As many of you know, last summer I started a beer log. My initial plan was to sample at least one brew from each of the fifty states over the course of the summer. Thanks to Alabama’s alcohol content restrictions, however, this plan didn’t work out too well. Despite the setbacks, I have decided to press on. The Abita Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Abita Springs, Louisiana. The company brews its beer with water from artesian wells about 30 miles north of New Orleans and consistently turns out an excellent product (Abita Amber being one of my all-time favorites). The beer pictured above is Abita’s Strawberry Harvest Lager. Because the taste is somewhat difficult to describe, I’ll let the bottle’s packaging explain: Ripe, red Louisiana strawberries are harvested at the peak of the season in the early morning chill. The scent of the juicy red Ponchatoula berries fills the air as they’re picked and pressed for Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager. The end result is a light, crisp lager with just a hint of strawberry sweetness. While fruit beers have never been among my favorites, Abita got this one just right. The strawberry flavor is not syrupy and is far from overwhelming. A perfect beer for spring and summer!

As many of you know, last summer I started a beer log. My initial plan was to sample at least one brew from each of the fifty states over the course of the summer. Thanks to Alabama’s alcohol content restrictions, however, this plan didn’t work out too well. Despite the setbacks, I have decided to press on.

The Abita Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Abita Springs, Louisiana. The company brews its beer with water from artesian wells about 30 miles north of New Orleans and consistently turns out an excellent product (Abita Amber being one of my all-time favorites).

The beer pictured above is Abita’s Strawberry Harvest Lager. Because the taste is somewhat difficult to describe, I’ll let the bottle’s packaging explain:

Ripe, red Louisiana strawberries are harvested at the peak of the season in the early morning chill. The scent of the juicy red Ponchatoula berries fills the air as they’re picked and pressed for Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager. The end result is a light, crisp lager with just a hint of strawberry sweetness.

While fruit beers have never been among my favorites, Abita got this one just right. The strawberry flavor is not syrupy and is far from overwhelming. A perfect beer for spring and summer!


Five Great Gateway Beers

thommy:

For someone new to craft beer, advanced topics like styles and ingredients can be a little overwhelming. Even a trip to your local craft beer seller can seem like a test. What’s with all the weird beer names? What’s the difference between ale and what I normally drink? Where does all this beer come from?

Believe it or not, we’re not here to make fun of what you drink - we all started where you’re at now. But if you’re really looking for a way in, you best bet is to start by just drinking better beer. Here’s a list of five proven and readily available “gateway” craft beers to make the adjustment as easy as possible. [Via Hoosier Geek]

Tom Waits, Saenger Theatre, July 2, 2008

Forget James Brown — Tom Waits is the hardest working man in show business. I’m including the setlist from last night’s show below, but please understand that it doesn’t come even close to capturing the many dimensions that Waits’ performance brought to these songs. 

Here’s the setlist…

1. Lucinda / Ain’t Going Down To The Well No More
2. Down In The Hole
3. Falling Down
4. Hang Down Your Head
5. Chocolate Jesus
6. Cemetary Polka
7. Another Man’s Vine
8. Lie To Me Baby
9. All The World Is Green
10. Cold, Cold Ground
11. Black Market Baby
12. Raindogs / Russian Dance
13. Lucky Day
14. Johnsburg, Illinois
15. Innocent When You Dream
16. Hoist That Rag
17. Singapore
18. Jesus Gonna Be Here
19. Dirt in the Ground
20. Eyeball Kid
21. House Where Nobody Lives
22. Make It Rain

Encore 1:

23. Goin’ Out West

24. Anywhere I Lay My Head

The Eternal

The BBC reports that the memorial stone of Ian Curtis has been stolen from Macclesfield Cemetery. And so it begins.

Learn more here.

Comsat Angels: “Independence Day” (1983)

While it’s true that the industrial blight of Sheffield, England, can boast of producing some fairly decent bands (Comsat Angels, ABC, Human League, Pulp, Moloko, Autechre, Arctic Monkeys), I find it hard to believe that, according to this poll, the city is more “musical” than Manchester. The simple fact that Def Leppard hails from Sheffield should have bumped the city out of contention.

BBC2 DJ Mark Radcliffe argues the case for Manchester here.

cerysmaticfactory: Peter Hook confirms that the remastered New Order Factory-era albums (Movement, Power Corruption & Lies, Low-Life, Brotherhood, Technique) are finished (at least on the mastering side of things) and will appear this September & October. (Initial release date for the first titles is September 22.) They will follow the same concept as the recent Warner Joy Division remasters: 2 discs, one being the album, the other being a live show from that era.

cerysmaticfactory:

Peter Hook confirms that the remastered New Order Factory-era albums (Movement, Power Corruption & Lies, Low-Life, Brotherhood, Technique) are finished (at least on the mastering side of things) and will appear this September & October. (Initial release date for the first titles is September 22.) They will follow the same concept as the recent Warner Joy Division remasters: 2 discs, one being the album, the other being a live show from that era.

My Record Collection, Part 3 In 1998, Stephin Merritt (lead singer/songwriter of The Magnetic Fields) played a somewhat surprisingly well-attended set at The Mermaid Lounge in New Orleans, Louisiana. The opening act for Mr. Merritt was Damon and Naomi (featuring ex-Galaxie 500 members Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang). With the exception of Damon’s constant insistance that the crowd remain quiet during his and Naomi’s set, neither performance was particularly memorable. Still, after the show, we happened to engage in a conversation with Mr. Merritt that ultimately resulted in this autographed 7” single (autograph #192, by Mr. Merritt’s count). If any of you would like to own this highly collectible piece of rock-n-roll history, please contact me. 

My Record Collection, Part 3

In 1998, Stephin Merritt (lead singer/songwriter of The Magnetic Fields) played a somewhat surprisingly well-attended set at The Mermaid Lounge in New Orleans, Louisiana. The opening act for Mr. Merritt was Damon and Naomi (featuring ex-Galaxie 500 members Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang). With the exception of Damon’s constant insistance that the crowd remain quiet during his and Naomi’s set, neither performance was particularly memorable. Still, after the show, we happened to engage in a conversation with Mr. Merritt that ultimately resulted in this autographed 7” single (autograph #192, by Mr. Merritt’s count).

If any of you would like to own this highly collectible piece of rock-n-roll history, please contact me. 

bhell13: London 1979

bhell13:

London 1979

The Pogues Box Set

Compiled by The Pogues with track by track annotations from Phil Chevron, there are a bountiful 109 tracks from 1983 demos (pre-dating their first recordings for Stiff Records) through to live recordings from 2001 when The Pogues re-convened for a series of memorable live shows for the first time since they disbanded in 1996.

Watch The Great Hunger: The Songs of Shane MacGowan documentary here.

Music for Magazines: This is Not a Record Review

Roy Christopher clears the air about Coldplay’s latest, Viva la Vida. Before reading Roy’s article, read this review by Dave Allen (ex-Gang of Four) to find out what an embittered shell of a man he has become.