Founders All Day IPA Session Ale - Review

Founders All Day IPA Session Ale is a seasonal release for the summer months. The idea for a session ale is that you can knock back a couple of beers to feel refreshed without getting overly buzzed. If you are expecting a typical IPA, you are likely to be somewhat disappointed. There is a definite hop character with strong hints of grapefruit, but it is not a powerful hop presence. The yeast variety gives a distinct tart flavor, which becomes apparent after the initial taste of hops. This beer is nicely balanced all around and is a nice choice for a hot summer afternoon.

My purchase was a 12-pack of cans. 4.7% ABY, 42 IBUs

Independent Baking Company Opens in Athens

The Independent Baking Company opened this week in Five Points, and it was worth the wait. Owner Thom Leonard and crew did a nice job of building up advance buzz with appearances at the Athens Farmers' Market and some pre-opening sales from their storefront. 

The baguettes are excellent: crusty on the outside, chewy, but light and flavorful on the inside. The kalamata olive bread is amazing. Whole olives appear here and there throughout the loaf. We took ours home to slice and ate it with some leftover homemade pesto. These are the kind of breads that can be a meal in themselves with just a little cheese and a glass of beer or wine. 

Independent Baking Company has a half dozen or so types of bread, including whole wheat varieties. There are also croissants, cookies and Danish. Arrive early in the morning if you are after some of the more popular goodies. Coffee and espresso are available to sip at their counter or to go. IBC opens at 7 am.

A word of warning: our loaves were difficult to slice without a very sharp bread knife. You will do just as well to tear off chunks of bread, which is more fun, anyway.

Review of Demons - Cowboy Junkies Cover Vic Chesnutt

It's a risky proposition taking on Vic Chesnutt tunes, especially a full album's worth. Nobody sang quite like Vic – contorting and emphasizing words and syllables so that his lyrics became uniquely his own. Still the Junkies' vibe is a good fit with Vic's tunes. They had all worked together on the remake of The Trinity Session (Trinity Revisited, released in 2008), a session where the Junkies were joined by Vic, Ryan Adams and Natalie Merchant. On Demons, Cowboy Junkies cover eleven of Vic's songs, reaching back to the tile track from West of Rome in 1991, adding several others from his catalog of a dozen or so albums, including three cuts from At The Cut, the last record Chesnutt recorded.

Vic's unusual singing style and playfulness with words served to draw the listener in. In a different way, Margo Timmin's softer and much prettier voice often does the same, most effectively on some of the slower and quieter tunes like “I'll See You Around” and “Supernatural.” The latter is effectively augmented with mandolin and eerie bowed string sounds. Unfortunately Margo's voice is a little lost in the mix on a couple of the louder songs. On “Ladle” the guitar riff and Michael Timmin's fractured guitar solo drive the song along, but it's too easy to miss the mildly suggestive chorus.

For those unfamiliar with the twists and turns of Vic's lyrics, I've Flirted With You All my Life tricks the listener into thinking it's about a school boy crush, before it turns into into a song about death, and despite the sad irony of Chesnutt's own death in December 2009, the Junkies evolve it into an affirmation of life with declarations of “I'm not ready.”

Overall Demons is an effective and worthwhile tribute to a an artist who was known by too few during his lifetime. The record is the second volume of The Nomad Series, a four album release by The Cowboy Junkies over an eighteen month span.