Out Cold X Grainstorm: Black Rye IPA

     By now, just about everybody recognizes Zach Galifianakis, or for those less familiar with the comedian turned actor/pop-culture icon - The goofy guy from The Hangover Trilogy... And with the changing of the seasons, I reach to my DVD collection and retrieve "Out Cold," EASILY my favorite movie that he's cast in, as well as a topic for debate as my favorite comedy of All-Time!! In 2011 he also played roles in "Bubble Boy," "Corky Romano," as well as "Heartbreakers," whatever the fuck that is... Aside from being a favorite from the collection, it holds a fair amount of nostalgic value as well, as I enjoyed many joyous nights with old hockey pals watching this movie!!

     Along with the changing of seasons, the beers get darker and movies such as "Out Cold" help one get mentally prepared for the cool weather in our future... The opposite being true for y'all Southern Hemispherians(?)... But with the cooler weather approaching, winter activities are also on the horizon as well!! I was lucky enough to have once spent a winter south of Denver, and it was a delight having the Rocky Mountains available to ski and snowboard whenever the snow began!! Granted half the time I went, I was trying to keep up with an Olympic rated skier, which forced me to ski outside of my level to keep up, but my snowboarding skills developed at an accelerated rate because of it... Not without a little collateral damage of course, but no bones were officially declared broken, so all's well that ends well...

Hop Kitchen #7 - Hop The Pond

New Belgium - Hop The Pond | Hop Kitchen #7 [Double India Pale Ale] (22oz ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 8% ABV : 80 IBU)

     Whilst browsing the bombers, I was in the mood for something fuller and darker, as to welcome the fall... But with my recent affinity for drawing cartoon characters from my childhood, I couldn't pass up this DIPA simply due to the bearded-rabbit-hop-armadillo-pirate on the label!! Shortly after this write-up is completed, I plan on indulging in an art session to "funk out" my own version of this charismatic lil' creature... It's title "Hop The Pond" comes from it's recipe being composed of ingredients from North and South America, Europe and Australia as well!! Not yet having had a chance to travel to anywhere outside of North America, I figured that enjoying a beer composed of ingredients from outside this vicinity was a good start!!

Riot Fest 2014 - Chicago, IL

   It's a difficult thing, deciding where to begin when describing the hedonistic debaucheries that occur during the three day epic event that was Chicago's leg of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Riot Fest... A multitude of bands to appease the pallets of many a rocker, carnival rides, an extensive amount of different styles of food, plenty of beer, the occasional zombie, and of course the mini-golf course!! As every Patti Smith fan needs to keep their short game sharp, making sure not miss a sunday afternoon on the city links...

  Though there were an excessive amount of great sets to see, I can only recount the highlights from each day... This is mainly a writeup, but  a more extensive photographic diary of event is available, so please check out our Facebook Album and like us there, as well as follow us in Instagram!!

  It all began quite sketchy, with the cloudy morning's ominous weather coming to fruition at varying levels throughout the day... Which initially was no big deal, as the rainfall itself never got too horrifically bad, but the consistency paired with the attendance of thousands of treading feet led to extremely muddy and wet conditions on the ground... Once one came to terms that their footwear and any long leg-wear were essentially collateral damage for attending this fantastic event (Aside from the potentially hundreds of dollars spent just to attend,) the joy began to flow heavily all around...

Saison du Buff - Do you even lift, bro?!

Dogfish Head X Stone Brewing X Victory Brewing - Saison du Buff [Ale brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme] (12oz ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 6.8% ABV)

  Always when searching for the next beer to try, I look for some sort of spark, that little something that engages me, and beer brewed with "parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme" did exactly that!! Secondly comes the fact that it's a collaboration brew between three excellent breweries, Stone recently celebrating their 18th Anniversary (Congratulations to them!!) Although, I note Stone's anniversary, I obviously picked up the Dogfish Head release, stating this because each brewery brews the beer with the same recipe and ingredients, but releases them individually... Fittingly, Riot Fest begins tomorrow and there I will get to see the subject of a previous article, Anthony Green, perform with his previous band Saosin; thus I chose to enjoy a saison on the eve of the event…

  For anybody who doesn't recognize the significance of "parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme," I'll leave that ambiguously in the air… BUT - For any who do recognize it, just know it was a nostalgic thing for me, as it brought me back to road-tripping with my mother at a young age, so needless to say passing up this beer would feel like I'm dishonoring my mother in a sense!!

Thumbs Up!! "Elder Brett"

Image borrowed from www.letspour.com

Epic Brewing - Exponential Series: Crooked Stave Brewing X Epic "Elder Brett" [Saison-Brett Golden Ale | Malt  Beverage Aged In Wine Barrels] (22oz ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 9.1% ABV)

  I'm proud to say that I DEFINITELY overuse the "thumbs up" accompanied by an awkward "forced smile" in my day to day life… So when I saw the graphic of a gentleman in a shirt, tie and bicycle helmet giving that same motion, I had to give it a try… THEN, upon further inspection I realized it's a portrayal of a Mormon, and the (original) brewery is located in Utah - And THAT shit is fuckin' funny… I note that the "original" brewery is from Utah as they somewhat recently expanded into Denver, where Crooked Stave is also located... Now to the beer… 

Video: Mike GIANT X EMIT DF

     Having first become aware of Mike GIANT's work in the San Francisco graffiti documentary "Piece By Piece," I began following his work more and more... Learning much about this individual from videos of lectures, interviews regarding meditation, and observing his co-founding of Rebel 8 clothing... I began seeing that I related somewhat to what he was saying and the lifestyle he was leading... One can appreciate his minimalist lifestyle, such as him riding a bike virtually everywhere, not even owning an automobile, and his ingestion of only natural foods... Shit, from what I witnessed, he only smokes his certain weed, as he was offered others many times, not accepting any, but still offering his own anytime he decided to spark up...
     He painted pretty effortlessly, usually in big sweeping strokes as he laid his grey outline down on the blank black wall in front of the small crowd that had amassed... They then quickly discussed color schemes as he decoded EMIT's unfinished piece, which he had been working on a while before GIANT had stepped outside... He took short breaks to smoke, sign shit, and eat some food, but his piece came right along as he finished up his fill...

The W.I.N.E. X Red Wine

     Being introduced to Stevie Crooks' music in the spring of 2010 was a moment that won't soon be forgotten... While indulging in DJ Fresh85's mix during The Freshboxx on The Pulse with Yaya Martinez, he spun the title track off the Villains' release "Diamonds & Guns..." I was immediately drawn to the smooth samples laid over somewhat rugged claps and baps, and after the song ran its' course over the airwaves, Fresh was polite enough to inform me of the artist who had just struck a chord in my mind... I now had homework to do... 

     Having just acquired a new laptop at that point, my iTunes was in SERIOUS need of music as my previous library "went down with the ship..." I would later come to find that this situation was actually a blessing in disguise... With the idea to keep my new iTunes library fresh, I didn't immediately rip the (mostly) "classics" that filled my previous one... The idea was that it would force me to become more familiar and in touch with what's current and relevant in todays' Hip-Hop scene... After getting home, I downloaded "Diamonds & Guns" and it became the first musical addition to my new laptop... Shockingly (at that time,) a decent amount of time would pass until something else was added, as I would soon become somewhat preoccupied with this tape...

When Pigs Fly: Hog Heaven

   Avery Brewing - Hog Heaven [Dry-Hopped Barleywine-Style Ale] (22oz ---> Stemless wineglass : 9.2% ABV : 104 IBU)

     "When pigs fly..." One often hears those words when encountering a challenge, so seeing the graphic of these hogs in their respective heaven, it was an inviting "challenge" from the beer that blankly stared back into my eyes... Challenging me to what, I couldn't precisely depict, but at that point it didn't matter... 'Cause the stars aligned and as I snatched the bottle from the shelf I bold proclaimed, in the immortal words of Barney Stinson - "Challenge, accepted!!"

     Poured a beautiful reddish/amber hue with great clarity, sitting beneath a 1.5 inch head composed of mostly large bubbles, and what looked to be nice thick lacing… Without any effort, the aroma of sweet hops had found it's way up my nose as I let the beer rest, while noting it's decent retention - anxiously awaiting to see what else was in store… The smell of sweet hoppyness was EXTREMELY present, while letting hints of grapefruit sneak through… After the first sip, in comparison to other Barleywine Ale's I'd encountered, this one is much subtler than I had anticipated, and not in a bad way at all…

Love Crxmes: Graffiti

Graffiti - A term widely used to describe any type of art displayed on another's property without prior permission; most often an aerosol medium and is usually accompanied by some form of negative social stigma… The writing on the walls was once a way to tell tales and document instances worthy of noting, ultimately for the purpose of recalling and sharing them… Now the tales have turned to advertisements of tangible items that offer even less stimulation or satisfaction than graphics you ingested when you initially saw the ad… Backed by corporate budgets, the financial war zone that is "Ad-Space" is becoming more and more treacherous, as they fine tune their sights via information we gladly give up with our mobile date usage for instance… But, there's static in the wave…

Saosin X Saison

     IT HAPPENED - And many folks couldn't be more pleased, as it was announced earlier this year that Anthony Green is the frontman for Saosin once again!! It may only be for a few select dates, but as the saying goes, "Better than nothing…" Can't recall specifically, but I believe it's been roughly a decade since he has held the reigns during a Saosin performance… It's bigger than just Anthony Green though, it's the dynamic of the entire band on the tracks written with him as the foreman… It's not that Cove Reber isn't an excellent vocalist, but it seemed that after "Translating The Name," they lost some "fluidity" (for lack of a better term) in their music, as their later releases seemed a bit stale… Now, that comparison is in contrast to TTN, not to discredit their later releases as they are still outstanding pieces of work!!

It has already been discussed with Anthony that the band name is not derived from the beer title, but from an Asian proverb which stresses caution… SO - What does a finely crafted saison have to do with Saosin?! Well, they have extremely similar spelling, are perfect for simultaneous enjoyment, and each are currently enjoying a nice lil' comeback this summer!! While both have been around a quick minute, both have also recently somewhat faded into the background as of late, but their resurgence is set to be well received…