Ausar is a promising up-and-comer from the musically rich city of Chicago, and now the rapper has been granted a tremendous opportunity to make good on his potential.
In a new video from the Next Success series (presented by Uproxx and Sprite), Ausar gets the chance to work with Quincy Banks, an established creative pro in Los Angeles. The name may not be familiar, but his work certainly is: He’s contributed key visual elements to projects by artists like Lizzo, The Rolling Stones, and Charli XCX, among plenty of others. Needless to say, having Banks on your side isn’t something that should be taken lightly.
In the clip, the two meet up for the first time and quickly get to talking about the project at hand: a new video for Ausar’s song “Homies,” breaking down the track and what they want to accomplish with the visual for it.
To learn more about the behind the scenes process between mentor and mentee check out the above video. And check out Ausar’s completed music video and a bit more on his journey by checking out our Next Success hub [hub link].
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
If there are two actors better suited to play a couple of military men than the frequently-buzz-cut and ever-shredded Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy, they’re two actors I’ve never heard of. In what seems like mere fate, the charming-and-chiseled pair has officially been cast in an upcoming Universal Pictures “fact-based drama about the Afghanistan evacuation” written by George Nolfi (Timeline, Ocean’s Twelve, The Bourne Ultimatum) and produced by the aforementioned trio of creatives. While the film has yet to receive a title or director, a bit more about the plot and Tatum and Hardy’s roles within the movie have been revealed.
According to Deadline, “the story is based on recently reported true stories, this one focusing on three former special forces team members who jump back into the fray alongside their Afghan counterparts, to rescue families and allies left behind amid the rapid fall of Afghanistan last August.” While it’s still unknown who the third special forces member will be, we can pretty safely assume Tatum and Hardy will be portraying two of the men returning to Afghanistan to aid with the evacuation.
In addition to Tatum and Hardy, Jules Daly and both Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan of Free Association are on board to help produce the film. Nolfi will serve as its executive producer and senior vice president of production, Ryan Jones, will oversee the project on behalf of Universal. As of now, no other details have been announced.
If you were to say at this time last year, that in less than a year, we’d be able to hold large-scale music festivals that wouldn’t be a COVID-19 super-spreader event, you might’ve sounded like a crazy person. But by and large, as we’ve learned how change our behavior to help stop the spread of COVID-19, festivals like Lollapalooza and Outside Lands were executed remarkably. Requiring proof of vaccination and implementing a system to verify said proof was a major key, and tens of thousands of people have been able to revel in the grandeur of live music outdoors once again.
On Halloween weekend at Outside Lands festival, over 70,000 people a day came out to San Francisco’s sweeping Golden Gate Park, for what was nothing short of one of the best concert weekends of the year. Fans emanated gratitude for the experience just as much as artists did.
The live music industry was hit hard and for artists, it bore a big weight not just on their livelihoods, but on their creativity as well. Things got pretty dark there for a year and a half. And now with live music and music festivals back in action, there’s a welcome freshness from musicians on stage; thriving once again and needed for so many reasons. We caught up with five performers at Outside Lands 2021 — Albert Hammond Jr., Bartees Strange, Mxmtoon, ZHU, and Rexx Life Raj — to talk about what it means to be playing live shows for massive crowds again. Tap in.
Albert Hammond Jr. – The Headliner
Adrian Spinelli
The Strokes took a solid victory lap around the festival circuit this year, playing III Points Fest in Miami, Atlanta’s Shaky Knees, and even making a headlining stop at The Forum in Los Angeles before the band’s Friday night closing set at Outside Lands. Albert Hammond Jr. has been behind some of the most iconic riffs of the past 20 years and he most recently put out his fourth solo album, Francis Trouble in 2018. But in San Francisco, he was here to put it down with The Strokes, all while relishing in the launch of his sneaky delightful wine seltzer, Jetway.
“Just gathering with people is very important to being a human being. But even besides me, where my career is playing live music and recording, I can see it in people that they want to be around other people. People want to f*ck, man! [laughs] I’m kidding obviously, but I mean that in how people want to interact… It’s a very human thing. And If we’re just home, things start to fall apart.”
Bartees Strange – A Big Realization
Adrian Spinelli
Washington D.C.-based indie rocker Bartees Strange’s career is on the up. His 2020 album Live Forever proved to be a critically-acclaimed breakout hit and its surging artists like him who relish in the number of people at a music festival who are witnessing him and his music for the first time. He delivered one of the most inspired and positively-charged performances of the weekend on the Sutro Stage, and being back out on stage and playing to big festival crowds helped him re-focus on why he makes music to begin with.
“For the last 15 years, I’ve just been playing music and playing shows. And then all of a sudden it just went away. But I kept writing… but then I kinda forgot why? I was like ‘No one is ever gonna hear this?!’ And then I had to remember that I was always writing for myself anyways. And I found a lot of peace in that. And now that I’ve come back out and I’m playing to bigger crowds, it’s exciting to watch everybody react to the music, and I feel really good about being happy with myself. It’s a beautiful thing to come to realize, at a point where I don’t think I would’ve ever had that realization if things wouldn’t have stopped. So it’s been really amazing to be in front of people and to be perceived, and I feel very solid, which is nice.”
Mxmtoon – From The Bedroom To The Big Stage… Finally
Adrian Spinelli
Mxmtoon not only built her music from her bedroom, but she also built a massive fanbase. The Oakland native has close to a billion Spotify streams across all of her quaint folk-pop songs and is a TikTok sensation with more than 2 million followers. She launched a pop culture-friendly history podcast called 365 days with Mxmtoon, where she’s had guests on like Carly Rae Jepsen, Jon Batiste, and Julien Baker. And this past September, she put out the True Colors EPin conjunction with the Life Is Strange adventure game series. Suffice it to say, the 21-year-old had a lot of material to share on stage and she said that being back at a festival in her backyard means “everything” to her.
“I started making music by myself in my room and I think to have an opportunity to bring the pieces of work that I’ve been making for the last three years really, to a live stage and just play it to an audience that’s so close to my heart in the Bay Area? It’s so cool and something I’ve been waiting to do for years at this point. And I can’t really believe that it’s actually happening, it feels really surreal. I can only hope to keep having experiences like this and hopefully for people to see that there is a light at the tunnel through all of this and that live shows are back and hopefully here to stay.”
Rexx Life Raj – The Hometown Rapper Back Where He Belongs
Philip Cosores
Few people made an entrance at Outside Lands quite like the gregarious and gigantic Rexx Life Raj. On Halloween afternoon, he came out mounting a literal T-Rex, clad in a Jurassic Park-style safari vest that his whole team on stage was also wearing. It was not only a testament to his larger-than-life persona, but also to the team mentality that Bay Area hip-hop is founded on. In true Bay Area fashion, the man knows how to relax, and after his set, sipped an Aperol Spritz (at the branded “Aperol Piazza,” of course) and reflected on not just being back on stage, but doing so to a hometown crowd.
“It literally feels insane, but insane in a good way. I knew I missed it, but I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was on stage and was like, ‘This is where I’m supposed to be.’ And just being around this many people? I haven’t been around this many people in a year and a half, two years even. it just feels good to be at home here and see friends and family, and just to be able to perform is really tight.”
ZHU – The Electronic Music Heavyweight
Wilson Lee
Living in the shadows has always been a part of ZHU’s persona. The electronic producer and multi-instrumentalist initially came up as a mystical figure in EDM with an unknown identity. He’s since stepped out from behind the curtain to become one of the most crucial voices for Asian-Americans in electronic music, and released the excellent Dreamland 2021 this year. A San Francisco native, he headlined the Twin Peaks Stage on Saturday night following his fellow SF-er 24KGoldn’s performance. The pair would perform their hit “I Admit It” together at the festival and for someone who plays electronic festivals all over the world, a return to the normalcy of being back on the road and on stage was beginning to set in.
“I think that it was a transitional period for all of us. For me, it really didn’t hit until even last week when I was in Miami playing to 10,000+ kids and for the first time, I had the realization that we’re really back. It’s not a minimal capacity. People were ready and it’s great for the culture.”
You’ve got to admire the timing of Sesame Street releasing a clip of Billie Eilish performing a duet with The Count from an episode that won’t air until next year. Why, when the time-honored children’s show has been the target of conservative ire this week following Big Bird’s fairly innocuous… errr …tweet, about getting a COVID-19 vaccine, it becomes fairly obvious who is cool and who is not.
In the “not” column, we have Texas Senator and loser extraordinaire Ted Cruz, questioning the potential political implications of a large bird doing something that’s been consistent with his character for over 40 years. And then in the cool column, we have a total chef’s kiss of a performance by your kid’s favorite mathematician, Count von Count, with Billie freakin’ Eilish, who might as well be the coolest person on the planet right now.
Eilish sat on the Sesame Street stoop next to the Count and the pair embarked on a beautiful variation of her hit ballad “Happier Than Ever.” Eilish and The Count swapped the lyrics in an homage to the number two. So instead of “When I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever,” Eilish sang “When I’m counting with you, I’m happier than ever.” Then The Count replaces “Wish I could explain it better” with “Numbers sound so much better” before Eilish punctuates “Here’s what we’ll do…let’s count to two.”
Eilish’s smile is as perfect as The Count’s staccato. And with Bert, Elmo, the Two-Headed Monster, and the man of the moment, Big Bird, watching on, they generate all smiles, with no politics — because after all, this is Sesame Street.
Watch Billie Eilish and The Count sing “Happier Than Ever” above.
Sesame Street Season 52 premieres 11/11 on HBO Max.
Green Bay Packers quarterback and “critical thinker” Aaron Rodgers returned to The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday for the first time since he claimed he was in “the crosshairs of the woke mob” for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and discussed getting medical advice from his “good friend” Joe Rogan. This time around, Rodgers (and his, uh, big feet) said that he takes “full responsibility” for his comments.
“I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. And to anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments,” he said. I understand that this issue, in general, is very charging to a lot of people because we are talking about public health. I totally respect that. I made a decision that was in the best interest based on consulting with my doctors. And I understand that not everybody is going to understand that necessarily. But I respect everybody’s opinion.”
Rodgers, who got roasted on SNL for his comments, said some other stuff, but I’ll admit that I stopped paying attention. I was too distracted by his hoodie.
Aaron Rodgers has earned over $263 million playing quarterback in the NFL, plus millions more through endorsements. He has enough money to pay for any outfit he wants. Instead, in an interview that he knew would be watched by millions, he wore a Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hoodie. There’s a few possibilities here. Maybe he’s trolling, maybe he’s the one fan of what’s generally considered to be the worst Star Wars movie, or maybe he’s reminding people of an even bigger disaster than his interview last week. It’s hard to tell with Rodgers. Either way, it’s all anyone could focus on.
rise of skywalker sweatshirt even more flagrant than his comments last week https://t.co/icjZRfIa3Q
State Farm: “We are officially severing ties with Aaron Rodgers. We could handle the antivaxx stuff, but coming out in favor of The Rise of Skywalker was a bridge too far.”
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul aka CP3 is not only one of the best players in the NBA, but he’s also one of the biggest cheerleaders for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Paul doesn’t just support various HBCUs, he’s also committed to helping shine a light on the schools and provide students with healthy plant-based options. The 11-time NBA All-Star has been a vegan since 2019, and today, he’s an investor in Atlanta’s popular Slutty Vegan restaurants and recently partnered with Koia brands, leaders in 100% plant-based nutritional shakes. His plan is to take the shakes into vending machines across the nation at HBCUs and offer students in places often without a lot of healthy food something he believes in.
Paul chatted with Upworthy about that mission and what led him to embracing a plant-based lifestyle.
UP: What was the initial inspiration to begin eating a plant-based diet?
Paul: I was trying plant-based after games and I saw I wasn’t feeling as heavy. So, I said let me try it full-time. It took one week. And I never looked back. I was a fan of pulled pork, and my chef used to make these chicken wings that were pretty fire, but for me, it’s bigger than that. I’m so visual, as in “Game Changers” they show you about blood pressure. It stuck with me. In everything I do is about recovery and how your body feels. I’d played so many years without being plant-based and I’d wake up the next morning being achy and sore, and for that to be gone… it’s amazing.
UP: With all of the work you’ve been involved in with the league regarding social justice issues, do you look at plant-based eating as a part of that work? Given the health disparities in the Black and brown community?
Paul: I think there’s a lot of synergies there and that’s because of the food deserts and the wealth disparity and food access. And alongside all of that is education. I’ve been playing in this league for a long time, and this didn’t impact me until the age of 33 to 34. So, how do you educate people? And when you do educate people? There are so many people who’re stuck in their ways. Then there are fast-food and liquor stores on every corner [in Black and brown communities].
UP: When the young guys come into the league, do they look to you? Do you talk to them about plant-based eating?
Paul: I talk to them or show them. I’m always a sponge to give them the tools they need. But I won’t force it on anyone. This young guy recently asked me why I never have ice on my knees after games. He said he was gonna try it on All-Star weekend. After that weekend, he’s been plant-based ever since.
UP: How did you get involved with Koia? Why this particular product?
Paul: Koia had a lot of the same values that I have and my team has. They’re all about educating people and still having a great product. Whenever you partner with any company, besides the health benefits and the quality of the product, you hope your values align. And while we talk about sales, you also want to be able to make real change and educate people along the way.
UP: So, did you say you wanted to have these Koia products in Historically Black Colleges (HBCU)? Was that always part of the plan?
Paul: We’re in the process of rolling this out. This was part of the conversation… how do we get these products into these areas where a lot of times these kids aren’t exposed to these? So, putting the products into HBCU vending machines becomes a conversation starter and exposes these kids at an earlier age, and by doing that, they have access. In a lot of areas where these HBCUs are located there isn’t a Whole Foods or a fresh juice place with these options. So, we’re at least starting off making these assessable.
UP: What’s the first school where the Koia products will be available?
Paul: One will be Winston-Salom State University, where my parents and all of my family went.
UP: Why do you shine a light on HBCUs? What’s the inspiration for that?
Paul: I was in Houston and my stylist and I were trying to figure out what to do for attire for the season, and we came up with the idea of championing Black designers or designers of color. I wore a Texas Southern hoodie, where her dad went to school. Because it’s part of my DNA anyway, as everyone from my family went to an HBCU, except me, so, we started wearing clothes from different HBCUs, talked to different designers. In the process, I started learning more about how these schools started. When you dive into and start understanding that HUBCs were created because Blacks were not allowed to attend primarily white institutions, you dig deeper and realize a lot of the HBCUs are folding because they don’t receive the proper funding.
UP: Talk about the partnership with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame series you’re hosting between two historically Black colleges and universities — Norfolk State, Morgan State, Hampton, and Grambling State.
Paul: This gives eyeballs on these schools and similar exposure that other schools are getting and makes sure that kids understand that HBCUs aren’t less-than. When I was coming through the system trying to figure out what college to go to, HBCUs didn’t even recruit me. They didn’t because they felt they didn’t have a shot. When I was growing up, that wasn’t the blueprint for the NBA. You have to go to one of the big schools to be recruited. But, today these kids have so much power, with social media and entertainment networks, now schools will come to you. So, if you have three of the top schools who decide to go to Xavier, guess what? There’ll be so much more money going to Xavier and that school will be all over TV.
UP: Are HBCUs becoming feeders for NBA?
Paul: Not something that’s going to happen overnight. But, a lot more kids are aware and understand the power of their influence. Look at what Dion Sanders is doing at Florida State. These things take time and I think they will continue to grow in the next few years.
UP: Are you glad players such as LeBron and Carmello Anthony and other Lakers players aren’t plant-based? Do you think that gives you an edge?
Paul: (laughs) I’m never going to say what works for other people. I have to tell my story. But, I will say, your health can dramatically change by what you put into your body.
Rebekah Sager is an award-winning journalist and published author. She has contributed to The Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, Playboy, VICE, and more. She is a senior staff writer at Daily Kos
In a world where demigods and supernatural entities enter regular showdowns against multi-millionaires decked out in military tech, there’s something incredibly refreshing about “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” and his civilian-life counterpart, Peter Parker. When compared to many of his super-powered colleagues, Peter has always brought a sense of levity and youthful joy to the Marvel Universe, especially in the recent MCU series starring Tom Holland. However, based on recent comments Holland made to GamesRadar (via ComicBook) about the upcoming Spider-Man movie, No Way Home, it seems like all that could soon change.
While fans have been speculating about what will happen in Spider-Man: No Way Home for months (Will there be appearances by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire? Could Daredevil be making his return?), according to Holland, absolutely no one is prepared for what’s actually going to happen in the film — or how dark it’s going to be:
“What people will be really surprised about is that it’s not fun, this film. It’s dark and it’s sad, and it’s going to be really affecting. You’re going to see characters that you love go through things that you would never wish for them to go through. And I was just really excited to kind of lean into that side of Peter Parker .. Peter Parker is always someone who’s looking up. He’s always really positive. He’s always like, ‘I can fix this. I can do this.’ Whereas in this film, he feels like he’s met his match. He’s like, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ That was an aspect of the character that I’d never seen before, and I was really, really excited to try to tackle.”
Based on his comments, the footage and promotional material we’ve seen, and bearing in mind how absolutely brutal Marvel can be with its characters — especially when the multiverse is involved — it seems likely we’re in for a pretty heartbreaking story in which Tom Holland’s Spider-Man teams up with variant versions of himself and takes on a multiverse-sprawling Sinister Six featuring classic Maguire foe Doc Oc (Alfred Molina) and Garfield’s iteration of Electro (Jamie Foxx). Honestly, if this is the route they go, it wouldn’t be shocking if this ultimately spells out the end for the variant Spideys, offering them a devastating but somewhat cathartic ending.
Holland said that while he hasn’t seen the finished film yet, he already believes it’s the best work he and the team have done, and will ultimately be his greatest Spider-Man film. Until we can make that call for ourselves when Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters on December 17, it looks like we’ll have to take Holland’s word on it and attempt to brace ourselves for what’s going to happen to our favorite heroes.
“I haven’t seen the film yet but I’ve seen pieces of the film, and it’s the best work we’ve ever done. It’s the best Spider-Man film that we’ve ever made. I really don’t think fans are at all ready for what they’ve put together. I know that I’m not ready, and I know that it’s going to be brutal.”
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.
Radiohead – Kid A Mnesia
After Steven Hyden called upon Radiohead to combine Kid A and Amnesiac into the ultimate Radiohead album, the band listened. Kid A Mnesia is the long-awaited combination of the two LPs, with additional unreleased material and B-sides tacked on to make for another third full-length effort. It serves as a document of an era for when the band was at their most inventive and experimental.
Snail Mail – Valentine
Three years ago, Lindsey Jordan catapulted into the upper echelons of the indie scene at the age of 18 with her debut album Lush. Where several artists have returned in 2021 with notably scaled-back productions (see: Clairo, Lorde, Taylor Swift etc.), Jordan took the opposite approach to flessh out the Snail Mail sound for her sophomore album Valentine. On Valentine, Jordan has “expanded her musical palate significantly, layering her songs with keyboards and strings in a manner consistent with ‘mature sophomore efforts’ from young indie phenoms,” writes Steven Hyden for Uproxx.
Hana Vu – Public Storage
In case you missed it, Hana Vu made waves in a big way with her 2018 EP How Many Times Have You Driven By, and her new album Public Storage continues down the path toward a more refined sonic environment. Across 12 tracks, Public Storage is a ceaselessly original body of work that pushes Vu to new heights as a songwriter and producer.
Dijon – Absolutely
After a run of excellent EPs, New York artist Dijon has finally unveiled Absolutely, his proper debut album. The first full-focus distillation of Dijon’s talent, the album has the nu-wave R&B singer tackling all boundaries of genre and sound to unleash something truly unique and evocative.
Munya – Voyage To Mars
At long last, Josie Bolvin has revealed her debut album under the name Munya. Bolvin served as producer, songwriter, engineer, and performer on Voyage To Mars, making the LP a stellar introduction to the singular artistic vision, based in her background in opera and jazz.
Bent Knee – Frosting
The new album from Bent Knee boasts elements of what made bands like Glass Beach and Foxing so exciting, but with more of a tendency for the unexpected. Frosting is truly a whirlwind of musical insanity, with the Boston six-piece proving that they are fully capable of existing on their own terms, without any of the restrictions of “convention.”
Jenny Lewis – “Puppy And A Truck”
Jenny Lewis has been out on the road over the last few months playing arenas with Harry Styles, and now she’s back with some brand new music to signal a new era. The breezy new track “Puppy And A Truck” has Lewis reflecting on how awful the world has been lately, before revealing her secret for improving her mental state: a new puppy and a truck.
Christian Lee Hutson – “Strawberry Lemonade”
Christian Lee Hutson has been pretty prolific over the last year or so, with a full-length album and an EP to his name. Now, he’s back with even more music. “Strawberry Lemonade” was produced by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, features instrumentation from Bright Eyes’ Nate Walcott, Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy on electric guitar, as well as Oberst and Sharon Silva on backup vocals. “The song itself is a tender acoustic guitar ballad that’s a quiet reflection on mistakes and rebirth,” writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx.
Franz Ferdinand – “Billy Goodbye”
Greatest hits albums are a lost art, but Franz Ferdinand is here to revitalize the genre. Hits To The Head is due in March, and comes with two brand new cuts from the band. “Billy Goodbye” is one of those tracks, which were recorded last year to accompany a list of tracks that Alex Kapranos described in a statement as “obvious singles, but also songs you know have a special meaning for both band and audience.”
Cassandra Jenkins – “American Spirits”
Cassandra Jenkins is prepping to release a series of alternate cuts and outtakes from the sessions for her February album An Overview On Phenomenal Nature later this month. “American Spirits” is one of the new offerings, which Carolyn Droke describes for Uproxx as “a swell of swirling soundcapes brought together by the low hum of Jenkins’ moving vocals.”
Young Guv – “Lo Lo Lonely”
You might recognize Ben Cook from his work in No Warning and Fucked Up but Young Guv is Cook’s solo project reserved for massive choruses and his best power pop output. “Lo Lo Lonely” is the lead single from the forthcoming Guv III, a stomping anthem that evokes the best of Oasis.
Waveform – “Favorite Song”
The latest addition to the Run For Cover Records roster is Connecticut duo Waveform, who are set to release a remastered version of their album Last Room early next year. To celebrate the announcement, Waveform shared the album’s opening track “Favorite Song,” an idyllic dream-pop number that quickly illustrates the duo’s songwriting strengths and potential.
Dan Campbell – “In Love In Various Rooms”
Dan Campbell is, first and foremost, a storyteller. His forthcoming debut solo album, Other People’s Lives, is culled from songs he was commissioned to write and record for individuals during the heights of the pandemic. “In Love In Various Rooms” is a startlingly vivid look into, well, another person’s life.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
North Coast/Samuel Smith’s/Goose Island/Founders/istock/Uproxx
It’s okay if your only real experience with stouts is Guinness and similar beers. We won’t hold that against you. This means you’ve enjoyed a creamy, roasted coffee, and chocolate-flavored stout. Hopefully, you even decided to order it again — after all, Guinness is beloved around the world for a reason. It also means that perhaps you’re ready to level up to a more potent, robust, higher ABV stout. Of course, we’re talking about the imperial stout.
In the simplest terms, an imperial stout is the ramped-up version of the popular dark beer. It’s higher in alcohol, usually completely black in color, and loaded with flavors like roasted coffee, caramel, and chocolate fudge. While it isn’t necessary for the style, a lot of popular imperial stouts are also barrel-aged.
Since we’re always on the lookout for warming beers to drink this fall and winter, we turned to the pros for help. We asked a few of our favorite bartenders to tell us the one imperial stout they’d drink this fall, winter, and forever. Keep scrolling to see their bold, rich, warming picks.
There is no imperial stout that represents the fall better than this one. It’s very smooth and features flavors such as dark chocolate, figs, and, my favorite, port wine. I would love to drink this beer right after dinner to get my night started.
Evil Twin Nuts 4 Nuts
Evil Twin
Katherine Ball, consumer engagement and mixology director at Black Button Distilling in Rochester, New York
ABV: 12%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
I have to go with Evil Twin’s Nuts 4 Nuts. As this stout drinks, the different nutty flavors build as you sip, especially that butter toffee and cashew flavor. It’s a decadent tasting experience that’s great for the colder days of fall. Fair warning, the 12 percent ABV here will leave you feeling a bit nutty!
My favorite Imperial Stout for this fall and every one after it is the Whiskey Barrel Stout from my hometown’s Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City. They age their imperial stout in used whiskey barrels (Templeton Rye) to give it an intense boozy flavor that’s balanced by the sweetness of the stout. The flavor is super complex with notes like coffee, chocolate, and molasses. And at almost 12 percent ABV, you can’t miss the booze either.
This is produced in the great state of Colorado. The notes of chocolate and cherries pair well when the snow starts falling and our mountain town turns into a winter wonderland where everyone is itching to get out on the slopes.
A can’t miss imperial stout is Oskar Blue’s Ten Fidy. It’s nicely malted with rich flavors of caramel and coffee. Served best in an ice-cold can on any fall day — or night.
New Holland Dragon’s Milk
New Holland
Mohamed Khald, food and beverage manager at The Vinoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg, Florida
Dragon’s Milk from New Holland is a great go-to imperial stout for fall sipping every year. Hints of sweet chocolate and coffee paired with oak and vanilla lead to a crisp, clean finish, perfect for gathering around the fire.
Epic Big Bad Baptist
Epic
Robbie Robinson, bartender at The Ballantyne in Charlotte, North Carolina
My personal favorite imperial stout is Big Bad Baptist by Epic Brewing. Big Bad Baptista is a high-octane imperial stout coming in at 11.7 percent ABV. The cornucopia of flavors it brings to the table overshadows the high alcohol content. On the nose, it boasts coffee, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and a hint of whiskey. I expected it would taste quite strong due to the ABV, but instead it was full of chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, molasses, and medium bitter coffee tones. All in all, it is a great cold weather or holiday season beer.
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Goose Island
Chevy Farrell, beverage director for No Man’s Land in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
There’s something to be said about a beer that can be considered “Top Shelf.” These vintaged yearly offerings are barreled in bourbon casks heightening the presence of chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. This beer brings some heavy flavors as well as a heavy dose of alcohol so please drink responsibly this fall and winter.
There’s only one stout that stands above the rest: The “Worldwide Stout” from the Dog Fish Head Brewery. It’s annually released in small batches, which makes it very difficult to find. So when you see it on the shelves, grab it. At 18 percent ABV, its rich, dark, roasty flavor is unparalleled.
North Coast Old Rasputin
North Coast
Alex Barbatsis, head bartender at The Whistler in Chicago
Old Rasputin by North Coast Brewing Co. is one of the first imperial stouts I had and it still holds up as a go-to for me. It’s got light toffee flavors, an ester-rich body, and a warm finish that tastes great any time of year, but especially now. And it pairs well with food!
Zony Mash Lit AF
Zony Mash
Christy Bradley, spirit guide at Virgin Hotels in New Orleans
I have been enjoying LIT AF by Zony Mash Beer Project this fall. It’s a milk chocolate gelt imperial stout. I love the richness of the stout with deep coffee and chocolate flavors. I also sometimes pick up little nut flavors on the finish.
Founders Imperial Stout is so rich, but also so smooth. This stout is both fruity and chocolatey, like one of those fancy chocolate bars. The brewery’s barrel-aged stouts get all the press, but this one is pretty great, especially around this time of year.
I can’t miss any of the Junie releases from Transient Artisan Ales. Double Barrel Junie is the way to go this year. It’s aged in Henry McKenna and BLIS maple bourbon barrels for a year before bottling. It’s dark weather in a bottle and tastes great.
Dear Rider (HBO, 9:00pm) — Woody Harrelson narrates this celebration of pioneering snowboarder Jake Burton Carpenter follows the rise of a master of snowboard, who turned his passion into a cultural phenomenon. Carpenter’s prowess goes way back to 1977, when he first forged his own snowboard, and soon enough, he was conquering ski resorts and picking up sponsors, all while the press snarled at what they called “the worst new sport.” Fortunately, Carpenter had a punk attitude to help his budding community flourish.
La Brea (NBC, 9:00pm) — Natalie Zea is still stuck in a primeval hellhole, and after last week’s failed attempt to get home, it looks like that astral window might be closed for good. So, no one gets to change clothes again, ever, and there’s apparently a storm on the horizon.
Your Life Is a Joke: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Oliver Polak, a German stand-up comedian, welcomes weekly guests, who will receive the roasting of a lifetime. Then he’ll roast them on his social media accounts, which sounds like an interactive an long-lasting nightmare for those involved.
The Last O.G. (TBS, 10:00 & 10:30pm) — Season 4 continues with Tray helping to keep the community center open while wondering whether his streetwise tactics should be employed.
Stargirl (CW, 8:00pm) — Supergirl gets to welcome back Joel McHale next season, but this week, Courtney and her super pals are having a bit of a Lex Luthor crossover. Hmm.
Supergirl (CW, 9:00pm) — It’s series finale time, and somehow, Supergirl must waste this moment continuing to deal with Lex and Nyxly, all while Alex and Kelly are about to exchange vows.
Queens (ABC, 10:00pm) — The fractured girl group that was once part of a hip-hop dynasty continues to enjoy their second wind. However, they’re all gotta conquer their personal lives, too, and Brianna and Jill are having particularly tough times.
Chucky (SYFY and USA, 10:00pm) — The O.G. homicidal doll is still at it, this time with original voice actor Brad Dourif taking over for recent movie-version Mark Hamill. Here, Chucky must conquer both old enemies and allies.
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