I do think it's good

For reasons unknown, the only footage of the Beat show here in Madison a week or so ago that has made it onto Youtube is Danny Carey's drum solo during "Indiscipline". I'll write about the concert sometime as it was a great show with Steve Vai defying expectations most assuredly and Danny Carey putting his own stamp on the Brufordian rhythms.

The maples want more Citra and the oaks ignore their pleas: Oaked Smoked Helles Lager by Pipeworks Brewing Co.

With my Frau having gone gluten-free, I found myself trapped in the indecision of the massive beer selection at a Binny's outpost in western Chicagoland. I really didn't need to bring home a lot of beer as I would be the only one drinking the stuff and I was clutching a couple of packs already. But I just couldn't let the prospect of more Rauchbier pass me by. On the shelf before me was Pipeworks' Smoked Helles as well as their Oaked Smoked Helles. Which to choose?

If memory serves, I checked each for dates on the bottom of a can but I cannot recall what I found. The date on the Oaked Smoked cans were smudged but they were dated this year and the month appeared to be August. They cost the same or very nearly so thusly price was not at issue. In the end, as you can see above, I went with the latter. Oak smoked Rauchbiers are just less common and I don't think I've encountered one of the Helles variety before so I fell on the side of rarity. But look at that poor oak! Talk about trouble with the trees. No doubt it was the work of a malicious maple.

I generally hold Pipeworks in high regard. They brew more than IPAs and I am surprised that I never reviewed their Pastrami on Rye: Manny's Deli Edition beer which was very tasty.** (Indeed, it appears I haven't reviewed any of their beers since 2013. How odd.) To my mind, that they brew zwei types of smoked Helles speaks to their eclectic/good tastes and makes them a cause worth supporting, even if only one 4-pack at a time.

A cap of loose, white foam sat atop the aureate elixir. Unfortunately, the head was off like a prom dress leaving a glass of lightly golden goodness that was perfectly clear. A stray bubble was to be seen inside here and there. Upon sniffing, smoke came first followed by a bit of honeyed sweetness. There was just a hint of grassy hops to be had underneath it all.

My first sip revealed a medium-light body with only a modicum of fizz. The promised oaked smoke took pride of place but there was also a little breadiness and a hint of sweetness, just like the aroma. Similarly, a mild grassy hoppiness was to be had as well. The luscious smokiness lingered on the finish as the hops took on a herbal tinge to allow for a bit of bitterness and dryness.

Sweetness was minimal allowing me to drown in oaked smoke gluttony. Although I would have liked a tad more fizziness, this stuff went down easily. And at 5% A.B.V., this wasn't a problem. I am not sure if the restrained hop flavor was intentional or if my 4-pack was reaching senescence. (The 4-pack was not refrigerated.)

While part of me notes that this brew lacks the full-breaded flavor of Schlenkerla's smoked Helles, in truth, this is a very fine beer regardless. The smokey taste is excellent and there's just enough of everything else to round out the overall flavor. A wonderful smokey midsummer brew became a true autumnal treat.

Junk food pairing: Oaked Smoked Helles Lager will pair well with just about any potato chip but I recommend either All Dressed or Cheese & Onion varieties.

**Madisonians should note that Delta Beer Lab has a rye beer called Make Rye Not War that is a "collaboration" with Stalzy's Deli. Or has the name on it, anyway. This brew is once again available.

A Mondasian tragedy

There is a subset of Doctor Who fans that listen to the Big Finish audio dramas. And there is a subset of this subset that feels that Big Finish's golden era was roughly from 2000-2004. These early years saw Sixie do a panto and a musical and come down with a brilliant case of logorrhea at a conference of lexicographers; the Fifth Doctor was in a wonderful tale whose narrative threw linearity out the window and another in which he witnessed the genesis of the Cyberman; the Seventh Doctor met Benny in what was essentially a New Adventure on audio and he also had a lengthy dark and brooding conversation with his arch-nemesis, The Master. And Paul McGann brought the Eighth Doctor to life before our ears in some wonderfully challenging tales, including one that felt a lot like an episode of Sapphire & Steel and is now a Christmas classic.

As time wore on, stories became more rote, for want of a better way of saying it, and the New Series made its aesthetic presence felt with stories becoming shorter. The Third Doctor Adventures have been an antidote, of sorts, with Tim Treloar standing in for Jon Pertwee quite admirably in stories that have a distinct early 70s feel. And they haven't been one hour tales either; they've been 4 and 6 parters, in the main. It's also been a hoot having Liz Shaw, the Brigadier, Sarah Jane Smith, and others return. These adventures capture the Pertwee era just wonderfully.

But the most recent story, "The Quintessence", is something new. A 6-parter, it opens with Jo having a hallucinatory episode involving a girl named Emmeline who gives our companion a set of coordinates. The incidental music here is almost psychedelic with sounds quickly panning from left to right and back quickly, bringing an uneasiness to our ears. Following the coordinates, our heroes land on a seemingly empty storm-ridden planet where they improbably run across a Victorian mansion.

The mansion is inhabited by the Pepperdine family, Lucy, Arthur, and their daughter (zoinks!) Emmeline. Emmeline is ill and bedridden. But she also has potent psychic powers. It turns out the mansion is a spaceship and Lucy and Arthur have, out of desperation, been communicating with "angels" who have helped them to help their daughter.

It turns out the angels are Cybermen who want and eventually do kidnap Emmeline. Lucy is killed and Arthur follows the abductors to Mondas through a portal. Jo and the Doctor follow in the TARDIS but arrive 6 years late and find that Arthur is still alive and looking for his daughter. In addition, he has captured a Cyberman and has been conducting hideous tests on it in a search for methods that undo Cyber conversion. In one scene, Arthur tortures it and the creature cries out in bloodcurdling agony. This is one of the most disturbing scenes Big Finish has produced since "Project: Twilight".

Emmeline has been converted to a Cyber Planner and, because of her psychic abilities, she has kept more of her body than most Cyber folks. Instead of simply threatening death and/or becoming a Cyberman, she speaks more like a human and converts Jo to her cause - almost. That opening scene was just a prelude to the Jo-Emmeline relationship which begins with tenderness and mercy before getting twisted and perverted into pure Cyber manipulation.

For his part, the Doctor is his usual pushy, arrogant self but he gets what he gives. More than once he simply wants to return to the TARDIS and leave only to have Jo or Arthur convince/force him to stay. And arriving 6 years late not only shows that his imperfect skill with the TARDIS, but also, arguably, lays blame at his feet for the sad condition that Arthur is in once we meet him on Mondas.

While there are thrills and adventure to be had here, the true greatness of this story comes from the dark tone and the emotional resonance of the characters. Lucy and Arthur are desperate to save Emmeline at the start and there's a Herzogian quality to the Arthur we meet on Mondas - a man in extremis who is losing his own humanity in fighting the grand inhumanity of the Cybermen. Jo nearly betrays the Doctor and the Doctor is almost unable to make the situation right again, or as right as he is able to make it.

Writers Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle came up with some classic Doctor Who here. "The Quintessence" is a visceral, emotionally wrenching tale that takes its place with the best of Big Finish's golden age.

(And good on Big Finish for not putting the villain on the cover.)

Coming Soon?

The Frau and I went to AMC Fitchburg earlier this week and these are the trailers we saw before Meanwhile on Earth. Hopefully these flicks actually screen here. A lot of Tilda Swinton.

Huh. I cannot find the trailer for Love Me online so here's an interview.

Oof. I cannot find a trailer for The Return either. The movie apparently dramatizes the last bits of The Odyssey. Here's a clip, though.

Prog at the movies Nov. '24

"Your Move" by Yes is featured in the trailer for Robert Zemeckis' new movie Here. Not sure if it appears on the movie itself, though.

Listening to the voices of the naiad girls during the fermented hours on Bealtaine

Many thanks to Greg Walker at Syn-Phonic Music for the fine Wobbler albums. So much proggy goodness!

Piper in the sun: A study

Front and back.

A eureka moment at the grocery store

In a recent beer review I found myself befuddled by a flavor called "chamoy drip". I googled it and found that chamoy is a Mexican condiment made from dried fruits and chili powder. On my next visit to Woodman's, I perused their new ethnic foods aisle that had plenty of comestibles from lands to our south. No, not Illinois, but rather Central and South America. My investigation paid off, sort of. I discovered two brands of chamoy sauce and was so excited that I couldn't even take pictures in focus.

Unfortunately, neither were made with dried fruit beyond some dehydrated lime juice. Oh well. Perhaps a Mexican grocery store would have something better.

Madison Metro Transit has mercy

Our BRT platforms have misericords! Monks would feel right at home.

Happy Election Day

I spied this on the bus shelter this morning.

As the late Glenn Frey once noted

...the heat is on. Our fancy new BRT bus platforms have heaters and they are now running with the cooler autumnal weather.

R.I.P. Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones passed away yesterday. Perhaps he is best known for producing Michael Jackson's Thriller. I went over to Wikipedia to look at his body of work and, while I knew he was a producer extraordinaire, I had no idea just how much music the man helped to make. In addition to producing duties, the guy played with the likes of Dizzie Gillespie, worked with Cannonball Adderley, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie, scored numerous movie soundtracks, and so on and so on. He played, composed, produced, conducted, orchestrated - just amazing.

He produced the soundtrack to The Wiz and I saw the musical last year so I am listening to this classic.

Even more autumnal scenes '24

It's been a gloomy, rainy day. The rain was coming down when I got out of bed and it continues as I type in the evening. Despite the precipitation, I took a walk around Acewood Conservation Park this morning with a cup of coffee in hand as I needed to be out in the trees.

The geese were there in droves and were all talky. I could hear them honking and squawking the whole time they were within earshot. Sadly, I did not have my camera camera with me so I got no action photos of the geese.

It was long after I got home that the neighborhood gang of turkeys wandered through our yard into that of the next door neighbor.

All Souls' Day

This All Souls' Day I am enjoying happy memories of my brother. It's still difficult for me to believe he's gone and that it has been nearly 10 years since he died.

Earlier this month he was memorialized in an epic 40+ hour round of Beyond the Mountains of Madness at Gamehole Con where he was Ike Clanton, crew chief of the S.S. Gabrielle. His memory is kept alive at gaming cons (and progressive rock concerts), which tells you something about him. Ha!

New tunes: Mdou Moctar

Thanks to MadCity Music for getting me a copy of the new Mdou Moctar album Funeral for Justice. Bummed that I missed him a couple weeks ago at the Majestic.

Waking the Dead

Drinking seasonally this morning. Good stuff, Just Coffee. Dark, roasty goodness.

Rauchbier is like the sin of the flesh; the more you have the more you want: Bamberger Rauchbier by Klosterbräu Bamberg

This may be my first taste of a German Rauchbier that isn't from Schlenkerla. A true red letter day!

Like BestMaid's pickle beer, this one was purchased in exurban Chicago. The clerk at the register was surely thinking I was a weirdo as I came before her with 2 packs of Rauchbier and one of pickle beer. Plus Malört and Underberg.

I don't recall having seen Klosterbräu's beer previously but I don't know if this means they started exporting to the States fairly recently or if they've been doing so for a while but the beer has finally made its way to the middle of the country after being available to coasties for some time. The bier came in cans and, according to Untappd, Klosterbräu Bamberg is a subsidiary of Privatbrauerei Kaiserdom, Bamberg's largest brewery. By large we're talking New Glarus size, not Miller. Perhaps the Damen und Herren at Kaiserdom are aiming for the American market. I only saw their Rauchbier which is, in my opinion, an odd choice if you are looking to gain market share in this country.

Can you imagine the management meetings about this?

Vee vant to penetrate zee American market.

Aber how do vee do so vizout an IPA?

Vee shall zend zem zee Rauchbier!

However a strange business plan they may have, to them I say willkommen!

Klosterbräu Bamberg dates back to 1533 although there is a mention of whatever it was called back in the Middle Ages from two centuries earlier. The can notes that the grand guaiacols, the fantastic phenols, and the scintillating syringols come from malt that is dried using the smoke from beech wood flames. Beech wood is traditional these days for Bamberger brewers but I'd bet their forebears used whatever hardwood they had at their disposal back in the day.

One thing the can didn't mention was what style of beer this is. Is it a Märzen? A bock? A Helles? Maybe it's just their own creation.

I was very eager to try this beer. How would it differ from Schenkerla's?

A big, firm tan head with staying power sat atop the liquid which was dark and opaque. Lifting my glass to a light and putting it at just the right angle revealed the beer to be a deep ruby-brown hue. It seemed to be clear. I mean, it's a German beer that's not a hefeweizen so surely it was clear. It looked like just the tonic for a chilly, overcast autumn evening. And so it smelled too. While the smokiness came first and was most prominent, it was a complex aroma with a bit of wood of the unburnt variety in addition to the usual fuliginous elements. There was also a hint of malty sweetness, mild stone fruit, and some spicy hoppiness struggling to be smelled.

The medium-light body was punctuated by a good, firm fizziness. Still, the luscious smoke flavor had a pleasing smoothness to it, at times. The smokiness was rather potent and tasted rather sprightly, as if it wasn't being dulled a bit by malty sweetness. Indeed, the beer had a clean smoke taste and was not the least bit sweet. The hops protested the grains vigorously and added a very nice spicy contrast. On the finish, the smoke lingered as the hops took on herbal notes that gained in strength to give firm doses of both bitterness and dryness. I also tasted bitter chocolate here once the smoke began to fade.

Sehr schön!

This is one fine bier. While it looks like the stuff in the pool that takes you to the Black Lodge, it has a fairly light body and is the very definition of easy drinking. It went down like water for me. I loved the smoke flavor and the way the other malts didn't get in the way of it so it had a sharper, "fresher" taste. Marvelous! It had a stronger hop flavor for me than any Schlenkerla beer I've had but I am unsure if this is because Klosterbräu uses more of the precious herb or if the Schlenkerla varieties I've tasted had their hoppy potency dulled by age. Also, I think Schlenkerla's brews tend to have more sweetness and bready flavors than this stuff.

I am unwilling to say that this is better than Schlenkerla or that Schlenkerla is better than this. However, Klosterbräu's Rauchbier is no shadow on a cave wall; this is definitely a Platonic ideal.

Junk food pairing: Klosterbräu's Bamberger Rauchbier pairs magnificently with Herr's Horseradish Cheddar Potato Chips. The folks at Herr's do not skimp on the horseradish which makes this perfect companion to the smokiness.

More autumnal scenes '24

We grew a pumpkin this year! It appears that the squirrels did some sampling.

I made an apple pie with fruit from Lapacek's, including a Wolf River apple. It spent a little too long in the oven - look at the Maillard reactions! - but it still tasted delicious.

Piper sleeping on my lap.

The first female monster cereal mascot. Perhaps the first lesbian one as well. Will the Sheridan Le Fanu estate sue?

A creepy night at the bus stop.

At Gamehole Con with Don of Novus Ordo Seclorum. All hail the Great Cthulhu!

A pre-gaming walk at Turville Point Conservation Park.

Rauchbier!