Unibroue – Sommelier Selection

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Canada, Craft Beer, Quebec, Unibroue

 

I was once again looking for something a little different the last time I went shopping for beer and this mixed six-pack from Unibroue happened to catch my eye.  This Chambly, Quebec based brewery played a big role in my early transition towards good beer and I’ve had a soft spot for them ever since. This mix pack came with one 12 ounce bottle of six different brews which I am opting to review as a set rather than split up across multiple posts.  So, without further ado, here are the beers in roughly the order in which I drank them over that the course of this past week.

Ephemere Fraise & Rhubarbe (5.5%)

The first of two Belgian-style wheat beers brewed with fruit, this one featured strawberry and rhubarb.  It poured a light tannish/copper body and had a slightly vegetal smell lurking beneath a huge amount of berry sweetness.  The taste was highlighted by candy malts, a mostly sweet and slightly tart mix of strawberry and rhubarb, and an ending that featured the distinct influence of Belgian-style yeast.  Medium bodied with above average carbonation, I really enjoyed this and definitely could have gone for another one.

Ephemere Pomme (5.5%)

The second fruit flavored Belgian wheat beer in the box, this one brewed with apples and poured to nice golden copper body with a short-lived fizzly white head.  It tasted of sweet green apples and had a light tart funkiness in the background with just a bit of pepper yest on the end. Light and bubbly with a slightly dry finish, I found this offering quite delicious and refreshing, on par with its cousin above.

A Tout le Monde (4.5%)

Brewed in collaboration with Megadeath co-founder Dave Mustaine, this sessionable saison is apparently the lowest ABV offering in the brewery’s lineup.  It poured a cloudy, yellowish-copper body topped by a slightly off-white head of foam. Both the smell and taste featured notes of orange peel and coriander with the later picking up bits of caramel malt, earthy tartness, and a mix of piney and floral hops on the way to the finish.  The mouthfeel was light and slightly creamy with a steady above average level of carbonation throughout.

Blanche De Chambly  (5.0%)

A wheat beer that poured to a cloudy, dark-straw colored body underneath a full head of white foam.  It had a clean wheaty taste with notes of spicy banana yeast, orange peel, and coriander. The mouthfeel was on the thicker end of medium and the carbonation level was right around moderate.  All in all a very solid brew and one that enjoyed having with me on hot a summer day.

Maudite (8.0%)

And now we creep into the mixpack’s larger offerings.  This Belgian Dubbel had a dark brown body that nearly matched the color of the bottle and was topped off by a thick, foamy head.  Both the taste and smell combined bubblegum yeast, dark fruits, a bit of spice, and a smooth malty backbone. The finish was a bit on the boozy side, but not at all out of balance with flavor of the beer.

La Fin du Monde (9.0%)

Appropriately enough, my time with the mix pack ended here.  If memory serves correctly, this was one of the first Belgian Tripels I ever drank and to this day I’ll make a point of ordering one if I see it as an option.  It offed up a smooth blend of sweet malts, dark fruit, and a lightly peppery/banana yeast presence. The finish was dry with a warming hint of alcohol that was nicely complimented by the medium body and above average level of carbonation.  An old favorite that has stood the test of time.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this six-pack and walked away from it very happy with my purchase.  The beers were all tasty and on point, and it was rather refreshing to get a mix pack like this and not have it contain any IPAs.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my hop-forward brews, but I think I’ve been a bit burnt out on reviewing of late so these beers were all a welcomed change of pace.  As an added bonus, the six-pack came at a very nice price point in the $10-12 range which was definitely welcomed considering the price of quality beer these days.  

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Music Monday: Gravity Kills

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Gravity Kills, Music, Music Monday, Tags

And here I am with my second Musical Monday post!  It also happens to feature another CD released in 1996, which I guess was a pretty influential year on me music-wise (I was 14).  A friend of mine in college once brought up his theory that 1996 was the best year for music in our lifetimes and I must say that I am inclined to agree with him.  That, however, is an entirely different discussion so let’s focus instead on the album at hand.

Album: Gravity Kills

Artist: Gravity Kills

Genre: Industrial/Rock

Released: 1996

Description: The band’s debut album, this one runs at a tight 39:18 and its 11 tracks flow smoothly into one another, maintaining an excellent beat throughout the disc.  The band mixes heavy guitars and a blend of raw and haunting audio effects with an electronic/pop vibe that I think gives them a slightly more upbeat style than some of the other groups associated with the genre.

My Experience: I first came across this band on track two of the now legendary Mortal Kombat: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.  While the movie itself is largely forgettable with its painful mid-90s CGI and B-film acting, the soundtrack is another matter entirely and probably worthy of its own Music Monday post at some point down the line.  But I digress. Gravity Kills made the disc with a demo version of their song Goodbye that made quite an impression on my teenage self.  It inspired me to seek out the CD reviewed here and I quickly became a fan.  A year or so later I convinced my mom to let me go to one of their shows on a school night and thus, on an early summer night in 1998 I went to my first ever concert at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA.

The Music: At this point I just want to say a big thank you to @GravityKillsMusic for uploading the album to YouTube.  This looks like an official band account, so I am putting the link here so anyone interested can check them out.  In no particular order my top three tracks from this listening session are Guilty, Enough, and Inside though I must say I still enjoyed them all, especially when taken as a whole.

Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project – Our Finest Regards (2015)

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Massachusetts, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project

This was actually kind of a sad review for me and it’s one that I’ve been putting off for a little while.  I’ve written briefly about the closing of Pretty Things here before, but this time my review comes with a bit more finality – this was my final bottle of their beer.

Beer Name: Our Finest Regards

Brewery: Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project

Style: Barleywine

ABV: 13.5%

Description: An English-style Barleywine brewed with a “reiterative mash” (i.e.they used runoff from the first mash in the second) technique, this was typically released in the months of November and December to help the locals keep warm.  My bottle was from the 11/2015 batch.

Appearance: It poured a thick, dark-caramel brown body topped that was topped off by a layer of tan foam.

Smell: Sweet aroma of brown sugar and toffee, with a slight bit of heat on the end.

Taste: Rich, sweet malts upfront highlighted by a complex blend of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, dark fruits, and butterscotch.  A bit of heavy cream came on in the middle right before the beer picked up the lightly toasted dark malts and subtly heat that carried it into the finish.

Mouthfeel: Full, creamy body with very low carbonation.

Hype: Fond memories.  This was very well regarded in its day, but being my last bottle from this brewery I had a special attachment to this as well.  I didn’t want to it to go, but I also figured it was time.

Overall: Simply fantastic!  It surpassed my expectations and I couldn’t have asked for a better final taste of this brewery.  It’s been rumored and teased that Dan and Martha Paquette, the team behind Pretty Things, has been looking to start professionally brewing again in England so hopefully I may someday come across some more of their beer.  Cheers to them!

Music Monday: Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire

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Music, Music Monday, Rage Against the Machine, Tags

I’ve been meaning to jump in on this tag for a little while now, but haven’t really been able to fit it into my posting schedule.  After spending some time going through my old CDs the other day, I was finally inspired to start making these posts more of a priority.

Album: Evil Empire

Artist: Rage Against the Machine

Genre: Rap/Metal, Rap/Rock, Funk/Metal

Released: 1996

Description: The band’s second record is chock full of all the energy, aggression, and left-leaning/anti-establishment politics that quickly became the group’s signature style.  The album’s 11 tracks provide just over 45 minutes of relentless musical assault fueled by frontman Zach de la Rocha’s incendiary vocals and lead guitarist Tom Morello’s mastery of his instrument.  From the opening line on People of the Sun (better turn the bass up on this one) to the closing screams and thrashing guitars on Year of tha Boomerang, this album doesn’t let up for a single moment.

My Experience: I’m going to really show my age on this one, but I remember buying this CD as a teenager (with cash at an actual brick and mortar store) shortly after it was released.  It immediately became one of my favorite albums and has retained that status to this day. I’m a huge fan of both the sound and politics of this disc.

One thing that I find really striking listening to this some 22 after its release is how (unfortunately) relevant it still feels despite leaning so heavily on activist causes of its day.  With songs touching on topics like systemic racism, police brutality, domestic violence, the military-industrial complex, and Palestinian resistance to the expansion of Israeli settlements all these tracks remain frustratingly applicable to our modern world, perhaps none more so than Without a Face, which is sung from the perspective of a Mexican worker secretly crossing the US border to make money to send back home.

Top Three Tracks: This was a hard decision.  I have my favorites, but this is one of those albums for me where every track is really, really good.  Anyway, in no particular order, here are the three (with select lyrics) that I’ve chosen to highlight. Yes, there were painful omissions made.

1. Bulls on Parade

One of the first singles off of the album, the track criticizes the military-industrial complex in the United States and the government’s spending priorities:

Weapons, not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble, that used to be a library
Line up to the mind cemetery now
What we don’t know keeps the contracts alive and movin’
They don’t gotta burn tha books, they just remove ’em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells
Rally round tha family, pocket full of shells

There’s also a fantastic music video for this song as well.  As if I haven’t already dated myself enough in this post, I first saw this as a grainy two-inch by two-inch movie file I downloaded from AOL back in the day.  Here’s a look at much better version:

2. Down Rodeo

This track got a lot of airplay in my area and serves as a call to arms against the forces of  consumerism, greed, and elitism. Its chorus takes the listener on an imaginary drive through the ultra-luxury shopping scene on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills:

So, now I’m rollin’ down Rodeo with a shotgun
These people ain’t seen a brown-skinned man
Since their grandparents bought one

It then goes on to look at the reality faced by those on the outside of all the opulence:

Them pen devils set the stage for the war at home
Locked without a wage, you’re standing in the drop zone
The clockers born, starin’ at an empty plate
Mama’s torn hands, cover her sunken face
We hungry but them belly full
The structure is set, ya never change it with a ballot pull

3. Wind Below

I’ll end with what is probably one of the lesser known tracks.  Drawing its name from the philosophy of the Zapatista movement, this powerhouse of a song looks at how the wealthy and powerful use their position to manipulate and exploit the rest of the world’s population:

Flip this capital eclipse
Them bury life wit’ IMF shifts, and poison lips
Yo they talk it, while slicin’ our veins yo so mark it
From the fincas overseers, to them vultures playin’ markets
She ain’t got nothing but weapon and shawl
She is Chol, Tzotzil, Tojolobal, Tzeltal

As well as closer to home examples:

And GE is gonna flex and try and annex the truth
And NBC is gonna flex and cast their image in you
And Disney bought the fantasies and piles of eyes
And ABC’s new thrill rides of trials and lies
And while the gut eaters strain to pull the mud from their mouths
They force our ears to go deaf to the screams in the south

And with that I will wrap up the first of hopefully many Musical Mondays.  Thank you and credit to Genius and @RATMVIVO for providing the lyrical and video content provided.

Aeronaught Brewing Company & Lamplighter Brewing Company – To the Moon

Tags

Aeronaut Brewing Company, Beer, Beer Review, Collaboration, Craft Beer, IPA, Lamplighter Brewing Company, Massachusetts, New England

I picked up this beer somewhat at random last month while browsing through one of my local shops.  The can art caught my and since I’ve been enjoying these two breweries lately I figured I might as well give this a go.

Beer Name: To the Moon

Brewery: Aeronaught Brewing Company (Somerville, MA) & Lamplighter Brewing Company (Cambridge, MA)

Style: IPA

ABV: 6.8%

Description: A collaboration between two popular local breweries, this IPA was released at the end of June to bring in the July 4th holiday just a little bit early (yes – I have apparently been sitting on this review for a bit).  Appropriately enough it featured an all-American blend of Eureka, El Dorado, Denali, and Idaho 7 hops.

Appearance: It featured a cloudy, golden/light-copper body through which I could just barely make out the other side of the glass.  A thin layer of white tan foam sat up top.

Smell: Sweet tropical fruits with a haze of piney hops in the background.

Taste: Lots of tropical fruit upfront followed by a smooth transition through crackery malts before coming to a slightly bitter finish with pine and floral hop notes.  Smooth tasting and flavorful throughout.

Mouthfeel: It had a super smooth medium body with a moderate amount of carbonation.

Hype: It seems there was some excitement around this release.  It did apparently get its own party after all.

Overall: Smooth, easy to drink, and super tasty, I would call this a highly successful collaboration effort.  An immensely satisfying brew, I am really happy that I happened to grab a full four-pack of this. I enjoyed every drop and look forward to seeing what these breweries put out next.