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Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Exit Brewing Saison

Having made many treks to Belgium, I harbour a spot not only for the delicious local chocolate but also Belgian beer and while it is difficult to make generalizations due to individuality of their thirteens beer variants, there is something to them that makes them distinctively “Belgian”, i.e. a sublime melange of balance of malt sweetness and hop bitterness, which culminates in fruity, spicy, floral, at times savoury and herbal aromas. A melange that is harmoniously calibrated.

Having convinced with its IPA expression and demonstrated that they are adept at channelling their alchemy of brewing expertly across a range of styles, it is needless to say that I was eager to experience what Exit Brewing has in store when it comes to tackling what is rooted in their appreciation of the emissions of Frase and Grum.

Exit Brewing’s homage to the artisanal craft of Belgian beer brewing manifests in their Saison variant. Safe to say that it is a deliberate sidestep from their exquisite core range, the Saison is not merely a replica or lacklustre interpretation of what an Australian version of a Belgian beer could be like, but takes the aforementioned traditional traits and infused it with the Exit Brewing DNA, which in this case also includes New World Hops and specifically Sorachi Ace.

Sorachi Ace is a Japanese hop variant that rounds out the flavour profile by adding nuances of lemon, lime and honey that not only serve as a counterpoint but complement and makes the citrus forward yeast character less dominant.

An elongated finish culminates in spicy notes just in the right measure to flirt with the underlying sweetness one you be expecting from a Belgian style brew.

Clocking in at 6.2% alcohol by volume, Exit Brewing’s Saison proves to be an exercise par excellence in honouring traditional brewing methods and taking them to the next level without traversing into novelty territory.

Cannot wait to sample Exit’s elusive DIPA...

April: Refunds in 30 Days or Less

Thanks for tuning in for another round of Search/Play/Repeat! If you've been following this blog, I just want to say thanks and I hope you've found something new. If this is your first time checking it out, the basic gist is I listen to albums I've never heard before and make playlists of songs from those albums for you folks to (hopefully) enjoy. I try to keep a theme to a majority of the playlist. This month's theme came at the suggestion of fellow writer, Dennis. The current climate has been making it very difficult for artists and this was the month where tours started making the jump from "postponed" to "canceled." We thought it might be helpful to give some of those bands the exposure they missed on the road, so most of the bands on this month's playlist are bands that had shows/tours lined up for Spring but had to cancel or postpone. Let's jump in!

Kicking off April's playlist is Slingshot Dakota, who had plans to hit the road with Off With Their Heads. I've been following Slingshot Dakota ever since that "Noah Takes a Picture of Himself Everyday for 6 Years" video, which features Carly Comando's song. I hadn't listened to their last album, Heavy Banding yet, so I dove in. Fun fact: The very first time I ever drove myself and a friend to a show after getting my license, was supposed to be Slingshot Dakota at some pizza parlor back in 2008. I say "supposed to be," because while we did show up, we didn't see the show. I don't recall the flyer having a start time, so we got there around the presumptive time of 7:30 or 8. After about 30 minutes of sitting in the parking lot with no signs or indication of a punk show happening, we left. Somehow, in 12 years, I still haven't seen Slingshot Dakota, and it doesn't look like this year is going to be the year.

Another band I should have seen at the end of March was War on Women when they supported Alkaline Trio and Bad Religion. A tour which had been postponed to Fall up until a few days ago when they decided to outright cancel the tour to avoid fans having trouble getting refunds for a concert 8 months away that they have no clue whether they'll be able to attend or not. I think the only time I've heard War on Women was when they were on other playlists. It was about time to give them a proper listen. Drug Church is another band I haven't spent much time with which were supposed to support Against Me! and Baroness at the end of May, but alas, that tour has been canceled as well in lieu of a postponement.

Then, there're the artists with new albums that they should have been on the road promoting. Milk Teeth put out their self-titled sophomore album late last month, and it's great! A vast improvement over their already solid, Vile Child. Brian Fallon has a new solo-album, Local Honey, out now as well. I hadn't dabbled in his solo-efforts before, but I prefer it to The Gaslight Anthem's last few albums. While we're on the topic of new albums, who else was blown away by Fiona Apple's new album? Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a contender for my album of the year. That's for sure. The Stroke's made a triumphant return after 7 years and a friend of mine, Alex Okami, just put out his debut EP, Under the Same Moon. If you like dark and moody gamboling tunes then check it out.

That's just a few of the albums I listened to in April. If you hear something you like, please consider picking up some music and supporting artists. Many record stores are doing curbside pick-up, or help keep The USPS going by buying from the band directly and having some music shipped to you. Most importantly, stay home, stay safe, and stay healthy! Thanks for checking in.

Water of Life – Archie Rose

With the distillery having started out with a focus on “white” spirits currently being dedicated to the large scale production of hand sanitiser to combat the spread of Covid-19 and their stunning bar being closed, it surely must have been exciting news coming in from the old world:

Having been lauded the World's Best Rye Whisky at the 2020 incarnation of the World Whiskies Awards in London, Archie Rose Distillery has now firmly established itself on global territory with its Rye Malt Whisky – a spirit category that is usually dominated by North American distillers from the Kentucky whiskey trail.

What Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky accomplished is the infusion of a category with an innovative approach by creating a very different expression of rye, i.e. one that is distilled from malted grain and matured in air dried American oak barrels, rather than a mere homage to what is tested and tried with the more traditional American ryes and the ones merely characterized by spicy nuances.

Vatted rather than being a single cask product, AR’s Rye Malt is released in numbered batches – now, what might sound like a bit of a lottery is quality controlled by blind tasting along the way and across batches to ensure consistency and the elimination of discrepancies – quite a feat given its textured complexity. A testament to their focus on meticulous process, transparency and quality.

While Rye is usually not necessarily a favourite, it proved hard to resist what tickled the nostrils once uncorked, i.e. a sublime melange of aniseed and liquorice that rests on a bed cider-esque apple notes. The creaminess that caresses the top of the roof adds further depth to what the aroma promised and accentuates it further with gingery spicy highlights that seamlessly transitions into an elongated finish which serves with its dry yet rich nutty undertones as counterpoint to the initial sweetness.

Gin is usually not my go to but Archie Rose’s Harvest Gin from 2019 intrigued me as not only has the distillery continuously raised the bar with its white spirit emissions, but the fact that with this one,  the focus was set on Australia's produce with the peel of a tangelo-pomelo hybrid with bright yellow skin being the star of the show, flanked by bergamot, emerald green finger lime, lemon-scented gum and orange blossom.

The result is not only a celebration of seasonal variation but an exercise par excellence in marrying a subtle sweetness with citrus and lime zest, the result of which is a highly sippable gin that does not even need any tonic or other garnishes to be enjoyed.

Given that Archie Rose complements its core range with exquisite limited releases and collaborations, you do want to keep checking in on what is happening at the distillery – one that is already en route to become a household name with whiskey aficionados around the world.

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image from company website

Ignite

Penguin Random House

Shannah Kennedy Lyndall Mitchell have reinvented themselves under the moniker “the Essentialists”, with the focus on the release of gift books, the Ignite instalment of which is meant to spark the reader into action to make positive changes and elevate their lives.

What to some might sound borderline esoteric, is a book that at its core provides tangible outcomes. In essence, Ignite is a conglomerate of actionable and inspiring guidance to lift your game, which is accessible, relatable and geared at the uninitiated as it sheds light at the foundation one needs to then delve deeper into the more intricate and challenging aspects of self-improvement.

Having had careers in the corporate worlds of both finance and sports, the authors Shannah Kennedy and Lyndall Mitchell are predestined to comment on what to consider to achieve balance, the achievement of simplicity and a structured life that will serve as the foundation to get you closer to your goals.

For the illuminati and students of The School of Life there would probably be nothing ground breaking new, but as a starting point, Ignite is a book that offers a visually appealing, tactical and authentic toolkit that helps to question one’s business and to focus on what really counts to recalibrate one’s life in a mindful and productive manner.

Re-assessing your view on life during Covid-19

Live Like A Stoic: 52 Exercises for Cultivating a Good Life (Penguin Books)

Rome was neither built nor burned in a day. However, the embers of thought that emanated from the Roman and Greek empires lit beacons that still provide guidance on how to navigate life in twenty-first century, specifically when it comes to the Stoic philosophers who focussed their musings on exactly that.

Seneca, tutor to the Emperor Nero; Epictetus, a former slave; and Marcus Aurelius, himself emperor delivered a timeless blueprint, the essence and underlying concepts of which are no less relevant than when they were first incepted: The focus on living life in unison and accordance with nature, the realization that one is in control of one’s thoughts and emotions and indifference towards what cannot be changed, resulting in the conviction that believing that we can control things that we cannot is a never ending source of unhappiness.

In layman’s terms: Stuff happens and what happens is neutral – you decide how you judge and deal with it.

Live Like A Stoic: 52 Exercises for Cultivating a Good Life is an accessible entry level guidebook, which not only illuminated stoic concepts, but provides – as the title suggests easy to follow exercises and the opportunity to track progress and build on it week to week.

A highly pragmatic guidebook that can serve as turning point to approach life from a different perspective and reap benefits in terms of begetting tangible outcomes.

Read to take things up a notch?

The School of Life: An Emotional Education (The School of Life / Penguin Books)

You might be familiar with Alain de Botton’s oeuvre the YouTube channel that eventually gave birth to the series of books aimed at the provision of a wholesome and holistic emotional education.

Do not let the name fool you: What might sound a tad esoteric to some or a touchy-feely self-help book, is in essence a plainly written, accessible elaborate treatise on emotional intelligence and one that could not be more practical and straight forward.

Covering a range of topics - e.g. self, others, relationships, work, culture – the common denominator of this compendium is that there is a firm focus on reason, clarity, and philosophy, with every point being well elaborated and easy to digest.

Beautifully and a t times provocatively written not unlike with The School of Life’s other emissions that we have covered; this could be perceived as the mothership that gives exceptional and concise insights into human nature with an extraordinary ability to examine intricate and complex concepts.

A rich, challenging, thought-provoking and wonderful set of musings and instructions for living a more emotionally mature life.