Infectious Garage Disease - "Infectious Garage Disease" CD

Now this is a retrospective/historical release done right! Infectious Garage Disease were a California thrash punk band, and in 1988 they released their one and only LP, which is the foundation for this re-release. Joined by 22 demotape tracks (there are well over 40 cuts here), this disc is filled out to just under the 60 minute mark. With the addition of video files and mp3s of live mayhem, it's all a fan could hope to ask for. Really, it's a comprehensive history of this forgotten band. And I like it.

I.G.D. had a sound that, sadly, doesn't much exist today. Speedy, juvenile, and fun, this proto-hardcore punk was snotty and witty, dealing with important subjects like beer ("Milwaukee's Best"), teenage lust ("Dear Pops"), addiction ("Porno Junkie"), frivolity ("Thongs"), social issues ("Starve & Die"), disease ("Pubic Lice"), and many more. 

The demotapes aren't quite as, uh, refined (maybe "honed" is a better word), but the amount of sheer punk energy here is tactile, and reminds me of a less-complicated time, seeing bands much like I.G.D. locally in small venues. Great stuff, and worthy of such a fine re-release.

Negative Reaction Records/MVD Audio

Beer: Kona Brewing

Having first tasted some of these while actually in Hawaii (thanks to the wonderful Pono Market on Kauai), I've often wondered why these semi-major beers weren't sold here in Indiana (Kona is part of a collective that also includes the nationally-distributed brands Widmer Brothers and Red Hook). Well, as of late 2012, Kona has arrived, so I thought it time to re-taste these mainline brews. My reviews run on a scale of 1 (terrible) to 5 (terrific). That means anything in the 3rd tier or higher is well worthy of your time and attention. Make up your own mind, though, and mahalo!

LONGBOARD ISLAND LAGER - 3.5

Pale, cloudy yellow, with rich ample white foam. Modest, but attractive lacing. Nose is yeasty, bready. Not bad at all. Taste is fairly typical lager, though substantially more flavorful than most. Again, as with the aroma, I get yeast and crusty bread. Malty but not too simple or flat. 

This one proved crisp and refreshing, and among the better lagers I've had lately.

BIG WAVE GOLDEN ALE - 4.0

Golden yellow when poured into my pint glass. Superb fine white head of foam. Lace is small, but loopy and somehow appropriate for the "surf" theme. Nose brings some curious tropical fruit aromas -- I get pineapple and mango. Very appealing! Taste also echoes some of these tropical fruits, especially citrus, alongside the rich malty backbone. I get a bit of citrus hoppiness at the finish, too, making this a very enjoyable and easy to drink session ale. 

Perhaps my favorite of Kona's mainland bottled brews, so far. At least until I had this next one...

KOKO BROWN - 4.0

This is an unusual and fitting stylistic twist. It's an American brown ale, but with an added infusion of toasted coconut. Aloha!

Pours a deep ruby brown, with a nice head of fine, off-white suds. lovely and attractive lace. Nose is full of toasty coconut. A hint of cocoa or chocolate in there as well. I really like this -- unique and distinctive. Taste is very coconutty-- with more of the chocolate hint featuring alongside. Very enjoyable. There's also a slight hint of hops late in the finish, bringing this around full circle. 

I dig this brew and will be revisiting.

FIRE ROCK PALE ALE - 3.0

Clean amber, with a rich tan head. Limited, but pleasant spoke lacing. Nose is malty sweet, with only a slight nod to the citrus hops I'd expect to be prominent. Taste is well-balanced -- the hops are muted by a profound malt profile. 

Tasty, but far less hoppy than other pale ales, Fire Rock is an easy drinker and pleasing, but not stunning.

http://konabrewingco.com/

Beer: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout

Lexington, Kentucky's Alltech Brewing (terrible name) has been responsible for one of my favorite bourbon barrel aged ales, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. When I saw a new variation in their lineup, I had to try it. And I'm glad I did.

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout is, as the name states, a dark ale aged in bourbon barrels. It's also aged with Haitian coffee, so it's an exotic treat already! Pours a deep, opaque black with ruby highlights. Fair head with tan bubbles, but very little lace. Nose is roasty coffee. I don't sense much of the oak barrels here, but as I love coffee, this is still pretty damned nice.

Taste is definitely coffee-dominant, with an aftertaste/finish that shows a bit of the bourbon whiskey character. This is really a nice, easy-drinking brew to sip (it's a stiff 8% ABV), and a must-try for coffee-beer fans. And it's a much more affordable (at $12-14 per 4 pk.) option for Bourbon County Barrel Stout fans. I'll buy this one again, for certain.

Alltech (aka Kentucky Ale) site

Beer: Gulden Draak 9000

The  history of beer and brewing in Belgium goes back hundreds of years. And although Gulden Draak (brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V. in Belgium) isn't brewed by monks in an ancient abbey, it IS a premium, top-shelf beer in a rather elite class. Late 2012 saw a new variation on the classic Gulden Draak formula, with the release of Gulden Draak 9000 -- a 10.5% ABV quadrupel ale in the ancient Belgian abbey ale tradition.

Gulden Draak 9000 pours a hazy, clouded amber with a huge, zealous head of gold-tinged suds. It dissipates fast, leaving an erratic, chunky lace. Nose is, like a true Belgian, full of spices and dark fruit. I get some clove action alongside dried berries and yeasty bread. Nice.

Taste comes across like a freight train! It's strong and assertive on the palate, with a wallop of fruit, spice, and bread right up front. The finish leaves a warming, boozy kick. Truly a big, heavy, and complex ale that rivals the original Gulden Draak. Classic and beautiful!

Gulden Draak 9000 retails, in the United States, at $11.99 (750 ml bomber) and $14.99 (4pk/11.2 oz. bottle).

http://www.globalbeer.com/

Mentallo & The Fixer - "Music From The Eather" 2xCD

Having listened to these Texan brothers since receiving one of their cassette demos way back in the late 80s, it's good to see them still around and further honing their heavy sequencer electronic body sounds. "Music From The Eather", the Dassing brothers' first release in 5 years, consists of two extended discs. 

"Good News And Warnings" (CD1) is 13 tracks (and over 70 minutes) of hypnotic and moody instrumental electro-industrial soundtracks. Tracks like "Untapped Regions" are darkened slices of electronic textures that harken equally to the percolating sequences of Tangerine Dream and the noisy horror-scapes of Skinny Puppy. "Shadow Of My Former Self" is a thick, layered assault of sequences, samples, and rhythms -- complex but still based more on rhythm than melody. "Wandering Off In The Dark" is a reflective 12-minute journey, complete with Biblical verses, hallucinogenic sound gurglings, and wicked rhythm programming. 

The second disc, "Altered Everything Forever", is another 18 tracks and 70+ minutes -- with more new cuts and remixes. It's all in a similar vein, with deftly-programmed electronic rhythms and intensely detailed sequencers and samples. A solid (if somewhat indulgent) genre release, and squarely-aimed at Mentallo's rabid 90s-era fanbase, "Music From The Eather" is a winner.

(Alfa Matrix)

Mentallospace

Beer: Schofferhofer - Grapefruit Hefeweizen

I've never been much a fan of Summer shandies or radlers. Some of the more mainstream beer/fruit juice mixes seem far too artificial and sweet for my more "mature" (read: hop-centric) taste buds! Hah! But this German import mixes 50% real hefeweizen with 50% "natural grapefruit flavors". And it doesn't suck. 

Schofferhofer Grapefruit-Hefeweizen Mix is easy to drink, and at a meager 2.5% ABV, you could easily down a sixer without even getting tipsy. Maybe. Anyway, I'm not sure how easy this beer is to find, or what states it's distributed in, but it does retail for $8.99-$9.99. Ask your local retailer if their distributors can get it. So, how about that review? 

Pours a weird orange (like a Fanta or Crush), but it's an impenetrably cloudy and opaque -- like a proper hefeweizen! No lace here. Nose is subtle grapefruit, with some sharp wheat character. Actually not bad. Taste is sweet grapefruit and a hint of wheat sharpness. Actually, this isn't too far from a citrus soft drink, with an infusion of beer. Call it a radler or a shandy or whatever, but this drinks very easily. And at a lowly 2.5% ABV, this is perfect for Summer yardwork. Enjoyable!

Official Schofferhofer.de site

"Cannibal Possession: Heart Of Ice" DVD (director: Christian Tizya)

This Canadian docu-drama is marketed as some kind of extreme zombie/cannibal film, but in reality, it's a vaguely serious documentary examining the wendigo psychosis. According to Algonquian legend, a wendigo is a person compelled to cannibalize those around them, often with a supernatural or demonic spiritual compulsion.

Some find this to be a culture-based phenomenon, but the producers of "Cannibal Possession" want you to see it as a psychological condition. There are interviews with various personalities, most of whom have tenuous "credentials". The main interviewee is Nathan Carlson, an Edmontonian "ethno-historian" who has researched the wendigo spirit exhaustively. Carlson discusses the famous Swift Runner (a Plains Cree trapper who in 1878 murdered and consumed his own wife and five children in Alberta). As well, he recaps the true story of Vince Li, who is 2008 randomly attacked, beheaded, and managed to eat some of fellow Greyhound bus passenger Tim McLean in Manitoba, and presents it as a possible "wendigo" case. With some basis in a real North American "myth", "Cannibal Possession" does have something to offer, but you have to wade through a facade of silly sensationalism to find it. A curiosity, at best.

(Eyes Wide Open Films)