"Cheese & Beer" by Janet Fletcher

This classy hardcover book, written by a respected authority on artisanal cheese and gourmet food pairings, is among the first to examine, in-depth, the relationship between fine cheese and fine beer. Illustrated by tons of well-done color photos, "Cheese & Beer" dares to match up gourmet cheeses of every type with a comprehensive and impressive array of craft beer styles. 

At 128 pages, there's plenty of interesting pairings to try. Want to impress your dinner guests with a luscious Hudson Valley Camambert? Try it with a Monk's Cafe Sour Ale, or any Flanders brown or red ale. Or what to pair with a superb stout or porter like a Deschutes Black Butte? How about an Irish Cashel Blue cheese, or, appropriately, a slice of Barely Buzzed -- an artisan cheese from Utah that is rubbed with ground coffee and dried lavendar. There's hundreds more pairings here, with something that's sure to please anyone.

Could this be the authoritative tome on beer and cheese matchings? Odds are, I'd say so. "Cheese And Beer" is available through any major book sellers, and retails for $24.99 in the US and $26.99 in Canada.

Janet Fletcher's site

Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC

Beer: Starr Hill - Grateful Pale Ale

Starr Hill Brewery is based in Virginia, and has been producing quality craft beers since 1999. I once tried their solid Boxcar pumpkin porter on a trip to Nashville, but that was the extent of my experience with Starr Hill. Luckily, thanx to Ronnie at Virginia Eagle Distributing, I had a chance to taste their superb new seasonal, a pale ale called "Grateful Pale Ale". 

Pours a clean golden-amber, with a thick, frothy 2 fingers of head. Beautiful and detailed lace. Nose is nice herbal and floral hops. Inviting. Taste is well-hopped, but it's not an overwhelming nor bitter hops character. This one is nicely balanced with plenty of malt presence.

The body is medium to heavy, and this is a solid and enjoyable pale ale, scoring a respectable 3.75 on a scale of 5. Well-done!

Starr Hill Brewery site

"Brick And Mortar And Love" DVD (director: Scott Shuffitt)

This feature-length documentary examines the legendary Louisville, Kentucky indie record shop (and sometime-music venue), Ear X-Tacy, and holds a special place to me, as well as anyone who recalls the shop's heyday. Featuring interviews with owner John Timmons, plus other employees, customers, and other indie record shop owners, "Brick And Mortar Love" is a kind of love letter to the now-closed hub of Midwestern indie culture.

The shop's struggle to stay profitable is profiled here, and director Shuffitt follows the store from it's heyday to the final day. His "there on the scene" camerawork is a definitive document of the store and what it meant to local business and the scene itself. Changes in the industry, and the emergence of big-box retailers and online sales, despite a massive public outcry and support from Louisville local artists, weren't enough to save one of America's best-loved and best-known indie record stores. "Brick And Mortar And Love" is a moving testament to what we have now lost.

As a one-time Louisvillian, I spent considerable time in Ear X-Tacy, and purchased a number of items there (I recall picking up Throbbing Gristle's "Part Two - The Endless Not" there, among others). This film touches home, and is quite recommended for anyone who has pleasant memories of this piece of Louisville history. 

MVD Visual

Brick And Mortar And Love site

Beer: Anchorage Brewing - Whiteout Wit Bier (With Brettanomyces)

Anchorage Brewing is a 2-year old operation that bottles only a handful of beers. However, most all of them have received rave reviews from beer advocates everywhere. Thanks to a friend's recent trip to Alaska, I was able to taste one of these exquisite and unique brews.

Whiteout Wit Bier (with Brettanomyces) pours a clear color, with little color. Thick, white, fine foam. In fact, this is very highly-carbonated. Lace is thin and insubstantial, though. Nose is fruity and yeasty. I get a kind of champagne crispness more than a beer kind of experience so far. Taste encompasses more lighter notes, and a brisk mix of fruit, spice (coriander), orange peel, and wheat sharpness...really a complex flavor profile, and highly drinkable.

A surprisingly delicious and enjoyable brew, and a unique experience.

Anchorage Brewing

Sake: SAKEMOTO - Premium Junmai Sake

Always wanted to try some really good sake, and thanks to SakeOne (an American sake importer and brewer), I can say I've had something really delicious from the sake realm.

SakeMoto is a sake imported from Japan and crafted with rice from the Yamaguchi region, and brewed with mountain-sourced water from the Nada region. Not being much of a Japan-o-phile, this all means "nada" to me, but it sounds good, anyway, being all pure and natural.

Getting down to the tasting, SakeMoto pours, naturally, clean and clear. The aroma is slightly fruity and even wine-like. The taste is also light, with a hint of sweet fruitiness (again, wine comparisons abound). It all concludes with a dry, warming finish. 

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SakeMoto is a subtle and very tasty sake, easy to sip and enjoy. It's a modest (and wine-caliber) 14.7% ABV, and retails in the USA for about $11 per 720mL bottle. I say, pick this one up (it's available in all states, as well as Canada, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean). I will definitely be having SakeMoto again!

Thanx to Skye Morgan and Charles Communications for the opportunity to try this one!

SakeOne site

Nails - "Abandon All Life" CD

 "Abandon All Life", the second album from American black/death/doom/grindcore merchants Nails, certainly economizes. It's 10 songs in a meager 17 minutes, but I swear there's at least an hour's worth of hate in those brief 17 minutes. Recorded by Kurt Ballou (Converge), who ably handles the ear-splitting highs and grisly lows, this is a seriously intense recording.

"Abandon All Life" sounds like a family being violently hacked to bits, crushing bones and explosive blows alongside blood-curdling screams and thuds. Track titles aren't too important, as this flows together as one extended piece of evil audio carnage. Devastating and riveting, Nails make most metal acts sound like kindergardeners. This is the most violent, aggressive recording I've heard in some time. All hail Nails.

Southern Lord

Nails site

Beer: Brooklyn, Victory, and Widmer Brothers

And more beer yet to come. This is just skimming off the top. This installment, some fine brews from some respected breweries. Read on, and have a craft beer today (reject the watery corporate toilet-water)!

BROOKLYN - MONSTER ALE (Brooklyn, NY) - 3.75

Brooklyn is known for making some of the best American-made craft lager (Brooklyn Lager), as well as the superlative Black Chocolate Stout. This is their heavyweight barleywine.

This is a vintage 2010 bottle, so over 2, nearly 3 years aged.

Pours a murky red-amber, with only a small amount of carbonation and almost no lace whatsoever. Nose is big and syrupy-rich, with notes of dried fruit (figs, plums, raisins) and a sharp grain-malt tone. Taste is big and heavy, as to be expected. There's more of the rich maltiness and dried fruit. The intense hops are dialed way back here, and what results is a complex, rich, and rather smooth drinking experience. 

The alcohol kick is definitely there, but this beast gets friendlier with age.

VICTORY - SWING - SESSION SAISON (Downington, PA) - 4.0

Victory is also known for making one of America's finest lagers, Prima Pils. This is a new saison that's got some mixed reviews elsewhere, but I liked it.

Pours a pale golden, with a vibrant, robust white head. Extravagant lace! Nose is spicy, herbal, and fruity. I get some definite citrus and clove. Very nice! Taste is zesty and spicy, with a tangy twist of sour citrus hops at the finish. 

A very enjoyable ale.

WIDMER BROS.- COLUMBIA COMMON (Portland, OR) - 4.0

Widmer is one of my trustworthy favorites, despite being partially owned by corporate interests (AB owns 32% of the Craft Brew Alliance, which also includes Kona and Redhook). This is their take on "steam beer" (aka California Common).

Pours a lovely, rich amber, with fine a tri-finger head. Lovely spoke-style lace, as well. Nose is crisp grains and grassy hops. Perfect aroma for a proper lager, so points here, too! Taste is very palate-pleasing, with a light body but full of flavor. I get enough citrus hops and bready malts to be an ideal balance for a session-style spring lager. 

Very enjoyable and well-done!

WIDMER BROS. - FALCONER'S IPA (Portland, OR) - 3.75

Part of Widmer's Rotator series of rotating, seasonal IPAs, all of which have been enjoyable thus far.

Pours a clean amber, with a frothy tan head. Superlative lace. Nose is grapefruit, pine, and lemon hops. Very nice. Taste? Pleasantly hopped, with more of the citrus/grapefruit tones. I get a hint of bitterness at the finish. 

Not a hop bomb, but still pretty well enjoyable.

WIDMER BROS. - O'RYELY IPA (Portland, OR) - 3.75:

Another part of the Rotator series, this one with the addition of rye malts.

Pours a rich amber, with nice head. Thick, detailed lace. Nose is crisp citrus and floral hops. Very appealing.Taste is nicely hopped, but with enough malts to prevent any acidic or bitter followthrough. The rye shines through with a sharpness, but it's subtle.

Overall, a drinkable and enjoyable IPA -- not overly memorable, but certainly solid.