Emmys were an event to remember for the Ted Lasso gang, with a whopping 20 nominations for the series earning the cast a collective seven wins. But not everything was perfect for one star of the Apple TV series, which is gearing up for a third and potentially final season later this year.

According to Coach Beard himself, writer and actor Brendan Hunt, the festivities were a “super tense” evening that had its ups and downs. Until the wild afterparty where the gang celebrated its big wins. In an interview with Consequence, Hunt detailed the evening, its highlights, and also meeting some very big stars that left him “frozen.” In fact, Hunt said he couldn’t bring himself to mingle with all of the other nominees and guests because he was so nervous.

The Emmys for me were like in two parts — the part of the night after which I had drunk enough and the part before because getting there, I was super tense. Something that I didn’t know is that you can just go up to the tables of other shows, because it was set up in a way that’s not usually the set up, but you could go over there and you could just say hello to those people. But I just sat there super duper tense.

Hunt did do some small talk eventually, though it was someone who came over to the Ted Lasso table and started chatting. He told the story in a very self-deprecating way, of course, noting that Sir Patrick Stewart probably just wanted to talk to Jason Sudeikis. But he also noted that he completely whiffed on seeing someone he definitely wanted to meet: Paul Reiser.

At one point Patrick Stewart comes to our table — he’s looking at me and I’m like, “Oh, [gasp] Patrick Stewart.” But then I realize, oh, he’s looking at me because Jason’s currently talking to someone else and he’s killing time here. And I go, “Uh, just one moment, Mr. Stewart,” and then [whispers] “Hey Jason, pay attention to Patrick Stewart.” I was just frozen.

Also, Paul Reiser came to our table and Paul Reiser was one of the guys I most wanted to meet, but I was peeing. I missed Paul Reiser.

It seems like only a matter of time before the two meet, especially if Season 3 of Ted Lasso is anywhere as decorated as its predecessor. You can only go to so many award shows and not run into Paul Reiser, right?

[via Consequence]

Drake recently shocked the world with Honestly, Nevermind, due to both the album’s surprise release and its unexpected dance style. The album has its haters, but it seems those are massively outweighed by supporters who have sent it to the top of the charts: Honestly, Nevermind just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and now the album’s 21 Savage collaboration “Jimmy Cooks” (the only song on the album with a feature, actually) has debuted atop the new Hot 100 chart dated July 2.

Two other Honestly, Nevermind songs also debuted inside the top 10: “Sticky” at No. 6 and “Falling Back” at No. 7. Drake, Future, and Tems’ “Wait For U” is also at No. 4, giving Drake four total top-10 songs this week.

The latest No. 1 moves Drake up the all-time list of most chart-toppers in Hot 100 history: With 11 total, he’s now tied for seventh place behind The Beatles (20 No. 1 songs), Mariah Carey (19), Rihanna (14), Michael Jackson (13), Madonna, and The Supremes (12 each). Whitney Houston also has 11 No. 1’s. “Jimmy Cooks” is the second No. 1 song for “Savage,” following his and Post Malone’s “Rockstar.”

Meanwhile, Drake is actually now tied with The Beatles for the most top-5 songs, both with 29. “Jimmy Cooks” is also Drake’s record-extending seventh song to debut at No. 1, after “God’s Plan,” “Nice For What,” “Toosie Slide,” “What’s Next,” “Way 2 Sexy,” and “Wait For U.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy‘s third season introduced a whole host of new characters from the Sparrow Academy to awe-inspiring effect. On an even more anticipated level, Elliot Page’s character, Victor Hargreeves, returned in a sort-of parallel to the actor’s real-life journey, and the challenge for the show was how to depart from the graphic novel in a way that was respectful for both Victor and Elliot’s transitions. To the show’s credit, showrunner Steve Blackman and writer Thomas Page McBee (who spoke alongside Page to The Hollywood Reporter) were both fully onboard with adjusting the already “locked” scripts, although one can imagine that they felt the pressure, both from a timing standpoint and otherwise.

After all, the show filmed amid the fallout from CEO Ted Sarandos, who fumbled his response to Dave Chappelle’s trans jokes in The Closer. What eventually materialized in The Umbrella Academy was sublime and felt organic, and both Blackman and McBee credit Page with sharing his own story, which influenced how Victor discussed his transition with his siblings. McBee insisted, “I think Elliot deserves so much credit, which I’m sure he doesn’t want to take, because of the humble guy he is, just in terms of offering himself to us as a way to create an authentic story.”

As for Page, he is simply thrilled with how the arc unfolded onscreen:

“I think one of the most special things about this is how it’s handled. It’s not void of emotional moments with the siblings, of course. I think they’re each individually special and in relation to their specific relationship. The scene when Luther and Diego are coming down the stairs and Luther’s awkwardness and all these things, these were — simultaneously I’m experiencing all that, because I’ve stepped into this moment where I’m a trans person and perceived that way, and having all these new experiences I didn’t have before. Then these scenes were resonating with that, which was really incredible. We don’t see that when we’re not in control of our stories a lot of the time. So it felt really special.”

Page and Blackman both pointed out that Victor’s transition isn’t (and won’t be) the main focus of the character, but one can expect some revisiting from time to time when the subject is relevant on the show. Thus far, the writing has interwoven the subject in the best way possible, and I can’t wait to see how Victor (who got the last spoken word of the season) will handle the next (inevitable) apocalypse.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

WARNING: Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness below even though everybody pretty much knows about this one. But just in case!

Director Sam Raimi has opened up about how John Krasinski appeared in a cleverly-guarded cameo for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. After years of fan-casting, Krasinski finally made his Marvel debut as Reed Richards, genius patriarch of the classic comic book team, the Fantastic Four. It was a pretty surprising moment considering there’s no shortage of MCU spoilers and leaks online, and Raimi fully credits Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige for pulling the whole thing off.

Via Comic Book Resources:

In Multiverse of Madness‘ official audio commentary, Raimi revealed how exactly Krasinski was cast as the leader of the Fantastic Four. “It’s so funny that [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] cast John because the fans had a dream of who the perfect Reed Richards would be.” However, the director added, “And because this is an alternate universe, I think Kevin said, ‘Let’s make that dream come true.’ I’ve always really enjoyed all of his performances.’”

Of course, the big question is whether this means Krasinski will star in the MCU’s version of the Fantastic Four, a film that was initially announced, for Phase 4 but is now missing a director after Jon Watts exited the project.

Raimi’s wording seems to suggest that this version of Richards is merely an “alternate universe” version of the character from Earth-838. Granted, Raimi could have careful instructions from Marvel to keep Krasinski’s casting status ambiguous, but there is a good chance his Doctor Strange cameo is a one and done. The multiverse angle definitely provides more than enough wiggle room to go another direction. (William Jackson Parker. That other direction should be William Jackson Parker. Do it, Marvel.)

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently streaming on Disney+.

(Via Comic Book Resources)

The Daily Show correspondent Jordan Klepper is once again, doing the incredibly hard, virtually impossible job of trying to make sense of the MAGA mob’s thoughts, this time on the Jan. 6th hearings. Interpreting a Trump supporter’s belief system when it comes to stolen elections is a bit like wrangling a posse of feral cats, but Klepper hasn’t let the QAnon whackos get him down yet. (He’s done this many, many, many times.)

His latest foray into the world of tacky slogan t-shirts worn by white nationalists cosplaying as American patriots has given us this gem, a seven-minute-long clip of sad dolts who refuse to accept reality when confronted with proof that Trump and his team knew their claims of voter fraud weren’t true. Klepper traveled to a Trump rally in Mississippi where the twice-impeached president was giving a speech to, we don’t know, hear himself talk? Before he could lure people in, Klepper caught them outside where the event was being held, showing them footage of people like former Attorney General Bill Barr and Ivanka Trump who have gone on record, admitting they accepted that Trump lost the 2020 Presidential Election fair and square.

“I told him that the stuff that his people were shoveling out to the public was bullsh*t,” Barr said in the clip Klepper showed to Trump supporters. He followed that up with a video of Ivanka’s testimony in which she admitted, “I respected Attorney General Barr. So I accepted what he was saying.”

Despite physical evidence presented to them in real-time, the people Klepper talked to were able to perform some magnificent feats of “mental gymnastics” in order to ignore the truth about their beloved Big Lie. One Trump supporter claimed Barr had “turned on” Trump and been paid to do it. By who, we’re not sure. Another claimed the video of Ivanka didn’t look like her, suggesting the clip had been doctored.

“It doesn’t even look like her, it might not be her, what do they have now? Clones these days? It might be a clone, yeah,” the man laughingly answered.

Klepper then responded, “That is a hot take, my friend. It is almost like you are confronted with it and your brain just does somersaults to figure out there must be some other reason.”

Still, some had no clue what happened on Jan. 6th. Two young women first believed the date marked the actual day of the presidential election. When Klepper explained it was the day a mob of people attacked the Capitol, they looked painfully confused. And yet, we’re sure everyone interviewed still traveled inside to hear Trump drone on about what a big loser he is.

What the full video below:

One of the many upcoming spinoff movies revolving around early 2000’s franchises is the Hunger Games prequel based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes. If you need a refresher, here you go: the Hunger Games series was a post-Harry Potter dystopian YA series that released its final installment in 2015.

The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes is the very polarizing prequel that follows the main villain, President Snow, nearly 50 years earlier, as he mentors a young tribute in the games. Older President Snow is portrayed by notorious villain Donald Sutherland.

While filming is underway for the upcoming installment, which is slated for a 2023 release, Jason Schwartzman has just been added to the ever-growing cast, according to The Wrap.

Schwartzman is playing the role of Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, the host of the 10th Hunger Games and ancestor to the vibrant Caesar Flickerman, originally played by Stanley Tucci in the Hunger Games films. Lucky is likely a grandfather to Caesar, which will make him similarly quirky and slightly horrifying. A perfect origin story!

Schwartzman will act alongside Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, and Josh Andres Rivera. The original series helped launch the career of Jennifer Lawrence, and also starred a slew of iconic actors like Woody Harelson, Lenny Kravtiz, and Elizabeth Banks. Plus, the series brought archery back into the mainstream, so there’s always that.

(Via The Wrap)

So it turns out that at the moment, the climate could be doing better. There are some people out there trying to do something about that, including the folks at Climate Control Projects and Brian Eno’s EarthPercent with their latest endeavor: the first-ever The Big Climate Thing festival.

The inaugural event, intended to raise awareness and take action about the climate crisis, is set to go down at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium from July 16 to 18 and the lineup features The Roots, Haim, Khruangbin, The Flaming Lips, Gary Clark Jr., Courtney Barnett, Sheryl Crow, The Weather Station, Sunflower Bean, Bonny Light Horseman, Guster, Pom Pom Squad, and others.

The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman told Rolling Stone, “I think music, along with all the cultural industries, have spent way too long sitting back on this issue. I believe music plays a primarily emotional role in people’s lives, and as such I think it has huge potential in pushing us to recognize our tangled emotions around this topic. When I imagine a stadium full of people coming together for a climate event centered on music, what I imagine is an enormous opportunity to feel a solidarity that has been so missing here. I truly hope that an enormous in-person event can have some power to bring people together and create some common experience around climate, and push those in attendance to examine their climate feelings and push through them enough to act.”

Sunflower Bean’s Julia Cumming also notes, “I believe that music is one of the most powerful communication tools we have on this planet, way deeper than just words could ever express. Music has to power to influence people’s decisions by touching their hearts and relating to them on the human condition. We are all facing the same problem: this is all our home and it happens to be on fire. If we can figure out how to properly utilize music in this era of the climate crisis, I know more good could be done.”

More info about the festival, including ticket information, can be found at the Big Climate Thing website.

Going viral is more Elon Musk’s actual job than running Tesla or SpaceX these days, as the billionaire’s attempt to buy Twitter and troll folks has been more newsworthy than anything those companies he actually owns are actually putting on the market. But one of his actual business decisions has apparently not gone very well.

Earlier in the month, Musk mandated that all employees of Tesla must work from the office, undoing any work from home efforts that were put in place at the start of the still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic. That news sparked outrage from some who have found working from home a flexible solution to the everyday rigors of employment. It’s not for everyone, mind you, but making it for no one felt a bit draconian.

And according to a report in The Information, the mandate was entirely premature considering what it actually meant for employees who have been brought back into the office. As The Verge highlighted, Musk threatened to fire employees who did not primarily come into an office to work. But the Tesla offices have been overrun with people trying to not get fired, to the point where the company has run out of desks for its employees.

Current employees at Tesla told The Information that those who drove to work at the Fremont factory struggled to find a place to park. Some reportedly opted to park their cars at the nearby BART station instead and then get shuttled to work by Tesla.

Inside the office, The Information reports some workers didn’t even have a place to sit. The company reportedly decided to repurpose certain areas of the office during the pandemic and also didn’t account for a larger team. According to The Information, the desk situation was so bad that managers told some employees to work from home anyway. Even if employees could sit down, the Wi-Fi signal was too weak for them to work.

As the story noted, Musk did apparently soften his in-office demands to allow room for “exceptional” employees to stay home. But it seems only the exceptionally early will actually have anywhere to sit at Tesla until they order some more desks and chairs.

[via The Information]

Over the past year or so, it’s become something of a trend for artists — especially rappers — to not only use the popular YouTube series A COLOR Show to expand their fanbase with hard-hitting performances but to also debut brand-new singles on the show as well. Previously, rising rappers like Flo Milli, Joey Badass, Guapdad 4000, and D Smoke have all premiered new music on the show, and this week’s guest continues the tradition. This time, it’s Top Dawg Entertainment rapper Reason dropping in to introduce his latest single, “Barely Miss,” going for a fuschia and tan aesthetic as he gets his whole body involved.

“Barely Miss” is the second new single from Reason this month after he teamed up with labelmate Jay Rock to drop the humble “Is What It Is.” Prior to that, Reason hijacked the beat from Jack Harlow’s Drake collaboration “Churchill Downs” for his own “Churchill Downs Freestyle” aimed at letting latecomers know that TDE is in good hands with its current generation of burgeoning rap stars. Reason’s recent activity seems to suggest an impending follow-up to his October 2021 EP No More No Less, which contained features from Adé, Benny the Butcher, Doe Boy, Isaiah Rashad, and Wale.

You can watch Reason’s A COLORS Show performance of “Barely Miss” above.