Over the past two weeks commitments for the USA Basketball men’s roster for the Tokyo Olympics have steadily been rolling in and on Wednesday morning, it seemed as if the full 12-man roster had been completed when Zach LaVine committed to play.
However, on Wednesday afternoon some surprising news came through the pipeline that Pistons forward Jerami Grant had committed to playing in Tokyo this summer, which would’ve made for 13 players. That was until clarification arrived that Grant was replacing James Harden, who after committing to play last week was withdrawing as he continues to rehab his hamstring strain.
Nets‘ James Harden has withdrawn from Team USA coming off his hamstring injury during the postseason, sources said. https://t.co/aQKSKqVIUo
James Harden will not be a part of Team USA this summer as he recovers from a hamstring injury according to USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo.
That should set the roster fully, barring any further withdrawals as some players could find themselves in the NBA Finals running all the way to the day before the Olympics — although Devin Booker has said he’s playing no matter what.
Kevin Durant
Damian Lillard
Bradley Beal
Jayson Tatum
Devin Booker
Zach LaVine
Draymond Green
Jrue Holiday
Khris Middleton
Bam Adebayo
Jerami Grant
Kevin Love
It is a guard and wing heavy group, so you can expect a fair amount of small-ball from Team USA in Tokyo, given the bigs are Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, and Kevin Love — with Kevin Durant and Jerami Grant as power forward options. In any case, it is a star-studded roster which was in doubt for some time given the condensed NBA season, and they will go for their fourth straight gold medal in Tokyo this summer.
Indie-rock legends Modern Mouse have a rare new album, The Golden Casket, coming out at the end of this week. To help drum up some hype for the release, they took to The Tonight Show for their live debut of “We Are Between” with a pre-taped performance.
Technically, though, is it a “live debut” if the performance isn’t, well, live? It’s certainly a performance, but not one that was happening live as it was being broadcast on TV. Going further down the rabbit hole, this probably isn’t even their debut performance of the song, as they’ve certainly performed previously it in studio or during rehearsals. Whatever the case, this is the first time a broad audience has heard the band perform the track in a concert-like format, the song sounded great, and the group brought strong energy to this rendition.
Isaac Brock recently spoke with Uproxx’s Steven Hyden about the album, saying, “I wanted to make sure I didn’t accidentally make the same record again. It’s better to not put out many records and make them all feel a bit different. I try to be very aware of whether I’m doing the same thing, or doing something too close to another thing. My canon of information — what songs are out there, not just Modest Mouse songs, but just songs in the world — I know about a lot more songs. I just remembered a song I was super psyched on with Jacknife Lee last week. I was playing the kettle drum. And I get done and I’m listening to it and I’m like, ‘This is f*cking strange. It sounds like The Simpsons theme song.’ And so I’m aware that I can’t cover songs by accident. I’m also aware that I don’t want to accidentally cover my songs.”
Watch the band perform “We Are Between” on Fallon above and check out our interview with Brock here.
The Golden Casket is out 6/25 via Epic Records. Pre-order it here.
When Pop Smoke’s tragic death was confirmed in early 2020, the New York drill rapper left behind an extensive number of unreleased recordings. The rapper’s team was able to compile a number of tracks to make up his debut album Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, which dropped five months after his death and was one of the most-streamed projects of the year. The rapper’s team has since teased the possibility of yet another posthumous album, which they’ve just now confirmed with an inspiring trailer.
Pop Smoke’s currently unnamed posthumous project, which was first hinted at by his manager Steven Victor earlier this month, is officially set to debut on July 16. The late rapper’s team made the announcement in a brief trailer which stitched together a number of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. “Never let anybody get in between you and your creations,” the rapper proclaims in the trailer. “Why you just trying to be cool? You gotta make history.”
Ahead of the upcoming album’s announcement, Migos rapper Quavo revealed that he had been planning a joint LP with Pop Smoke before his untimely passing. Though the project never panned out, Pop Smoke still has a feature on Migos’ upcoming Culture III release. “I had a relationship with Pop Smoke, we had a relationship with Pop Smoke, and it was just, important,” he said. “We had so many records, me and him was bout to make an album. So I just felt like I had to put Pop on there.”
Watch Pop Smoke’s album trailer above.
Pop Smoke’s posthumous album is set to drop 7/16. Pre-order it here.
Bottled-in-bond bourbon is often referred to as “the good stuff” in bourbon circles. This style of bourbon whiskey is simply more refined than your average bottle of bourbon. That makes it tastier, easier to drink, and a little more sought after.
Unlike certain bourbon designations, which can be a little murky (small batch, we’re looking at you), bottled-in-bond is easy to define. For starters, the bourbon needs to be aged for at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse. Next, it must be from one distillation season made by one distiller at one distillery. That doesn’t mean barrels of whiskey aren’t blended to make this. It just means the barrels available to make that final blend (or single barrel expression) are a lot narrower since they all have to come from the same season and distillery. Three, the whiskey needs to go in the bottle at 50 percent ABV, or 100 proof.
Now, we could get into the tax and duty implications behind a “bonded warehouse” and why this whole system exists in the first place, but we’ll leave that to the lawyers and accountants to explain. For now, we’re going to focus on the whiskey. The ten bourbons below are all bottled-in-bond classics with a couple of crafty bourbons thrown in for good measure. If you want to try a bottle, click on the prices and get it delivered to your door.
The juice is standard Evan Williams that’s barreled in a federally overseen warehouse. Then, after those barrels are blended, the juice is brought down to 100 proof, allowing a bit more of that Heaven Hill craft to shine in the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a dry cornmeal base next to salted caramel, rich vanilla, and a touch of that oak. The palate adds in whiffs of black pepper next to musty cellar wood and a hint of spicy chewy tobacco. The end is short-ish while highlighting the sweet cornmeal, spicy tobacco, and rich vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is bourbon’s bottled-in-bond touchstone. It’s shocking when you taste this next to Evan Williams Black Label in how much more refined it is. It’s also the perfect end of the day on the rocks whiskey to take the edge off.
This bourbon is Jim Beam’s high watermark when it comes to Kentucky bourbon. The juice is aged in a bottled-in-bond facility for four years where it’s also bottled at 100 proof with no bullshit. This is the standard Beam bourbon mash bill but there’s just something extra happening that makes this expression shine.
Tasting Notes:
This bourbon beckons you in with notes of toasted oak, red cherry, and vanilla. That leads to fresh honey, sweet caramel corn, rich toffee, bold vanilla, crisp apple, more of that red cherry, peppery spice, and a note of fresh mint. With a little water, the dram edges towards bitter dark chocolate with a nice billow of pipe tobacco while holding onto the mint, toffee, and vanilla oakiness. The end is long, meandering, and full of warmth, fruit, spice, and bourbon goodness.
Bottom Line:
Not to sound like a broken record, but it’s kind of shocking how much of a step up this is from Beam’s standard White Label. It’s not going to be something that changes your life from the first sip. But this is a well-rounded mixer and sipper that always hits just right at a great price point.
Sazerac’s Early Times spent decades as the best-selling bourbon in the world. Their Bottled-in-Bond is a throwback to that heady era in the early to mid-1900s, when bourbon was king of the booze scene. Then this whiskey nearly died in the 1970s and 80s when bourbon took a massive hit in sales. This particular expression was reintroduced in 2017 as a limited release. It was such a huge hit so it turned into a standard release.
Tasting Notes:
The low-rye and longer aging create a dram where the orange oils, pancake syrup, and holiday spices mingle on the soft nose. The palate luxuriates in this rich and creamy vanilla next to a mildly spicy tobacco leaf and another hit of those orange oils. The end adds in a slight allspice pepperiness with more of that creamy vanilla, tobacco, and a final hint of buttery brown sugar syrup.
Bottom Line:
Easy is the word that comes to mind with this bottle. It’s just … easy. Easy to drink. Easy to like. Easy to mix. Easy.
This release from the fairly vast 1792 leans into the beauty of the juice coming out of Barton 1792 Distillery right now. The build of the blend of bonded barrels is crafted to have a throwback taste to over 100 years ago, when bonded bourbons were all the rage.
Tasting Notes:
This draws you in with a mix of cracked black pepper, caramel apples, menthol, and a hint of bitter charred wood. The taste holds onto the spiciness but merges it towards ginger, or allspice, with a creamy vanilla pudding foundation and a hint of wet cedar. The finish takes its time and lets the bitterness sneak in with a dark coffee bean vibe next to that creamy vanilla and peppery spiciness.
Bottom Line:
This is an interesting, high-rye bourbon that feels like it’s crafted more towards cocktails than sipping. That being said, there’s no downside to pouring this over a few rocks and enjoying a glass at the end of the day too.
Wilderness Trail’s black label Small Batch denotes a very high rye mash bill with 24 percent of the grain in the mix. That’s similar to Beam’s Old Grand-Dad Bonded which narrowly missed making this list. “Small batch” also means something to the folks at Wilderness Trail. This expression is made from only 12 barrels of bourbon that are masterfully vatted to create the signature flavor profile of this award-winning bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
The whiskey opens with notes of wet green grass, pear skins, and buttered popcorn next to a hint of dried flowers soaking in maple syrup. The palate drizzles that popcorn with salted caramel as the butteriness leans into toffee territory with a stewed pear with a cinnamon taste. The creaminess of the butter combines with a lush vanilla note as the taste fades away into a slight whisper of oak and apple tobacco.
Bottom Line:
It’s hard not to fall in love with a bottle of Wilderness Trail. They all offer something a little different but maintain a throughline of being amazingly palatable and approachable, even to a novice.
Heading back to Brown-Forman, Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond is the brand’s throwback bottle that celebrates the 1897 act that brought the world bottled-in-bond whiskey. The juice in the bottle is a mid-rye bourbon mash that’s aged, proofed, and bottled in accordance with the bonded laws and regulations.
Tasting Notes:
This drips with caramel on the nose — the kind that’s a bit tacky and chewy — alongside a touch of orange blossom and maybe a vanilla latte. That vanilla and bitter espresso bean note carry on through the palate as a bowl of red and stone fruits soak in a bowl of brandy with plenty of cinnamon sticks and allspice berries thrown in too. The finish marries all those notes while leaning heavily into the caramel sweetness as it fades away at a good clip.
Bottom Line:
This is probably the best mixer on the list. There’s a sweetness at play that helps this one stand out in any cocktail.
Heaven Hill makes a lot of whiskeys. This expression has been a touchstone bottled-in-bond since 1939 and remains a go-to for many bourbon lovers. The juice is a very low rye (only ten percent) mash bill that’s left to age for an extra three years.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this is like a vanilla ice cream scoop that’s been drizzled with salted caramel and then dipped in dried honeysuckle petals inside an old leather pouch. That caramel and dried floral honey feel drive the taste towards a somewhat dry Graham cracker maltiness with a touch more of that leather and a whisper of toffee tobacco. The end leans into an eggnog spice mix with more of that sweet and buttery tobacco and a final note of sweet cherry and old cellar beams.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty damn fine whiskey to have around. It’s a great workhorse that drinks well over rocks or shines brightly in a cocktail coupe with a little sweet vermouth and bitters. You can’t go wrong.
Henry McKenna Single Barrel Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond
This very affordable offering from Heaven Hill shines brightly. The juice utilizes a touch of rye in the mash bill and is then aged for ten long years in a bonded rickhouse. The best barrels are chosen by hand and the juice is bottled directly.
Tasting Notes:
Orange zest, caramel, vanilla, and Christmas spice are counterpointed by a flush of fresh mint. The vanilla and caramel carry through as the spices kick up the sharpness alongside a burnt orange feel. It all slowly fades out on the charred oak finish with a minor hint of smoke far in the background.
Bottom Line:
This is technically the same juice as the above that’s simply aged three more years and then bottled from a single barrel that hit just the right sweet spot during those extra years. All of that is to say, this is a fine dram of whiskey that’s just as good, if not better, than bourbons twice this price.
Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch Bourbon Bottled-In-Bond
Buffalo Trace’s Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. line of whiskey hits on both classic and bold, innovative expressions under one shingle. Their Small Batch is an entry point to the 12 expressions released under the E.H. Taylor, Jr. label. The whiskey is a blend of barrels that meet the exact right flavor profiles Buffalo Trace’s blenders are looking for in a classic bottled-in-bond bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a nice rush of freshly popped corn that’s been hit with some salt and butter before a touch of caramel arrives with a slight black licorice bent. The taste delivers on those promises with a butter toffee with a slight almond and dark cocoa note next to spicy tobacco leaves and hints of leather and cedar. The end doesn’t overstay its welcome and fades away, leaving you with an almost peppery spice and chewing tobacco buzz cut with salted caramel.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty beloved bottle of whiskey. It’s one of those bottles that’ll hook you in and take your palate to the next level of your journey through the world of bourbon. It also makes a hell of an old fashioned.
This crafty whiskey from New York is a grain-to-glass bourbon experience. The mash bill on this one eschews rye and wheat for 80 percent locally grown corn supported by 20 percent malted barley from England. The juice is then aged for four years in small 15-gallon barrels and treated according to the law and bottled in Kings County’s signature hip flask bottles.
Tasting Notes:
This draws you in with a strawberry shortcake with cornmeal base, topped with fresh berries, buttery vanilla whipped cream, and then dipped in a caramel sauce. The palate veers away from all of that and touches on bitter black coffee syrup with brown sugar and butter notes next to oatcakes and vanilla sauce with a hint of spice lingering in the background. The end is long and full of chocolate malts, leather, and more of that creamy and buttery vanilla whipped cream.
Bottom Line:
This is the true outlier on this list. The flavors of this one are pretty unique while still being 100 percent accessible (and tasty).
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
One of the most wonderful things about having a dog is how attached they become to their owners. I work from home and my Jack Russel terrier, Scout, lies next to me on his bed for most of the day. The only time he leaves my office is for a sip of water or to go outside and sun his belly on the porch.
That’s why whenever I leave the house and can’t take Scout with me, I wonder, “Does he miss me? Is he sad that he’s alone?”
Studies show that our dogs miss us the moment we leave the house and that feeling slowly intensifies until we are gone for about four hours and they have a “plateau of melancholy.” That’s why the longer you’re away, the more excited your dog is when you return home.
The moment I pull up in my car Scout begins to howl like a wolf trying to contact someone who’s miles away. It’s like, “Dude, I’m 30 feet away. Give me a second to grab the groceries out of the trunk.”
Researchers from the Universities of Pisa and Perugia, Italy have found that if you give your dog some affection before you leave the house they’ll have less anxiety while you’re away.
They conducted experiments with 10 dogs between the ages of one and 11 without attachment issues. The group was composed of seven mixed-breed dogs, one Labrador retriever, one Hovawart, and one Chihuahua.
Participants in the study walked their leashed dogs into a fenced area where they were greeted by a researcher who took their dog’s heart rate. In the first test, after the owners walked their dogs into the area, they talked with a researcher for one minute then left without giving the dog any special attention.
In the second test, the dog owners petted the dog during their interaction with the researcher.
In both tests, the owners left the fenced area and hid far enough away so that the dog couldn’t smell them.
After the owners left, the dogs looked for them for about three minutes on average. After the owners returned, the researchers measured the dogs’ levels of the stress hormone cortisol as well as their heart rates.
The researchers found that whether the dogs were petted or not, their cortisol levels were unchanged. But their heart rate showed a marked decrease if the owners petted them before leaving. Researchers later watched videos of the dogs and found that the ones that were petted showed ” behaviors indicative of calmness for a longer period while waiting for the owner’s return.”
Next time I’m ready to leave the house and Scout follows me to the front door after saying, “Sorry bud, you can’t go with me on this trip,” I’ll kneel down and give him a little extra love and attention.
Maybe that way he won’t howl like the house is on fire when I pull up in my car after a trip to the grocery store.
Despite the existence of thousands of parenting books and websites, no one can prepare you for the reality of raising human beings. I’ve often referred to motherhood as a roller coaster, in which you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and there’s no map to show you what’s coming around the bend. And sometimes it’s excruciatingly difficult.
I love my children more than I can express, of course. That’s a caveat that shouldn’t need to be articulated. Unfortunately, it’s one that oddly requires defending any time a mom dares to share the hard parts of parenting in an honest, in-the-moment way.
Writer and mother Suka Nasrallah shared a heartfelt Facebook post about her morning shower and how it was interrupted 67 times by one of her children. The post has gone viral, as mothers everywhere see themselves in her words. She wrote:
67 times
He called for me 67 times while I was in the shower
Mind you I started counting half way in, as a way to keep myself calm and not scream back, so surely it was more than 67 times.
But for the sake of transparency, 67 times
67 times I listened to him yell ‘mama’ and bang on the bathroom door
While I stood under the hot water drowning in my tears because I couldn’t bear the sound of his voice anymore and I had no will to reply
I had no will to keep a conversation going while I was in the shower
I had no will to keep a conversation when I desperately needed a few minutes to myself
Because the coffee just didn’t do it and it was barely 9 am
Because they had been up since 6:45 that morning shouting demands at me
All I wanted was 10 minutes to myself, but clearly that was too much to ask
67 times
Mama
Mama
Mama
Mama
Mama
67 times that word rang in my ears
This is why mothers are so touched out
This is why we stay awake so late knowing we’re going to regret it in the morning
This is why we we are always quick to snap
This is why we are so sensitive
Because we are desensitized
We are numb
We are so beyond worn out
Burnt out
Drained
Struggling
Misunderstood
Being needed all the time is simply draining, and a mother never stops being needed
It has been many years since my own kids pounded on the door while I tried to get two minutes of peace in the bathroom. Now tweens and young adults, they’re all sound asleep when I shower, but I remember those early years well. The little kid stage is adorable, but it’s a LOT. And it’s totally okay for a mom to say, “This moment sucks, I feel like I’m drowning.”
And yet, even with many moms chiming in to say, “Yes! I’ve been there,” some Judgey McJudgersons showed up in the comments to rail on this mom for complaining. One gentleman (ahem) even went so far as to lecture her about how motherhood requires dedication, patience, sacrifice, and love as if this mother doesn’t know that and isn’t hip-deep in all of those things. Others flat out said she was bad at parenting. Some presumably well-meaning but clearly amnesiac parents told her she should enjoy this time because someday she’ll miss it.
I’m a parent of older kids and let me tell you I do not miss the shower interruptions and constant neediness of early childhood. I loved the toddler/preschool years for their wonder and innocence and sweetness, but there are parts that you couldn’t pay me to relive. It’s okay for two things to be true at once. Motherhood can be—and often is—magical and mind-blowingly hard at the same time.
And moms need to be able to vent during the hard times without people questioning their dedication to or love for their children. Nasrallah shared a follow-up post explaining that sharing the raw, real moments when motherhood is challenging doesn’t in any way means she doesn’t love being a mother.
I feel the need to “back-up” my recent post that has been circulating about my son calling me 67 times in the shower.
Motherhood is terrifying.
You’re giving yourself whole to another person; committing to a lifelong relationship.
But somewhere in that fear, somewhere in the exhaustion, somewhere between not having the will to listen to someone calling you mama for another second, and shouting demands at you, and needing you for their survival, you’ll catch a glimpse of your baby doing the sweetest thing.
You’ll notice how the profile of your baby’s face has become less chubby and more defined like that of a toddler.
Somewhere between the mental exhaustion and sleepless nights and these little glimpses, you’ll find your heart swelling with a love so deep and so powerful that it quite literally sweeps you off your feet.
And in that exact moment you’ll think to yourself, I’d do this 100 times over, just for this moment.
So yes, it’s worth every sleepless night, every teething baby, every fever they may spike, every time they holler mama at you until your head is pounding.
At the end of it all, it’s so very worth it.
Even when I complain and vent and say I just need to be alone, I still love my children with every ounce of my being, every bone in my body, every breath I take.
Saying I’m struggling does not, in ANY way, shape or form imply that I do not love my children. I adore them and would cross oceans for them in a heart beat.
The follow-up shouldn’t have been necessary, though. We’ve got to stop demanding that mothers either sugarcoat the hard work of raising kids or chase every honest account of difficulty with some version of “but I swear I really do love my kids!”
Motherhood is hella hard. It’s okay to say that and let it be a true statement all on its own. It’s okay to share the beauty and the difficulty in equal measure. It’s okay to let other mothers know they are not alone in their struggles and to let them know they are seen, even when they are staring at the shower wall, exhausted and overwhelmed and alone.
Thank you, Suka Nasrallah, for sharing that slice of truth about motherhood openly and honestly. And hang in there, mamas of little ones. It does get logistically easier. You will have time to yourself. You will sleep through the night. You will be able to use the bathroom uninterrupted.
And it’s totally okay to yearn for that time to come, even while holding onto your children’s childhoods as long as you can.
For more honest words about motherhood from Suka Nasrallah, check out her upcoming book, “Unfiltered Truths About Motherhood: Captive and Captivated.”
Instead, the proud Texan who once took a vacation to Cancun while his constituents froze during the worst blizzard the state has ever seen, is fully on his “mansplaining” sh*t once more, this time hogging the mic during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Cruz threw a bit of a temper tantrum after first-time committee chair Senator Jon Ossoff notified him that his time had expired during his questioning of District Court Judge Gustavo Gelpí. Gelpí was just nominated by President Biden to serve on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals and Cruz used his cross-examination time to misstate a question posed by fellow Senator Mazie Hirono before circling back to the GOP’s weird obsession with overturning Roe v. Wade.
Cruz wanted to know how Gelpí felt about originalism, which is the practice of interpreting the Constitution that aims to follow how it was intended when it was first written. Cruz, clearly, is all for originalism and he ended up mischaracterizing Hirono’s stance on the issue in an effort to chip away at support for the pro-choice ruling. But when Ossoff rightly cut him off after Cruz asked his final question, alerting him that his time was over, the Cancun travel guide threw a hissy fit.
“You know this is a committee where we’ve had a little bit of comity and I recognize that Sen. Ossoff is new, but generally we don’t have the chairman trying to jump in 30 seconds in,” Cruz said as Ossoff and others continued to remind him he no longer held the floor. He went on to claim that Ossoff “desperately does not want these questions answered” before Hirono, who’s had more experience sparring with the smirking possum, decided to definitely shut down his spotlight-hogging schtick.
“I would ask that Sen. Cruz not misstate what I’m saying and, you know what, all this mansplaining — please stop,” she chimed in. “The thing with my colleague is, he always has to get the last word in. That is a fact.”
The Boston Celtics have their next head coach. According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the team has tabbed Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka as the next person to lead the team.
The Boston Celtics are finalizing an agreement to hire Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka as the franchise’s new coach, sources tell ESPN.
Stevens was believed to value Udoka’s extensive experience as an assistant with Spurs, Sixers and Nets. Udoka had developed into a top head coaching candidate in this cycle, and seemed destined to get a job. He’s getting one with the Celtics that includes two young All-Stars.
While he would be a first-time head coach, Udoka, 43, comes with quite the coaching background. After a 12-year playing career that included stops in the United States and abroad, Udoka joined Gregg Popovich’s staff in San Antonio in 2012. He spent seven years there prior to becoming an assistant under Brett Brown in Philadelphia last season, and this year, he was on Steve Nash’s staff in Brooklyn.
He also has some experience working with Popovich on the staff of USA Basketball, and according to Wojnarowski, that helped give him a leg up on some of the other competitors. Four members of the team that participated at the World Cup in 2019 — Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, and the recently-traded Kemba Walker — were members of the Celtics, and Woj reports that they speak fondly of him.
Udoka separated himself quickly in Brad Stevens’ search process, including significant support from Celtics players who were impressed with Udoka after working under him with Team USA in the World’s. https://t.co/87p0Q02tkS
This marks the second major move made by Brad Stevens, the team’s lead executive who left his role as head coach to take over for Danny Ainge in the team’s front office. The first came last week, when he traded Walker to Oklahoma City in a deal that brought Al Horford back to Boston.
To put it bluntly, summer will be over quicker than you can remove all that weird fuzz from a single ear of corn. That’s why you need to get the most out of this weather while it’s still here. That means enjoying summery beers without waiting for some special occasion. It’s the season to sip IPAs, pale ales, Saisons, and, most importantly, wheat beers.
The latter is what I’m most interested in today. To put it simply, wheat beer is an ale made with a greater proportion of wheat than malted barley. But it’s also so much more complex than that. Popular for centuries in Europe, styles include the German weissbier (or hefeweizen), Belgian lambics, gueuze, and witbiers, Berliner Weisse, and Leipzig’s salty and tart gose to name only a few touchstones. While I could spend days writing about the various wheat beer offshoots, today we’re going to turn our attention to the Americanized version of European wheat beer — the American pale wheat beer — with its citrus and spice characteristics.
Since a nice and light wheat brew is a summer classic, I selected eight of the most well-known and highly respected wheat beers and blindly tasted and ranked each to determine the best of the bunch.
Here’s our lineup:
Allagash White
Avery White Rascal
Odell Easy Street
Bell’s Oberon
Ommegang Witte
Goose Island 312
Blue Moon
Shock Top
Let’s get drinking!
Part 1: The Taste
Taste 1:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
I took a moment to breathe in the scents of citrus peels, slight coriander, and a wheat sweetness before my first sip. Then I took a sip and found a very bold, flavorful beer with hints of sweet malts, bright citrus, and a nice spicy finish. While a little low in the wheat department, this was refreshing, crisp, and felt perfect for a summer day.
Taste 2:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
This beer’s aroma will be tough to beat. I smelled sweet with biscuit-like malts, banana-like yeast, fresh-cut grass, sweet fruits, and just a hint of floral hops. The flavor is hoppier than I’d expect from a wheat beer, but I really like it. This is tempered by the addition of citrus zest, tropical fruits, caramel malts, and a nice, slightly bitter finish that left me craving more.
Taste 3:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is pretty bland. After a while, I smelled slight citrus and maybe some coriander and other spices, but not much else. There’s no wheat at all. The flavor is fairly sweet and malty with a ton of over-the-top citrus, but also some acid-like flavors that weren’t very palatable.
Overall, this is a pretty flavorless beer that I wouldn’t rush to try again.
Taste 4:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
This wheat beer is different from most and it’s apparent on the nose. While slightly muted, I smelled biscuit-like malts, caramel, and just a hint of citrus. I expect a little fewer malt scents and more wheat and citrus aromas from a summery wheat beer. The palate is equally malty with fruit flavors and subtle, bitter hops.
It’s not a bad beer, but I didn’t feel like I was drinking a wheat beer at all.
Taste 5:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
This beer’s nose is like breathing in the scents of a field of wildflowers. After this initial floral aroma, I found sweet wheat, biscuit-like malts, zesty citrus, and subtle spices. The palate was complex with hints of banana, tangerines, sweet wheat, and a nice kick of pepper and spices. The finish was crisp, thirst-quenching, and flavorful.
Taste 6:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The aromas are all wheat beer. In fact, it smells like summer with notes of orange peels, sweet honey, and caramel malts. I took a sip and found this beer to be surprisingly fruity, filled with tangerine sweetness, and a hint of yeast.
Definitely not a bad beer, but a little sweet and lacking in spice.
Taste 7:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this beer is spicier than I expected. I smelled orange zest, coriander, and other spices. Honestly, that was about it. The nose was dominated by these scents. Taking a sip, I found a beer that seemed to be a bit of a one-trick pony. It was overly sweet and filled with citrus and spices.
It was all a bit overwhelming and heavy for my taste.
Taste 8:
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. Right away, I noticed the aromas of sweet wheat, coriander, various other spices, floral hops, and a nice kick of citrus. Taking a sip revealed a surprisingly pleasing bitter-to-sweetness ratio with hints of orange peels, citrus zest, subtle spices, and a nice, bright, refreshing finish.
All in all, this unfiltered beer is crisp, sweet, and memorable.
You know Shock Top, it’s that wheat beer that’s adorned with a very strange image of an orange slice that’s not only wearing sunglasses but has a mohawk. Why they chose this as the face of the brand, I’ll never know. But I know that this grocery store staple is brewed with orange, lime, and lemon peels. It’s not fancy by any means, but always there.
Bottom Line:
Shock Top has been around for a while and it obviously has its fans. It’s clear that this mass-produced beer isn’t for me though. I’ll stick with my go-to craft brews.
Obviously, Goose Island is most renowned for its Bourbon County Stout. But the Chicago-based brewery makes myriad other brews. This includes its 312 “Urban Wheat Ale”. This sessionable fruity beer is made with 2-row malt and wheat as well as Millenium, Cascade, and Hallertau hops.
Bottom Line:
This is the first time I’ve ever had this beer and I didn’t hate it. It falls so low on the list because, after the blind taste, I didn’t feel like I was drinking a wheat beer at all. Maybe I’ll try it at the end of the summer or fall.
When non-craft fans (or anyone eating at a chain restaurant) think of wheat beer, they likely think of Blue Moon Belgian Wheat. Like Shock Top, it’s available everywhere. Brewed with Valencia orange peels and coriander, it’s the Corona of wheat beers, as it requires a slice of orange to really be enjoyed.
Bottom Line:
I don’t buy Blue Moon. But I have had it many times at bars when there isn’t much else available. It’s a decent beer when you add a slice of orange, but nothing to get excited about by any means.
Bell’s fans eagerly await the spring return of Oberon. It’s only available from March until August, making it a summer staple. Made with Bell’s proprietary yeast, wheat malts, and surprisingly no extra spices, it’s a sweet and refreshing beer well suited for summer sipping.
Bottom Line:
Oberon fans are probably going to attack me for this, but it’s hard to blindly rank (mostly) great beers. This beer could have landed higher on the list, but it was lacking the subtle spice I usually associated with summery wheat beers.
Avery White Rascal is just that, a rascal of a beer with playful, unfiltered, and spicy flavors. This Belgian-style wheat beer is Avery’s flagship beer for a reason. Made to pay homage to the classic wheat beers of Belgium, it gets its spicy flavor from Curaçao orange peel and coriander.
Bottom Line:
This award-winning wheat beer is available year-round. That means you can enjoy it for its spices in the middle of the winter or its fruity sweetness during the hazy summer months. It’s a very adaptable, noteworthy beer.
If you were going to make a list of the best American wheat beers of all time, there’s no doubt that Allagash White would be at the top of that list. This 5.2 percent Belgian-style wheat beer is made with malted wheat, raw wheat, and oats to give it an unfiltered hazy look. It gets its spicy flavor from the addition of orange peel and coriander.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason Allagash White is arguably the most highly respected wheat beer in America. It’s perfectly balanced with spice, yeast, wheat, and citrus sweetness.
Situated just outside of Cooperstown, New York (home of the Baseball Hall of Fame), Brewery Ommegang is a Belgian-style beer fan’s dream. One of its best offerings is its Witte. Brewed with a combination of malted and unmalted wheat and spiced with orange peel and coriander, this unfiltered, hazy beer has been a summer staple since its inception.
Bottom Line:
When I imagine a summer beer, this is exactly what my mind envisions. It’s hazy, refreshing, and filled with spice, wheat, and bold citrus flavors that pair well with humidity and sun.
Colorado’s Odell is known for its award-winning beers. One of its best is Easy Street, an unfiltered 4.6 percent wheat ale. This American-style wheat beer is brewed with a blend of American hops, crisp Rocky Mountain water, specialty malts, and the brand’s proprietary yeast blend.
Bottom Line:
I was looking for a new got-to beer for summer 2021 and I think I found it. Easy Street ticks all the wheat beer boxes and even adds in more hops to appeal to the IPA fan in me.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
Yesterday, Olivia Rodrigo decided to visit some fans at their homes, and she did so bearing gifts and an prom invitation. She also carried a sign that read, “Prom would be brutal without you,” which seemed to suggest that “Brutal” will be her next single. Now, though, we know what the stunt was actually teasing: Today, Rodrigo announced Sour Prom, a concert film that is set for release on June 29 in partnership with YouTube music and T-Mobile.
She shared the news on social media with a pair of photos. In them, Rodrigo — sporting a dress, boots, tiara, and running eye makeup — holds a bouquet and the same promposal sign from her fan visits. She also wrote, “since i never got to go to prom, I wanted to throw a little prom party with my fav ppl (you guys obvs). SOUR prom the concert film comes out Tuesday!!!!”
A post on the YouTube Official Blog notes that the film will feature Rodrigo performing “select songs” from Sour. Additionally, she will also host a pre-party at 8 p.m. PT on her YouTube page, during which she will answer fan questions and share behind-the-scenes stories about Sour Prom.
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