Category: Worldwide

Pretty much everyone who likes fast food can agree that the Popeyes chicken sandwich is extraordinarily good — a culinary bit of bioluminescence in a sea of bland fast food options. It isn’t a lunch break compromise or something that you eat simply because it’s convenient. Eating this fried chicken marvel is an event unto itself.

But the Popeyes phenomenon has led to a terrible plague. One in which every fast food establishment on earth decides to try their hand at at fried chicken sandwhich… to varying degrees of success. This year we got new entries from Carl’s Jr., McDonald’s, and Burger King — though in BK’s case it was really more of a chicken SADwich (Zing! “I’m here all week,” etc.).

A few of the entries are solid. None of them hold a candle to Popeyes.

Last week Taco Bell entered the fray. Yes, a chicken sandwich from a chain restaurant that urged us to “think outside the bun.” This is unarguable proof that the chicken sandwich wars have finally gone too far. I mean, they could’ve brought back the Mexican pizza — they have ALL of the ingredients — but instead, they’re f*cking around with fried chicken. Again.

To save you time, money, and the possibility of an unsatisfying meal, we naturally had to try the thing. Our review can be found below along with a menu hack that makes this average dish into a star.

The Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco/ Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco

The Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco features two tiny chicken tenders marinated in jalapeño buttermilk seasoning and breaded in a mix of flour and crushed tortilla chips, served inside of a thick flatbread with a generous slathering of creamy chipotle sauce smeared inside. Altogether, it’s surprisingly good.

With just three ingredients, everything pulls its weight here. The chicken breast — while by no means a top three chicken tender — is really flavorful and juicy, with notes of garlic, white pepper, and chili powder. It’s certainly one of fast food’s most interestingly seasoned fried chicken offerings. The chipotle sauce, which is made from buttermilk and spices, brings a tangy sort of brightness that mellows into a nice bit of mouthwatering heat. It’s not “spicy” but it does linger on your tongue between bites. The flatbread… gets the job done. I can’t say that a tortilla would’ve been better. Or worse.

All in all, a very solid, if not at all inspired, entry into the fried chicken sandwich pantheon.

Alas, the spicy version of this sandwich has got to be the laziest attempt to make something spicy I have ever witnessed. It’s the same exact thing, only they toss two, yes, just two, tiny slices of jalapeño into the mix. And they think that makes it spicy. Sorry, it doesn’t.

Sure, you should get the jalapenos because more flavor is a good thing, but if you’re looking for a spicy sandwich, this isn’t that. Not unless you douse it in FIRE sauce.

This is my main problem with Taco Bell’s new crispy chicken sandwich flatbread taco thing: it’s such a lazy missed opportunity. It’s good but not thrilling. And here’s the crazy thing: Taco Bell has all the ingredients to make this actually something worth ordering. They just didn’t trust their audience enough to take a real risk.

So? We did it for them! Check out our (much improved) menu hack, below:

Introducing The Uproxx Crispy Chicken Flatbread Torta

Why Taco Bell didn’t see this as an opportunity to make a torta is something I just don’t get. We won’t go as far as to ask for a second flatbread, but we can make this three-bite sandwich into something a lot better by thinking about it like a torta. The creamy chipotle sauce that comes in the sandwich is good, it adds a lot of flavor, but we don’t need it, so ditch the sauce and add some beans instead (ask for a nacho cheese cup side, they’ll likely hand it over for free).

Let’s also add a three cheese blend on top of that chicken, as well as guacamole (the only add that will cost you anything — again, you just need the nacho cheese cup size), the jalapeños, and your favorite Taco Bell hot sauce (we went with FIRE).

Feel free to add lettuce. I didn’t, but you do you.

“I’ll have the chicken sandwich-taco thing with a small side of guac and a small side of beans, please!”

Tear the flatbread in half and now you have something that’s bursting with flavor, has a considerably more pleasing mouthfeel, and is a lot more indebted to Mexican food than whatever the hell Taco Bell is trying to sell you. Don’t do Popeyes Taco Bell, do Taco Bell.

Our version gives you the crunch of the chicken, an umami bomb of earthy flavors via the avocado and beans, delicious melted cheese, the pleasing burn of hot sauce and jalapeños, and a thick flatbread to hold it all together. Hell, if you really want to, you still have room for the creamy chipotle sauce in there.

Had Taco Bell given us something this good, it would’ve been worth revamping our chicken sandwich ranking. But we’re not doing that. As it is, it just feels like Taco Bell made a menu item for the novelty and the internet clicks.

If clicks are their strategy, they should take our advice and make our menu hack official. It’s tastier than their version and a whole lot more inspired.

The Bottom Line:

Don’t order the Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco (though it’s not terrible, by any means). Order our torta instead.

A lot of ink has been spilled about Kanye West recently, and with good reason: He finally, after multiple false starts, released Donda, producing yet another, very Kanye avalanche of news stories. So here’s another: T-Pain has a story about the artist doing something eccentric (surprise surprise).

“Let me talk about a time that one of my corny lines got stolen,” T-Pain said during the livestream. “I’m so prepared for this, and I love this. Bro, Kanye stole one of my corny lines. I couldn’t believe it. Kanye stole one of my corny lines after he told me it was corny. I don’t think he said it better. I don’t think anything happened that his was better than mine.” He added, “It was either Prevolver — it was one of the Pre mixtapes before I released it. And on one of the songs I said, ‘I got beef like two burgers, you n****s win slow and I’m smarter than Steve Urkel.’ Now, keep in mind the Winslow family, right. Corny as f*ck. I knew it was corny when I said it.”

T-Pain went on to say that Kanye’s feelings about the Urkel line were similar to his own. “Kanye confirmed it,” he said. “He was like, ‘Don’t ever say anything like that.’ Then after that, one of his bars was, ‘Too many Urkels on your team, that’s why your wins low.’ The singer, shocked at what he heard in Kanye’s song (“Dark Fantasy” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) added, “I was like, ‘Did this n**** try to get me to not say my sh*t so he could say it?’ … I was like, ‘Bro, that’s my bar.’ He looked at me and he was literally bobbing his head, grabbing his chin, and when I said that line he looked at me and said, ‘Don’t say that.’”

All in all, the incident served as a lesson for T-Pain to be confident in his work, no matter how “corny” it may sound. “So this is why I say corny lines ’cause in my heart, I know they’re corny,” he said. But if the right person says it, it’s not corny anymore apparently. When a n**** getting lifted to the f*cking ceiling like a God with a light shining down on him, and y’all n****s is paying $50 for f*cking chicken fingers to listen to a f*cking unfinished album. Twice.”

You can watch T-pain detail the full story in the video above.

Towards the end of last month, rumors swirled that Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner were expecting their second child together. The news was shared by TMZ, who cited a source with “direct knowledge” to the claims. A couple of weeks later, Jenner and Scott confirmed the news with a touching video.

In it, Jenner captures the moment she informs Travis that she’s pregnant for a second time. She later shares the news with her mother Kris Jenner. The video also shows Kylie visiting the obstetrician for a check-up. Viewers can even see Stormi, the couple’s first child, excited about the news of a sibling on the way.

Kylie previously spoke about wanting to give Stormi, who is three years old, another sibling during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. She also spoke about her and Travis’ co-parenting skills. “We have such a great relationship,” she said. “We’re like best friends. We both love Stormi and want what’s best for her. We stay connected and coordinated. I think about [my parents] in situations with Stormi, what they would do. They were very hands-on with me, and I want the same for Stormi.”

The news comes after Kylie and Travis took a year off from their relationship and got back together this past spring and what was initially reported as an open relationship. However, she denied the rumors shortly later in a post to Twitter. “I’m not discrediting anyone who is in an open relationship,” she wrote. “But it’s just careless and disrespectful to throw this narrative out there without knowing what’s true.”

You can watch Kylie’s video above.

Anya Taylor-Joy became a name six years ago with The Witch, but it was The Queen’s Gambit that took her into the stratosphere. Her upcoming slate is a corker: Young Furiosa in a Mad Max spin-off; a David O. Russell film with Margot Robbie and Christian Bale; another with her Witch director Robert Eggers. (And Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho has yet to hit theaters.) But mega-fame has its ups as well as its downs. And in the latter column is that she can no longer be blubbery mess on airplanes.

In a new interview with InStyle (in a bit caught by Vanity Fair), the actress talks about many things, including how becoming next-level famous has gotten in the way of her acting process, namely the part where she’s just finished up a role.

“I used to hysterically sob on planes as my form of therapy of leaving jobs behind,” she told the publication. “I would put on a dramatic movie and be like, ‘OK, tonight we cry!’ But I can’t sob on planes anymore without people being concerned for my well-being. Someone will be like, ‘Are you OK?’”

When she does get into a semi-public crying jag, she has to assure them, “No, this is good. It’s good crying. It’s all good tears, I swear!”

The actress, who won an Emmy for her Gambit, also says her boundless energy has even been put to the test. “I really struggle with wanting to give everybody everything all of the time,” she says. “One of the things that I’ve learned recently is you have to do what makes you feel good, not what other people tell you should make you feel good. If you spend what little time you have off only doing things out of obligation, your soul suffers from it.”

That said, Taylor-Joy knows she has it good. She says she has “great friends who tease me mercilessly if I even hint at being overworked or stressed. They’re like, ‘Oh yeah, honey, it’s so sad that you have to go get on a plane and go do whatever.’ It’s all in good fun, but they’re right, I’m very lucky. I’m very privileged. It’s so much, but it’s still so bizarre.”

(Via InStyle)

September always feels like a reset. Summer isn’t technically over until later in the month, but unofficially… we feel the shift. The temperatures are cooling and the days are growing shorter.

That doesn’t mean that the excitement of our summer National Park travel has to abruptly end. In fact, September is actually the best time to visit many National Parks. The shoulder season brings fewer crowds and lower temps, with the same (if not more) accessibility and, in some cases, a display of early fall colors.

Here are eight of my favorites parks to visit this month, plus one “can’t miss” experience.

Grand Teton National Park — Wyoming

I’ve visited Grand Teton National Park more than any other national park throughout the years. I love the dramatic and jutting peaks, the sparkling lakes, and the almost never-ending options for beautiful hiking. Like many parks at a higher altitude, the main road through the park closes at the end of October and like many — if not all — national parks, summer is high season.

But my favorite time to visit is in the fall. The crowds have thinned, and fall colors are already popping. Campgrounds are all still open throughout the month (you can reserve here) and the summer rush in Jackson has lessened a bit.

There is nothing quite like a fall sunset over the Tetons. There’s a chill in the air and you get a sense of peace and quiet that I have never experienced elsewhere.

Don’t Miss:

• Drive the park road and stop to marvel at the fall colors.
• Hike down to Schwabacher Landing.
• Watch a sunset at Colter Bay.

Glacier National Park — Montana

Glacier National Park, to me, is the most quintessential National Park landscape in the system. It is truly jaw-dropping driving the winding Going-to-the-Sun road — nearly 50 miles long and the only way to cross the park. The first time I visited I spent an entire day on the road, stopping at every turnout and hike. Tears in my eyes at the beauty and vastness of it all for probably 90% of the drive. Feeling so much gratitude to be able to be surrounded by such magnificence.

Of course, not the only one who has this experience on their bucket list. The road has become so popular that there is a (very difficult to acquire) timed entry reservation system to drive it at all. But good news for fall travelers — the system ended after Labor Day. With the road closing sometime in October (whenever the weather decides), September is your best bet. The snow and ice are melted and you can enjoy the cooler temps, fewer crowds, and make as many stops as you want.

Don’t Miss:

• Stop at Logan Pass.
• Hike the Highline Trail.
• Rent a kayak on Lake McDonald.

Rocky Mountain National Park — Colorado

Fall colors peak a lot earlier in the higher elevations — making Rocky Mountain National Park a perfect place to visit in September. This is still a fairly busy time in the park, so timed entry reservations will still be in effect throughout the month but seeing the majestic surroundings lit up with gold is worth it.

September is also elk rut (mating) season in and around the park. It’s a great time to get a view of the elks — they’re often just hanging around Estes Park right outside of the park.

Don’t Miss:

• Drive Trail Ridge Road (watch conditions! It’s already been closed once this year for ice).
• Visit during the Long’s Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival (September 10-12) or during the Autumn Gold Festival (September 25-26).
• Hike to Emerald Lake.

Great Basin National Park — Nevada

“Is Great Basin worth visiting?” people always ask me. It’s one of those parks that most people have never even heard of, much less seen. But yes, it is definitely worth visiting. Its diverse landscape includes a peak of over 13,000 ft, ancient bristlecone pine groves, and even a marble cave. It’s in a super remote area in Nevada, near the border of Utah. Like, super remote. Salt Lake City — the nearest major city — is still over 200 miles away. This means whenever you visit you’re likely to be light on crowds and in the perfect position to stargaze.

I’d recommend a visit in September to coincide with Great Basin’s Astronomy Fest — a festival from the 9th-11th with guest speakers, workshops, and tours of the Great Basin Observatory. There is also a telescope area where the public can view the stars in the evenings.

Don’t Miss:

• Tour Lehman Cave.
• Participate in one of the many astronomy programs within the park.
• Hike in the bristlecone pines grove at Wheeler Peak.

Acadia National Park — Maine

Acadia National Park is known as a destination for autumn colors… that usually peak in October. So why is it on the list for September? Because it’s a great time to lose some of the crowds and still get some of the sights — best of both worlds!

Acadia is one of the top ten most visited parks while also being 5th smallest by land area — so it is almost always fairly crowded. September is a great time to visit since it falls between the summer crowds and the leaf-peeping crowds. If solitude is what you’re after, this is a perfect time of year to find it.

Don’t Miss:

• Sunrise or sunset at the summit of Cadillac Mountain (reservations here).
• Beehive hike.
• Popovers at Jordan Pond House.

North Cascades National Park — Washington

Somehow North Cascades National Park is still somewhat of a hidden gem in the park system. I’m not sure why, as it is one of the most dramatic landscapes I have ever personally laid eyes on. And September is one of the best times, in my opinion, to visit.

North Cascades is mostly alpine. With some peaks over 9,000 ft that means the snow is just fully melted in September before winter comes again. The North Cascades Highway is fully open, it is even less crowded than during the summer, the bugs are thinning, and in late September the larches begin to magically turn golden. Really the perfect time to visit, all around.

Don’t Miss:

• Drive the North Cascades Highway.
• Stop at the Diablo Lake overlook.
• Hike Thunder Knob.

Zion National Park — Utah

I always give others advice not to visit Utah parks in the summer (and then, of course, I always seem to visit in the summer) but the truth is — if you have the flexibility — shoulder seasons are a much better time to visit the state. The temperatures are cooler and if you haven’t seen a fall desert sunset you are missing a truly life-changing experience.

Zion is the park I would visit in September for a few reasons — the aforementioned temperature and light(er) crowds, of course — but also still being able to comfortably hike through the water of The Narrows. Hiking The Narrows is undoubtedly a bucket list experience. And for a hike that is nearly 16 miles through water — September is a perfect time to attempt it. Still warm, fewer fellow hikers, and still enough daylight to get in some serious miles.

Don’t Miss:

• The Narrows!
• Hike Angel’s Landing… if you dare.
• Alternately, hike to Observation Point from the Eastside for a similar view.

National Public Lands Day — September 25

The largest single-day volunteer effort takes place in all National Parks and public lands on September 25. National Public Lands Day is an annual Saturday volunteer event and holiday aimed at promoting responsible recreation in our public lands.

It’s a fee-free day in the parks if you just want to visit, but also so much more than that. There are volunteer projects at many parks you can become involved in to further your connection to the land we recreate on.

Find a list of volunteer opportunities here.

Stephen A. Smith has been vocal regarding his belief that people in the United States should get one of the three COVID-19 vaccines. On Tuesday’s episode of First Take, Smith and Marcus Spears (who, likewise, wants people to get the vaccine) went through some of the thoughts they have regarding unvaccinated players.

Spears, along with host Molly Qerim Rose, brought up that there are legitimate, competitive reasons for teams to only want vaccinated players on their teams, citing things like the more relaxed protocols the NFL has in place for vaccinated athletes.

“If you’re vaccinated, it’s cut in half, the time you have to sit out,” Spears said. “That’s the bottom line, that’s the reality of the rules in the NFL. If you’re not, you’re 10 days, it’s gonna be 10 days, regardless. And 10 days is gonna cost you a game — unless you’re potentially in a bye week — or two.”

Smith, meanwhile, said that while he understands this is something that has to be vaccinated between the NFL and the Players Association, if he were in Roger Goodell’s shoes, he would invoke a “best interests of the league” clause and unvaccinated players wouldn’t play.

“The reality is that if you end up testing positive, you can have an effect on somebody else,” Smith said. “We all understand, if you’re vaccinated, you can still catch COVID. But people forget the crisis about COVID-19, believe it or not, wasn’t just being unvaccinated, wasn’t just the virus, wasn’t just that some people were dying. The problem was you didn’t have medical facilities available, you didn’t have personal protective equipment, you didn’t have all of those things. There was a shortage — there’s a shortage of hospital space, there’s a shortage of beds, there’s a shortage of doctors. That’s why this was so pivotal, because you didn’t have the people to treat you. That’s what made it so catastrophic as well. So if you’re vaccinated, chances are you don’t have to go to the hospital. You can go home, you’re gonna feel sick, but you can recover because you already have the vaccine.”

Smith went on to talk about how sports leagues are private industries that don’t owe athletes the right to play, before turning his ire to athletes who pass on getting the vaccine.

“I think it’s shameful when athletes talk about, ‘Oh, it’s a private matter,’” Smith said. “It is not a private matter, because it affects anybody that’s standing right next to you. You’re not living a private life, that’s ridiculous.

“If I hear one more person, Molly, if I hear one more person, Marcus, talk to me about, ‘What’s in the vaccine?’ I might slap ’em with my phone,” Smith continued.

To close, Smith called out the hypocrisy of people getting other vaccines over their lives, like the flu shot and chicken pox, along with the various vitamins and supplements they pick up, saying no one Googles the ingredients of these sorts of things.

“These people, we go to the doctor, we’re feeling sick, the doctor prescribes the medicine, we go to the CVS, Rite Aid, or something, we pick it up, and we take the medicine,” Smith said. “Why all of a sudden, we actin’ like, ‘Oh, we dissecting and picking apart, one ingredient after another.” It’s the biggest damn lie imaginable, they’re full of it.

“I tell you right now, the NFL, I’m glad the NFL’s made it inconvenient for unvaccinated people,” Smith closed. “I’m glad the NFL and the NBA, I’m sorry, have stepped it up. If it were me, they wouldn’t even be allowed to play.”

September might be the best month for craft beer releases. Seriously. We’re finally free of the repetitive and sparse IPA drops of summer and getting into two seasons worth of very diverse beer offerings. Plus there’s are still plenty of IPAs on the way, so don’t worry there.

This month finds us at the intersection of hefty German lagers (or märzen beers) being released for Oktoberfest (which would have started this month, had it not been canceled for the second year in a row) and all the pumpkin ales you can drink. Right after this, we’ll be into the holiday season with its winter warmers, bocks, and stouts. In short, there’s a lot of interesting and delicious beers on the horizon starting … now!

Hopefully, the eight beers we’re giving love to this month will pique your interest and inspire you to explore exciting taprooms, beer halls, and breweries in your own neck of the woods. These picks represent regional craft beer releases from makers that we vouch for, along with some seasonally released bottles that we’ve been looking forward to trying again.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST DROP: Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

ABV: 6.7%

Average Price: $10 (six-pack)

The Beer:

This pumpkin ale adheres to the hard and fast rules of the style: Add a lot of fresh pumpkin and spices to create a fall beer. Pale, Munich, CaraHell, C-20, C-45, and Special B malts and Magnum hops form the foundations of the beer before 150 pounds of fresh and roasted pumpkin, green and roasted pumpkin seeds, and ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice are added to each batch.

Tasting Notes:

You get a sense of real pumpkin from the nose through the finish. Imagine slicing up a whole pumpkin and you’ll be on the right track. There’s a matrix of pumpkin pie spices in the base of the taste but it’s not the focus of the beer. There’s a nice bitterness thanks to those pumpkin seeds and the beer maltier notes touch on a buttery pie crust.

Bottom Line:

I just tried this again recently and it’s shocking how well it holds up. I tried it with a friend who lives and dies by Coors Light and even they had to admit that this was a delicious beer. So yeah, give it shot and leave your preconceived notions about pumpkin ales at the door.

SOUTHWEST DROP: Stone Orange Scream Hazy IPA

ABV: 8.8%

Average Price: Only Available At Brewery

The Beer:

This beer was made by one of Stone’s oldest employees as a sort of testament to the brewery’s staying power. The brew leans into the orange creaminess by building on a backbone of CTZ Hop Extract, HBC 685 Azacca, Nugget, and Citra hops with orange puree, lactose, and vanilla.

Tasting Notes:

This smells like a citrus bomb on the nose with a deep vanilla cream soda vibe. The taste leans into the richest orange creamsicle you’ve ever had. It’s kind of like taking a bite out of the frozen orange juice concentrate brick with a rich bourbon vanilla cream in the middle. A hint of dank hop florals cuts through the citrus and cream and leaves you with a hazy and very crushable beer for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Bottom Line:

I generally don’t like these beers but this one took the idea of an orange creamsicle and really elevated it. This isn’t something I’d reach for often, but I can see downing these easily on a hot late-summer day without hesitation.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN DROP: Odell Oktoberfest

ABV: 6.1%

Average Price: $12 (six-pack)

The Beer:

The marriage of Munich malts and German Noble hops with that Colordao craft ingenuity and Rocky Moutain water (pulled from the Cache la Poudre River) makes for good beer. The result is a brew that leans very close to the traditional Munich brews served in the Theresienwiese, with a nod to the hoppier end of American craft.

Tasting Notes:

This is really dialed with a cracker malt base that touches on caramel malts. The hops are never overwhelming and provide more of a spicy floral note kind of like a nasturtium. Combined, you have a crisp, malty, and floral beer that’s extremely refreshing.

Bottom Line:

This beer is very crushable. The extra ABVs make this one a good candidate for a long backyard drinking session where you have nothing else to do besides grill sausages and maybe toss a ball around.

SOUTHERN DROP: Real Ale Brewing Oktoberfest

ABV: 6%

Average Price: $10 (six-pack)

The Beer:

Real Ale Brewing consistently drops seasonals that you want to return to year after year. One of their best is their Oktoberfest which combines Munich and Vienna malts with German beer yeast and hops. They add a little of that Texas craft brashness and end up with another crushable brew to celebrate all things Bavaria, even if you’re in Texas.

Tasting Notes:

Crisp and malty are the best descriptors for this brew. The maltiness has a lovely caramel base with a hint of burnt straw. The hops are dialed way back, mildly floral and dank, and provide a slight effervescent counterpoint to the bready and sweet malts. The end is thick but dry with a slight floral hint leaning towards green grass.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those beers that’ll be easy to drink all day while chilling under a big tree somewhere in Texas’ Hill Country. Hell, you might even break out into song once you get into the back end of your six-pack.

MIDWEST DROP: New Holland Ichabod

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $11 (six-pack)

The Beer:

This pumpkin ale starts with an old-school malted ale base full of buttery and almost honey-tasting malts. Then the fresh pumpkin arrives with a good dose of cinnamon and nutmeg. The end result feels like a pumpkin pie your grandparents used to make when you were a kid, except this time it comes in the form of a spicy-yet-malty ale.

Tasting Notes:

The nutmeg is what drives the nose, taste, and finish. The pumpkin provides a nice, savory counterpoint to the sweet malts while the cinnamon lurks in the background, bringing an echo of heat to the mix. The overall experience is very balanced, leaving the sweeter edges to the side and letting the spice and fruit really shine alongside those grainy malts.

Bottom Line:

This isn’t overly sweet and that’s why it’s on the list. A lot of these pumpkin ales go hard on the sweeteners to hide the rougher edges of the brew. This leaves the alcohol low while amping up real flavors. It’s just… really quite nice.

NORTHEAST DROP: Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $11 (four-pack)

The Beer:

This beer starts out as a sweet and malty brown ale. Fresh pumpkin fruit, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg are added to the brew and Punkin Ale is born.

Tasting Notes:

Those brown ale malts lean heavily into wet brown sugar with a hint of burnt straw. The pumpkin feels more savory than sweet with a slightly stringy edge and a touch of pumpkin seed bitterness. The spices aren’t the star of the show but they’re present in the same sense that they are in a pumpkin pie. The end embraces the spice and malty sweetness of the brown ale for a chewy and bold finish.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the oldest seasonals on the list — it dropped first back in 1995. Still, it’s not really autumn without a cold sixer of this beer in a fridge.

WILD CARD DROP: Revolution Brewing Oktoberfest

ABV: 5.7%

Average Price: $10 (six-pack)

The Beer:

This Chicago beer is German ingredients filtered through American craft brewing. Bavarian malts meet Bavarian hops and Bavarian lager yeast to create this brew. The beer is then properly lagered at low temps for four weeks, and then it’s party time (this beer is very crushable).

Tasting Notes:

The malts are the star of the show with a toasted crusty bread presence. The malt edge is a bit sweet with a touch of orange rind and green grass. The hops kick in late with a spicy/floral vibe next to that orange and grass, creating a crisp and bright finish.

Bottom Line:

If you’re in Chicago, now’s the time to start crushing these beers. They’re a great example of American craft Oktoberfest beers while displaying a real love for the real-deal brews from Munich.

INTERNATIONAL PICK OF THE MONTH: Augustiner Oktoberfestbier

ABV: 6%

Average Price: $16 (six-pack)

The Beer:

Augustiner is the oldest brewery within Munich’s city limits. It started all the way back in 1328. The brew is made from locally grown ingredients. And trust us, they keep it simple by only using water, yeast, hops, and barley. That’s it. Yet, the brewers in Munich are able to coax so many amazing flavors from such humble ingredients that this will be an instant favorite.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a subtle sense of the malts up top with a touch of green grassiness and lager-y fizz on the head. You can almost feel the earthen walls of the underground cellar this was stored in. The sip is super svelte, with a fruitiness that leans towards apple cores and even the bitterness of the seeds. There isn’t really a sweetness to the malts and the hoppiness is dialed back into more fruit and florals than bitterness — yet it’s still all wonderfully balanced.

Bottom Line:

This is my all-time favorite Oktoberfest beer from one of my top three breweries in the world. So yeah, I’m a bit biased. But this is what real lager is and will help you better understand how great a classic beer can be — even when it’s devilishly simple.

That all being said, you’re going to have to really search the high-end beer shops to find this one. If you do, get as much as you can and make your own mini Oktoberfest.

---

As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive commission pursuant to some entries on this list.

Polo G has once again found himself in trouble with the law.According to TMZ, the rapper was recently arrested in Los Angeles for carrying a concealed weapon after police officers pulled the Chicago native over for a reason that has not yet been revealed. Law enforcement sources told the publication that Polo G was in the passenger seat at the time of the traffic stop. Officers then conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered the weapon. Both parties were arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

This makes for the rapper’s second arrest on a gun charge in 2021. His first came back in June, just days after he released his third album, Hall Of Fame. According to The Miami Herald, an altercation between the rapper and an officer broke as they attempted to put Polo G in handcuffs after he was pulled over for suspected gun possession. The officer was allegedly hit in the head, chin, forehead, and cheek, according to an arrest report. After he was booked on a number of charges and released on bond, Polo G hopped on Twitter to speak out about the arrest.

“1 of the officers told us they was on us since we got Off our Jet,” he tweeted, adding, “They playin foul in Miami & dat sh*t been like that for a minute.”

If you were a very young kid in the late ‘90s or the early aughts, there’s a chance you you’re a massive fan of Steve Burns. He was the original host of Nick Jr.’s Blue’s Clues, where he led preschoolers through a series of mysteries with the help of his titular blue dog. You may also remember that he left in 2002, after four seasons, replaced by Donovan Patton. No doubt the departure was devastating for many, who’d come to love Burns’ wide-eyed, earnest yet goofy mien as much as his animated canine costar. And nearly 20 years later, Burns released a video, as suddenly as he departed so long ago, hoping to give fans some closure.

The video finds Burns — now 47, bald under a baseball hat, yet still boyishly charming — addressing his now also grown-up fans directly. “You got a second?” he says, before reminding viewers about how they all used to “run around and hang out with Blue and find clues and talk to Mr. Salt and freak out about the mail and do all sorts of fun stuff.” He also addresses how he suddenly left and they didn’t see each other “for like a really long time.”

Burns has repeatedly addressed why he left: He went to college! Because he was that age and someone in the prime of his life can’t be doing shows for preschoolers for forever. But he still feels bad. In the video he admits his departure, in hindsight, was “kind of abrupt,” which he says was “really challenging but great, because I got to use my mind and take one step at a time.” It also allowed him, he says, to do all the things he’s doing now.

Throughout the video, Burns retains the mien of a pre-school teacher, talking directly, in simple terms, as though they were still kids at heart. He even tries to cushion the blow of his admission by pointing out that those watching, too, have likely done a lot since Blue’s Clues debuted 25 years ago. “Look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time,” Burns says. “It’s just…it’s just amazing, right? I mean, we started out with clues, and now it’s what? Student loans, and jobs, and families.” (Although perhaps one of those, at least, may not be something worth celebrating.)

When the video dropped, especially following a hellish pre-Labor Day weekend week that saw weather disasters and multiple nightmarish laws enacted in Texas, it couldn’t help but leave Generation Blue’s Clues eating their feelings.

Some were moved by proxy.

And a lot of people did, indeed, find some closure.

Blue’s Clues debuted in 1996 and lasted until 2004. It was rebooted as Blues Clues & You! In 2019. You can watch Burns’ new video above.

(Via TV Line)

Last month was quite eventful for The LOX. The group, which consists of Yonkers rappers Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch, began their run with an amazing performance during a Verzuz matchup against Dipset. The appearance inspired people to praise the group, specifically Jadakiss, with many calling him the star of the show. Shortly after, during Kanye West’s second listening party for Donda, The LOX made a surprise appearance on a track we now know as “Jesus Lord Pt. 2.” During a recent interview with HipHopDX, Jadakiss explained how that song came together.

“Someone from ‘Ye’s camp actually reached out to my older son,” the rapper said. “Then ‘Ye called us the next day after Verzuz, he hit me the next morning. We flew straight there (Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium) and went straight to the studio and knocked the song out. Then went and rested and came back the next day and went to the event and flew back.”

Shortly after The LOX dazzled at their Verzuz against Dipset, the group was gifted the key to their hometown of Yonkers by the city’s mayor, Mike Spano. “We recognize LOX,” Spano said during a ceremony for the key. “We’re gonna give this to you. He doesn’t need it. He could go anywhere he wants but this will confirm it all.”

You can watch the rapper’s full interview with HipHopDX in the video above.