Category: News

While it might not be official, we’ve always felt like Memorial Day is the true start of summer. We couldn’t care less that summer doesn’t actually start for another month. The weather has finally turned, the sun is shining, and the days feel endless — life is good. It’s also a great time to stock up on crisp, easy-drinking lagers for the hot days to come.

Pilsners, lagers, and everything in between. As long as it’s refreshing, we want to drink it.

But we’re tired of the same old lagers. That’s why, this year we’re going to start the summer of strong by imbibing some lesser-known pilsners and lagers. Instead of grabbing one of the big names we’ve sipped over and over again ad nauseam, we’re opting for complex, no-frills sippers from craft beer upstarts and underrated outfits. If you’re feeling similarly experimental, check out these offerings from breweries like Austin Beerworks, Wiseacre, and East Brother.

Also… we’re ranking them. Because, it’s fun.

8) Brewyard Kalinga

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Glendale, California’s Brewyard Kalinga is a very unique German-style lager. This light, refreshing, unfiltered pilsner has had Calamansi lime added to it during the secondary fermentation process. The result is a light, crisp lager with a bright, tart lime essence.

Tasting Notes:

Cereal grains, honey, lime zest, and lightly floral, herbal hops are prevalent on the nose. The palate continues this trend. It’s light, refreshing, and crisp and has a healthy dose of tart lime. Its only downfall is that some drinkers might not be prepared for the lime flavor.

Bottom Line:

If you enjoy a rice-based, easy-drinking pilsner with a bit of lime flavor, this is the beer for you.

7) Urban South Paradise Park

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Named for the trailer park in the New Orleans-based brewery’s founder’s hometown, it’s brewed with 2-row malts and Huell Melon hops. It’s simple, light, and very refreshing. It might have been crafted for the weather in Louisiana, but it’s a great thirst quencher anywhere you live.

Tasting Notes:

A nose of sweet malts, fresh corn, honeydew melons, honey, and lightly floral hops starts everything off right. There are more cereal grains on the palate along with a hard-to-pinpoint fruity flavor as well as more melon and light, herbal hops. The finish is crisp, dry, and refreshing.

Bottom Line:

This is a pretty good, summery lager. That said, it’s absolutely no frills and leans a little more heavily into cereal grains and corn flavor than some drinkers would prefer.

6) Wiseacre Tiny Bomb

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This award-winning pilsner from the Memphis-based Wiseacre Brewing Co. gets its floral, crisp, classic European-style flavors from the use of German lager yeast and German pilsner malt. It gets its bitter flavor from the use of Bravo hops and its aromatic element from Mt. Hood hops. On top of that, it gets extra sweetness from the addition of locally sourced honey.

Tasting Notes:

Classic aromas of freshly cut grass, pilsner malts, clover honey, and lightly floral hops greet you before your first sip. The taste follows suit. There’s a ton of cereal grains up front and some grassy, floral, earthy hops. There’s some honey sweetness, but that’s about it.

Bottom Line:

This is a decent warm-weather beer. It’s pretty basic and unexciting though except for the addition of honey sweetness.

5) Austin Beerworks Pearl-Snap

ABV: 5.3%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This is as close to a traditional German-style pilsner as an American craft beer can get. It’s brewed with German lager as well as Pilsner and Carapils malts. It gets its floral aroma and flavor from the addition of German Magnum, Tettnanger, Saaz, and Hallertau hops.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find aromas of grassy, floral, noble hops, bready malts, citrus peels, and light honey. Drinking it reveals more honey, freshly baked bread, cereal grains, lime zest, and grassy, floral, lightly bitter hops. It’s crisp, balanced, and easy to drink.

Bottom Line:

This is a great example of a German-style pilsner done right. It’s light and easy-drinking, but surprisingly flavorful and complex.

4) Zero Gravity Green State

ABV: 4.9%

Average Price: $11 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

This year-round 4.9% ABV easy-drinking lager is brewed with German pilsner malts, house lager yeast, and Hallertau Mittelfruh and Saaz hops. It’s known for its clean, crisp, noble hop flavor.

Tasting Notes:

Lemon zest, yeast, bready malts, and lightly spicy hops are big-time on the nose. On the palate, you’ll find notes of yeasty bread, citrus zest, cereal grains, and gently bitter, floral, noble hops. The finish is crisp, refreshing, and lightly spicy.

Bottom Line:

For a no-frills lager, Green State is a real winner. It has everything lager fans enjoy in a summery, easy-drinking lager.

3) Santa Fe Freestyle Pilsner

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This 5.5% ABV pilsner was crafted to taste like a mix of a German-style pilsner, a Czech-style pilsner, and a classic, easy-drinking American lager. Brewed with German malts and Saaz hops, it’s known for its crisp, thirst-quenching flavor and floral, earthy, lightly spicy hops.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find yeasty bread, pilsner malts, lemongrass, and floral hops. There’s more bread on the palate along with citrus peels, cereal grains, and floral, herbal, earthy, gentle spicy hops at the finish. The ending is sweet, crisp, and highly memorable.

Bottom Line:

You’d have a tough time finding a more well-rounded, easy-drinking lager than Santa Fe Freestyle Pilsner. Citrus, floral hops, everything pilsner fans enjoy.

2) East Brother Bo Pils

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $11 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Richmond, California-based East Brother Beer Co. is a name you should know if you enjoy classic, well-made craft beers. One of its best is its East Brother Bo Pils. This 5% ABV Czech-style pilsner is known for its cereal grain, lemon, and noble hop flavor profile.

Tasting Notes:

Classic aromas of grassy, floral hops, honey, cereal grains, and pilsner malts greet you before your first sip. Drinking it only adds to this with notes of pilsner malts, yeasty bread, lemon peels, floral honey, and lightly bitter, noble hops. The finish is crisp, and sweet, and leaves you craving more.

Bottom Line:

If you enjoy Pilsner Urquell or any other Czech pilsner, you’ll love the crisp, complex, traditional flavor profile of East Brother Bo Pils.

1) Ex Novo Perle Haggard

ABV: 5.1%

Average Price: $11 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

This beer is much more than just a puny name. It’s a 5.1% ABV traditional German-style pilsner brewed with Perle hops, a variety known for its minty, citrus, floral, and herbal aroma and flavor. This pilsner is sweet, crisp, floral, and highly refreshing.

Tasting Notes:

This beer is as traditional as it gets on the nose. There’s a ton of yeasty bread, dried hay, floral honey, and noble hops. The palate follows suit with notes of yeast, freshly baked bread, lemon zest, honey cereal grains, grass, and herbal, earthy, very floral hops. The finish is crisp and effortlessly refreshing.

Bottom Line:

If you only drink one beer on this list, make it Ex Novo Perle Haggard. It’s complex, yet very easy to drink on a hot, hazy day.

A parent never wants to imagine what would happen if their child were confronted with someone meaning them harm. We do everything in our power to mitigate the risks of things like that happening, but scary situations still occur that can leave a family irreparably broken.

A Michigan family had an extremely close call when their 8-year-old daughter was nearly abducted while playing in their backyard. The little girl was outside picking mushrooms when a 17-year-old boy picked her up with his hand over her mouth. Owen Burns, 13, was inside playing video games when he heard his sister scream. A lot of kids in his situation may not have known what to do, but Owen quickly jumped into action.

The teen saw what was happening out the window and picked up his slingshot and a marble before taking aim at the boy who had his sister.

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Amazingly, Owen was able to strike the boy in the head with a marble on his first try. This prompted the would-be abductor to release the girl, who was then able to run away while her brother reloaded his slingshot with a rock, hitting the older teen in the midsection this time. What’s most shocking of all is Owen hasn’t had any practice with aiming his slingshot, yet both of the projectiles he used hit the suspect.

“I kinda thought he was lying, but when the police finally confirmed it and said that he did hit him twice and he did make both shots, I was quite impressed,” his mother, Margaret Burns told NBC News.

Watch the entire interview below to hear Owen’s advice to parents:

Fear The Walking Dead is currently churning through its final reinvention before putting a nail in its own skull to start making way for the new crop of The Walking Dead spinoffs. There will be some concurrent action, though, and in mid-May, The Walking Dead: Dead City will arrive to remind us of what happens when characters are unwise enough to venture into the big city with walkers afoot.

Still, this will be a necessary quest because Maggie will be in search of her son, Hershel Rhees (also son to the late Glenn), and she’s making Negan come with her. This, of course, has made everyone wonder whether they can keep a truce going and if Maggie will ever be able to stop thinking about how Negan bashed Glenn’s brains out with a baseball bat. The answer to that question would certainly be “no.” Maggie obviously thought of this carnage on several occasions during the final The Walking Dead seasons when she’d approach Negan as he bashed walkers, etc. It’s not exactly something that anyone would be able to forgive or forget.

According to showrunner Eli Jorne, who spoke with SFX Magazine via Comic Book, Maggie has definitely not been able to forgive or forget. A tenuous truce is all that one can really ask for, and that’s only if Maggie is feeling generous or desperate enough. Probably the latter, but here’s what Jorne offered:

“[Maggie and Negan’s history] is not something that I was scared of, or that I felt like I was saddled with,” the spin-off’s creator and showrunner, Eli Jorné, said in the June issue of SFX Magazine. “In fact, I was like, ‘This is the show!’ When Glenn was killed, that was hard, obviously, when it’s a beloved character who dies. But to me, the flip side of that was that this universe is going to tell the story of what happens when you lose someone that way. Not just for the person who lost him, but the person who did it.”

As well, we are going to see extra disgusting walkers, and a recent trailer sure seemed to show a “running” walker. Never a great sign in any franchise!

The Walking Dead: Dead City rises on July 18.

(Via Comic Book)

This past weekend, Ed Sheeran played a couple of shows in Florida, and while he was in the neighborhood, he decided to swing by a school to surprise a bunch of kids with a number of exciting gifts.

In a video taken on May 19 and shared by the Hillsborough County Public Schools Facebook page (as Billboard notes), Sheeran is seen strolling into a music room as some Middleton and Blake High School students perform an instrumental rendition of “Eyes Closed.”

Sheeran then addressed the room, saying, “I thought I’d come and play some songs for you. I’ve also brought some guitars to give to you guys for [your] music department.” That got a big cheer before Sheeran continued to tell the students he’s giving them tickets to his sold-out concert at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, which naturally got an even louder reaction. Sheeran went on, “Tomorrow is to, like, 72,000 people, and right here, I’m gonna play a tiny concert now, if that’s OK.” He then performed “Perfect.”

Elsewhere in the video, Sheeran chatted with some of the students, signed one kid’s guitar, and sang background vocals as a group of students performed “Photograph.”

Watch the video here.

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Margot Robbie plays Barbie. Kate McKinnon also plays Barbie (technically Weird Barbie), as does Issa Rae (President Barbie), Hari Nef (Doctor Barbie), Alexandra Shipp (Writer Barbie), Emma Mackey (Physicist Barbie), Sharon Rooney (Lawyer Barbie), Dua Lipa (Mermaid Barbie), Nicola Coughlan (Diplomat Barbie), Ana Cruz Kayne (Judge Barbie), Ritu Arya (Journalist Barbie), and so on. That’s a lot of Barbies (and Kens), but there’s one thing that connects them, besides that they’re all named Barbie: they have Barbie Energy, as Robbie put it to Vogue.

“Gal Gadot is Barbie energy,” she explained. “Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful, because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork.”

Robbie also revealed the podcast that helped her play Barbie.

“I was like, Greta, I need to go on this whole character journey. And Greta was like, Oh, I have a really good podcast for you.” Gerwig sent Robbie an episode of This American Life, about a woman who doesn’t introspect. “You know how you have a voice in your head all the time?” Robbie says. “This woman, she doesn’t have that voice in her head.”

If Robbie doesn’t win an Oscar for Barbie, it’s because Gerwig should have sent her an episode of Doughboys instead.

The voice in my head is telling me Barbie comes out on July 21st. Also that I need to pick up a prescription at CVS, but mostly the Barbie thing.

(Via Vogue)

Every now and again, some sort of drama involving Oasis and brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher pops up. The latest of it comes courtesy of Noel, who recently blamed Liam for the lack of an Oasis reunion. Now, Liam is firing back.

In a recent appearance on talkSPORT radio show White & Jordan, Noel said in part, “Well, I put it out there. He won’t call… I mean, he should call me, because he’s like, he’s forever going on about it. You’d have thought by now, he’d have some kind of plan. You know, he should… if he’s got a plan, he should get someone to… He doesn’t have to speak to me. He won’t speak to me, he’s a coward. So he should get some of his people, his agent, to call my people and say, ‘Look, this is what we’re thinking.’ And then we’ll have a conversation about it. Until then, he’s being a little bit disingenuous.”

On Twitter earlier today, Liam wrote, “I don’t wish AIDS on people I turn up and play the MUSIC for the people of MANCHESTER who have just had a terror attack while you sit on your dingy sipping champagne and you got the audacity to call me a COWARD.” He added, “He’s full of sh*t he HATES oasis fans doesn’t mind them buying his records.”

As NME notes, the AIDS comment is in reference to a time in the mid-’90s when the Oasis and Blur rivalry was at its peak and Noel wished AIDS upon Blur members.

Hours later, in response to a fan, Liam wrote, “Listen I wake up to find him giving me sh*t in the press he was doing it in oasis so there for I remind folk how much of a nasty little man he is thems the rules you don’t like F*CK OFF.” One user responded to that, “So why do you keep saying Oasis is happening when you clearly know it’s not? I won’t f*ck off cause I love your sh*t and I’ll keep buying.” Liam replied, “I don’t keep saying it’s happening I said it once I get asked I say I’m ready born ready which I am rite now we should have never have split up that’s what I say.”

Jeff Rosenstock is back. The eccentric musician is making a grand return with the new song “Liked U Better,” as well as an announcement of tour dates for this fall. It’s his first new single since 2020’s No Dream.

“I feel like I’ve been talking in my songs for the last few records about these systemic issues that just keep getting worse and worse,” the Laura Stevenson collaborator told Uproxx about that album. “It’s frustrating that that kind of sh*t is still relatable.”

“Liked U Better” finds Rosenstock turning to more personal lyricism: “I liked you better when you weren’t on my mind,” he sings as the effortlessly catchy hook.

Listen to the song above. Find his tour dates below.

09/06 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
09/07 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5 #
09/08 — Boston, MA @ Roadrunner #
09/09 — New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall #
09/10 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore #
09/12 — Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry #
09/13 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
09/15 — Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Heaven #
09/16 — Madison, TN @ Eastside Bowl #
09/17 — St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall #
09/19 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed #
09/20 — Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre #
09/22 — Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall #
09/24 — Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre #
11/25 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren $
11/27 — Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf $
11/28 — El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace $
11/30 — San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger $
12/01 — Austin, TX @ Empire Garage $
12/02 — Dallas, TX @ Ferris Wheelers Backyard and BBQ $
12/03 — Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard $
12/05 — Denver, CO @ Summit $
12/07 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell $
12/08 — Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall $
12/10 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall $

When it bowed in 2020, HBO Max got off to a rocky start. Hell, it had a rocky first several months: Warner Bros.’ big streamer wasn’t even available to stream on Roku until late December of that year. But once it worked out the kinks, it distinguished itself as arguably the finest mainstream streaming service. The glory days didn’t last, though, and not only is it now missing some of what were its best treasures, but it’s also now got a new, confusion-brewing name. That what’s got it trolled by some of the competition.

On Tuesday, HBO Max was officially rechristened as simply Max. Suddenly subscribers had to update their app or, if they’re streaming on their computer, start going to a new url. There were some outage problems. And there was Peacock, NBC Universal’s own chaotic streamer, using the occasion to make a dirty joke: “I know you’re all very disappointed, but I will *not* be dropping the first half of my name any time soon.”

It’s a good joke, racy in a way that won’t get the Twitter team in trouble, and just punchy enough against Warner Bros. Discovery that it draws some blood.

It’s not the only time in the last couple of days that the company has drawn ridicule: Current honcho David Zaslav got loudly and repeatedly booed while giving a college commencement speech amidst the WGA strike. Or maybe they were mad that he effectively deleted the almost completed Batgirl.

(Via Deadline)

Earlier this month, it was reported that Adidas decided on a plan to sell the remaining Yeezy inventory after notoriously parting ways with Kanye West. However, the rapper is still in trouble — with Gap. In October, the company removed Yeezy products from its stores and shut down the Yeezy Gap website.

It looks like things are still not settled. According to TMZ, Gap has a $2 million lawsuit against West. Gap is being sued by Art City Center, who claim to own a building in Los Angeles that Gap leased as a storefront for Yeezy Gap products. Art City Center allege that unapproved alterations transpired at the property in 2021 and 2022 and are suing to restore the premises. As a result, Gap is apparently suing West.

Upon terminating their partnership with West, Gap representatives wrote in an official statement, “Our former partner’s recent remarks and behavior further underscore why we are taking immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores and we have shut down [the Yeezy Gap site]. Antisemitism, racism, and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values. On behalf of our customers, employees, and shareholders, we are partnering with organizations that combat hate and discrimination.”

Arlo Parks is one of the most important indie acts right now. She received two Grammy nominations at age 21 in 2021. That same year, she won the 2021 Mercury Prize for her debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams. It’s safe to say her sophomore album is highly anticipated. My Soft Machine was announced in January and there’ve been many previews of it since then. Check out key details about the record below to prepare.

Release Date

My Soft Machine is out 5/26 via Transgressive. Find more information here.

Tracklist

Along with the announcement of the LP, Parks unveiled the 12-song tracklist. See it below.

1. “Bruiseless”
2. “Impurities”
3. “Devotion”
4. “Blades”
5. “Purple Phase”
6. “Weightless”
7. “Pegasus” Feat. Phoebe Bridgers
8. “Dog Rose”
9. “Puppy”
10. “I’m Sorry”
11. “Room (Red Wings)”
12. “Ghost”

Features

The only feature on this album is quite a memorable one: Phoebe Bridgers on the track “Pegasus,” which is out now as a single.

Singles

There are four singles out now: “Weightless,” “Impurities,” “Blades,” and “Pegasus” with Phoebe Bridgers. About the latter, Parks explained on Instagram, “This song is about the purity and rarity of true love, that feeling of solidity, of finding a real home in another human being, of wanting to be better with/for someone but being held as you are.” She added, “The video captures that frenetic joy and energy – the barren backdrop of the desert, finding relief and color after a long time of being alone.”

More Details

Parks shared a lengthy statement about what went into the making of My Soft Machine:

“The world/our view of it is peppered by the biggest things we experience — our traumas, upbringing, vulnerabilities almost like visual snow. This record is life through my lens, through my body — the mid-20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self-sabotage and joy, moving through worlds with wonder and sensitivity — what it’s like to be trapped in this particular body. There is a quote from a Joanna Hogg film called The Souvenir, it’s an A24 semi-autobiographical film with Tilda Swinton — it recounts a young film student falling in love with an older, charismatic man then being drawn into his addiction — in an early scene he’s explaining why people watch films — ‘we don’t want to see life as it is played out we want to see life as it is experienced in this soft machine.’ So there we have it… My Soft Machine.”