Golden Carolus: Grand Cru of the Emperor 2004

Belgium Strong Ale
Brewery Het Anker
Mechelen, Belgium
ALC/VOL 11%

DISCLAIMER: Tonight Hurricane Irene rolls into town. She's looking nasty, but luckily I'm my bunker-of-a-mancave with plenty of music and beer. Today I hope to bust through a few reviews (before the storm takes me).

This beer was a gift from a friend that found out I liked good beer. And while I've never been a huge fan of Belgiums, I'll honestly say that after doing a bit of research, this beer seems right up my alley. This beer is brewed in super limited production on the 24th of February to celebrate the birthday of Charles the 5th.

The beer pours really well. It has a dark red brown amber body with a sandy brown head. the head dies pretty quickly to leave lovely lacing on the inner glass walls. The aroma has a very sweet caramely tinge to it, not unlike other cuvees I've had before. The taste has a sweet chocolate and deep fruit front to it. Figs and dark raisin notes come through really well. This is a damn good beer. It's richer than most I've had. This is on par with the Cuvee series from Southern Tier I've before. It's not quite as complex, but to be honest, it's probably one of the best beers I've had in a while!

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Funk Beyond the Call of Duty

My college roommate, Mark, is getting married in less than a month. Another one bites the dust. He came up last weekend to put his wedding playlist together. This also gave us ample time to go vinyl diving and drink fine bourbon (Maker's 46, so nice). I hadn't taken him to CD Depot yet, and was excited to make the trek myself.

You tend to find three different types of gems when vinyl diving (at least they are for me).

• The Rare Find: As you would guess, these don't pop up all that often. Price doesn't really come into play when you find one of these, you just grab it! Sometimes you don't stumble on a dics like this for months at a time, but it's why you keep diving. As luck would have it, the stars aligned and Mark was able to find a really good first pressing of Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones, a vinyl that is not easy to find in good condition, due to the Andy Warhol working zipper design cover art. 
• The Bargin: This might not be a album you put on all the time, but it helps flush out the collection. Maybe it's a easy to find standard you don't have yet or a disc with just one song you want. The only reason not to buy it is if the price is too high. And by too high, I mean like two or three dollars. 
• The Art Piece: Cover art has never been the same since vinyl took back seat to the cassette. And while artists will still come out with some interesting things from time to time, it's just not the same. Vinyl just provided so much real estate. Sometimes you'll be flipping through a box and the art just speaks to you right away. That's what happened with the Billy Cobham/George Duke Band find. And that's what happened with this one. 

I tried to do a little research on this album when i got home, but there's not much on it. It was released in 1977, in the midst of about 20 other albums that Johnny Watson released. Watson seemed to inspire a lot of other artists to become guitarists. Very cool. The craziest fact: He died on stage while performing in 1996 mid guitar solo. He collapsed on stage and apparently his last words were "Ain't that a bitch?". Thanks freakin awesome!

So how about the disc...... It's as funky as you would expect, but the mix is better than i thought it would be. It's super clean and tight. A lot of other funk music in the late 70's sounds really crowded to me. With the advent of digital tech and synthesizer, artists tend to try to do to much. Besides the thumping Moog bass, the sound has a very live "acoustic" feel to it. The first track on each side open up really well. I get hints of Stevie Wonder and Parliament Funkadelic.

It's funny too. Many of the tracks have some spoken word in the intro or outro when Johnny plays a stereotype of himself. It's bigger than life. Really good stuff. Not sure what my favorite track is yet, but "It's a Damn Shame" and "Barn Door" are pretty amazing cuts.

Cigar City: Jai Alai

India Pale Ale

Cigar City Brewing Company

Tampa, Florida

ALC/VOL 7.5%

Just finishing up a few very long days in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It’s a different world down here. People seem separated, non-committal. There might be a sense of community under the surface, but I don’t see it. It’s strip malls, palm trees and lots of plastic. Not my cup of tea (or beer more realistically). That’s why it surprised me to find a very unique craft brewery based out of Tampa. The Cigar City Brewing Company. Started in the mid 90’s, the founder and brew master took a different approach to the craft beer scene. Tampa, the Cigar City, had a sub culture littered with diversity in many ways.  Not only were the people diverse and different, but so was the food, the music, and the social gatherings. The company set out on a path to please all walks of life in some way by making really freakin’ good beer.

I first stumbled on this beer when I was in Orlando 6 weeks ago. I’ve been making a habit, when I travel, to sample the local beer when I can. I mean, why not? It’s a great opportunity. I had this beer at the hotel bar I was staying at. The bartender didn’t know much about the company, but knew that a lot of locals loved this beer. To be honest, when I originally tried it in Orlando, I had already had a huge dinner and several beers before. Not the best state to be “tasting” beers. My palate was shot. But I remembered the name and colorful bottle, which was enough.

Fast forward to last night. I was driving back to my hotel after a very VERY long day. Fort Lauderdale has kicked my ass and then some. I really wanted to get a six pack for the next two days for “unwinding” at night. I stopped by a huge wine, liquor and beer distributor. The place was enormous; even bigger than Beltway Fine Wines back home. The cold beer, as I found out, was all the way in the back. As I scanned the large glass-walled fridge in front of me for anything delicious, the Jai Alai bottle colors caught my eye. I grabbed the six pack and headed to the front lanes. The cashier gave me even more justification in my purchase…..

                Clerk: “Is that a Ravens Credit Card?”

                Me: “Yea”

                Clerk: “You a Ravens fan?” (asked with a scowl...)

                Me: “Giants fan, but the card comes from living in the area”

                Clerk: “Well, at least you’re drinking good fucking beer…”

Case closed.

So now, a day later, at the end of my travels, I pop open a Jai Alai and pour it into the only glass available; the tumble in my Hilton hotel room. But it does the trick; better than one might expect. The beer has a very “fresh and clean” scent when poured out of the bottle. It’s a deeper color than you might expect from an IPA, almost smoky.

I taste the smokiness as well. It’s got a lot of earth to it. There are some citrus and toffee notes in the front and back, but don’t take this for a lighter beer. It’s got real body. It’s ripe with flavor. Sticky is the word I would use. A beer I can enjoy. Maybe South Florida isn’t so bad after all.

Bon Iver: Bon Iver

I’m on a plane headed for Boston. Last night, not unlike last time, I thought my 59 minute flight would be another opportune time to review an album. And this time, I had one eagerly waiting on deck. Justin Vernon’s sophomore album, self-titled “Bon Iver”.  Again, I was able to snag 24-bit FLAC recordings direct from vinyl for this “review-on-the-fly”, so here I sit in 11A again ready to rock!

A little background on Bon Iver if you’re not familiar. Vernon’s first release in 2008 For Emma, Forever Ago, has a unique story behind it that makes the album all that more impactful. After a breakup with his band, the end of a long term relationship and a nasty bout with mononucleosis, Vernon decided to pack up things in North Carolina and move to his father’s cabin in Northern Wisconsin. What started as a “escape from reality” with mostly couch and bed time riddled with tons of Northern Exposure reruns slowly turned into afternoons of song writing and recording. With only a guitar and basic equipment, the winter months turned Justin Vernon into “Bon Iver”. If you haven’t heard the first CD, it’s worth a listen for sure. It only helps better set the stage for this release. 

I’m not going to lie, this is not my first time listening to this album. And while it should be no surprise that I listen several times to discs before I review them, this album has been constantly in the background of my life for the past two weeks. I can’t seem to get enough of it. And while I love artists that take their music and passion in new directions, I was weary of this second album’s release. The first album is such a perfect gem, how could it possibly be followed? Would For Emma, Forever Ago be just a flash of light on the radar?

The album opens beautifully. Already you can tell that this album wasn’t recorded in a cabin in Wisconsin. The sound quality is massively improved, but still manages to not be “over produced”. I love that you get so much of the “Bon Iver” that you know and love, but you are hit with these new waves. It’s definitely a bigger sound, with more of a “band” feel throughout. But somehow it seems to maintain that’s smaller intimate sound. Even on tracks like Towers, where you casually get horns, organ and strings in the back ground, they never overpower what’s truly important, Vernon’s guitar and lofty falsetto. 

By far, my favorite track, while hard to pick out, is the last Beth/Rest. It’s unlike any of the other tracks on the album. It gets built to so well. The organ and drums set this song apart. Really far apart. In fact, if I was the hear this song apart from the rest of the album, I wouldn’t have thought it to be Bon Iver at all. It sounds much more like a late Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel tune. Maybe why I like it so much. 

I know I say this a lot at the end of my reviews, but this album is a MUST own! Buy it!

Full Sail: Elevation

Imperial IPA
Full Sail Brewing
Hood River, Oregon
ALC/VOL 7.5%

I've been holding onto this beer for a while, waiting for the right time to pop it. Full Sail is one of those breweries that doesn't cater to a larger audience. They seem quietly content with producing very high end craft brews in small batches for small audiences (not surprising from an Oregon based company, where craft breweries are basically on every block). However, it might surprise you to know that Full Sail is the 9th largest craft brewery in the US. We just on't get it out east all that often.

This brewery produces many different types of beer, but seems to focus the most on IPAs. And while, I've had quite a few of their IPAs and been blown away, this is one of the first released under their "Brewmaster Reserve" label. In the same way that my first good IPA changed my beer pallate, so did trying my first imperial IPA. A little darker look with all that good hoppy taste up front, but finishing with a more caramel and hickory finish, it's one of my favorite all time styles.

As soon as I poured this beer, I was ready to drink it. A beautiful color and event a better scent. Some heavily hopped beers have such a pungent scent, like Dorchester, my first college dorm. But this beer smells more clean and put together, like a well arranged display.

Then to tasting. Shit, this beer is really damn good. It's one of the hoppiest beers I've had while still remaining to keep a smooth and well developed finish. I discover a little more with each sip. It's not that it's very complicated, it's just that there is a lot going on "under the surface". It's very hard to distinguish. If I wasn't enjoying the beer so much, it would be difficult to review. It's almost as if my first few tastes have set a foundation for other flavors to come. About 12 ounces in, the beer starts to take a little more bitterness. But just a few sips later, as I near the end of the bottle, the bitterness rolls back in to a more "earthy sweetness", like a velvety moss or undergrowth. It's very pleasant.

It might be time to find some more of this stuff....

I have to note: maybe this beer tastes so good because I'm listening to some incredible music at the same time. I was able to get my hands on Bon Iver's new album "Bon Iver" about 10 days before it's release. It's pretty unbelievable. I'll save that review for the next post.