Heavy Hops

Latest Episodes:

HH 065: The Fire Still Burns (Matthias Trum/Schlenkerla) Oct 07, 2021

Show notes

Smoked beers are thought to be an acquired taste. Aromas and flavors of campfire or bacon, when presented in the context of a pale or dark lager, can be surprising, jarring or intriguing. However, when we think broadly about our own relationship to this sensory experience we can be transported to familiar and even nostalgic places: an outdoor gathering with friends and family, the smell of breakfast, or a barbecue. Enjoying a glass of smoked beer is a window into not only our own past, but also the history of beer. Joining us this week is Matthias Trum, 6th generation brewmaster and patron of Schlenkerla Brewery and tavern located in Bamberg, Germany. Brewers and fans of smoked beer hold the distinctly smokey lagers and wheat beer from this Bavarian brewery in the highest regard. Known for its unique malting handling and preparation methods that impart a distinctly smokey aroma and flavor, Schlenkerla’s Märzen, Wheat beer, bocks and pale lager are gateways into a special sensory experience. We discuss how Matthias translates historical brewing records into modern recipes; what his experience as family business owner and operator has been like; and how he balances modernity, tradition and innovation. This conversation wouldn’t have been complete without a discussion of the Reinheitsgebot, the evolution of the purity laws in Bavaria, and how they are employed and relevant to consumers today. Find Schlenkerla: Website Instagram Facebook Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems / Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please consider donating to our fundraiser to help Sam (Co-Host of Heavy Hops) fight cancer! Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 064: Zone Tripper (Dave Schmidt/Electric Moon, Zone Six, Sula Bassana) Sep 30, 2021

Show notes

Joining us this week is German multi instrumentalist Dave Schmidt. He is a pillar in the modern psychedelic music scene: his projects Electric Moon, Zone Six, Krautzone, Intercosmos as well as his solo work - released under the name Sula Bassana - are essential listening for anyone looking to open their mind and reach the outer galaxies. His label Sulatron Records sits at the convergence of neo-psychedelic, krautrock, ambient electronic and progressive rock - in a normal year releasing a prolific amount of records for a one person operation. We discuss improvisation in heavy music, Dave’s experience growing up in Berlin in the 1980s, playing in non-traditional venues such as the planetarium in Bochum where I first saw Electric Moon, his collaboration with Portuguese kosmische explorer Talea Jacta for Roadburn Redux, and what he’s been up to with his numerous musical projects during the last year and a half. You’ll find links to Dave’s projects and label in the episode notes (below), as well as a killer video of Electric Moon performing at Freak Valley Festival in 2019. Find Dave Schmidt: Electric Moon Sula Bassana Intercosmos Zone Six Krautzone Sulatron Records Electric Moon Live at Freak Valley 2019 Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Audio editing, mix and mastering: Esben Willems / Studio Berserk Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please consider donating to our fundraiser to help Sam (Co-Host of Heavy Hops) fight cancer! Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 063: Torment & Glory (Brian Cook/Russian Circles, Sumac) Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Joining us this week is Brian Cook, you may know him as bassist in heavy bands Russian Circles and Sumac. This conversation focuses on his first solo effort - under the name Torment & Glory - which was released in late August. We Left a Note with an Apology draws from a wide music palate, folk tradition, country storytelling, krautrock with moments of sludgy distortion that transport the listener to a series of moments in Brian’s life. Our conversation also touches on the construction of the album, how Sargent House became involved in the release, social unrest, closing on a short discussion about recent Russian Circles brewery and coffee roaster collaborations. Brian created an exceptional playlist to accompany this episode that we've been digging since our conversation. Listen to the playlist HERE. Here's Brian's description of the playlist: "A few weeks back I did a playlist of stuff that influenced the Torment & Glory (or stuff that I was listening to a lot while working on it) so I tried to make this one not have much/any stylistic overlap. So this one is basically starts with Dead Kennedys' "Terminal Preppie" cuz that was my gateway drug into punk, then kinda takes off into a bunch of weird punk stuff, fringe hardcore, art punk, krautrock, old school funk, dark drone, death metal, black metal, gloomy electronic stuff, guitar/savvy indie stuff, and a little wind-down with some jazz." Enjoy the playlist HERE. Enjoy the video for the song "No Big Crime". Find Brian Cook: Torment & Glory Russian Circles Sumac Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason This episode was edited, mixed and mastered at Studio Berserk in Gothenburg, Sweden by: Esben Willems. Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please consider donating to our fundraiser to help Sam (Co-Host of Heavy Hops) fight cancer! Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 062: Touring Life (Mattias Nööjd & Axel Wittbeck/Firebreather) Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

This week we're in Gothenburg Sweden at Studio Berserk with Mattiias Nööjd and Axel Wittbeck, guitarist/vocalist and drummer respectively of the riff driven heavy band Firebreather. The band will head to the USA for the first time in early 2022 with Monolord. Our conversation revolves around the role that touring plays in gaining notoriety, and the challenges that comes with gaining and building an audience on the road. We also discuss the bands forthcoming, as of yet untitled, third album, which will be released by Riding Easy Records. Check out the dates for the upcoming Firebreather/Monolord tour HERE. Find Firebreather: Facebook Instagram Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason This episode was recorded, edited, mixed and mastered at Studio Berserk in Gothenburg, Sweden by: Esben Willems. Music by: Sam Cangelosi Photos By: Therese Rasmusson Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 061: Modern British Beer (Matthew Curtis/Pellicle Magazine) Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

Joining us this week is Matthew Curtis, an award-winning freelance writer, broadcaster and author based in Manchester. You may be familiar with his work as Editor-in-Chief of Pellicle Magazine, a publication and podcast focused on beer, cider, wine, food and travel. Matt’s most recent book, Modern British Beer, is the focus of our conversation. The book itself provides a look at eighty different beers produced annually in the UK. In sharing the perspectives of the producers - and the tasting notes of the beers themselves in first person narrative - Matt highlights the diversity of these beverages and how they are a reflection of place, values and ethics. Our conversation dives into the aspects of modernity, the influence continental and American producers have had on the flavors and production practices he documents, and the space these beers occupy in an evolving contemporary European beer market. We also consider who drinkers of modern British beer are, where traditional brewers sit in the landscape Matt describes, and the statement CAMRA - the Campaign for Real Ale - made by publishing this book. Modern British Beer can be purchased directly from the publisher HERE. Find Matthew Curtis: Pellicle Magazine Twitter Instagram Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason This episode was edited by Esben Willems at Studio Berserk in Gothenburg, Sweden Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 060: Tasting Into The Future (Mike Schallau/Is/Was Brewing) Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

This week we catch up with Mike Schallau, co-owner and brewer of Is/Was Brewing, an artisanal producer of rustic, farmhouse-inspired ales based in Chicago. We explore two of Mike’s first blended mixed fermentation beers: Levain and Bend Towards Daylight. In discussing the construction and intention of these beers we learn more about Mike’s symbiotic approach to creating these living beers. Is/Was recently celebrated its two year anniversary; and Mike reflects on learnings from this early part of his company’s evolution, how he approaches commercial descriptions, and his brief foray in black metal. Find Is/Was: Official Website Facebook Instagram Untappd Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason This episode was edited by Esben Willems at Studio Berserk in Gothenburg, Sweden Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 059: "Cool Story" Barrels (Jim Cibak & Marty Scott/Revolution Brewing) Aug 26, 2021

Show notes

Joining us this week are Jim Cibak and Marty Scott - Brewmaster and Barrel Program Lead respectively - at Revolution Brewing in Chicago. The brewery’s “Deep Woods” Series of barrel aged beers has garnered the attention of drinkers of these time and ingredient intensive styles. Balance, Jim and Marty argue, as perceived during the sensory process, and calculated in analysis, is central to the challenge of achieving consistency, complexity and conveyance of barrel expression for which their “Deep Woods” beers are known. We discuss how sourcing barrels with intention and purpose, blending, patience, nimbleness, luck, and ability to lean on their knowledge reservoir - that of the largest independently owned craft brewery in Illinois - also play a role. Jim and Marty walk us through a number of their barrel aged beers sharing insights into their construction, tasting notes, and stories. Follow Along At Home with these beers: Revolution Deth’s Tar 2016 Revolution Deth’s Tar 2020 Revolution Cuvée de Grace 2020 Revolution VSOJ 2020 Revolution Double Barrel VSOD 2020 Find Revolution Brewing: Revolution's Website Instagram Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason This episode was edited by Esben Willems at Studio Berserk in Gothenburg, Sweden Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 058: Less Transformers, More Harry Crumb (Sanford Parker/HyperCube) Aug 19, 2021

Show notes

Joining us this week is Sanford Parker, a Chicago-based musician, studio engineer and producer. You’ve heard his work in these capacities on albums from Eyehategod, YOB, Wovenhand, Voivod, Hide, Darkthrone, Youth Code, Harm's Way, Facs, and Unearthly Trance, just to name a few. As we get to know Sanford, hear about his engineering and production process, and dive into a select few works, his approach and passion for music becomes evident. Select Works Sanford Recorded, Produced and Performed On: Buried At Sea Corrections House Mirrors for Psychic Warfare Sanford Parker Solo Material Find Sanford Parker Hyper Cube Sanford’s Discography Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason This episode was edited, Mixed and Mastered by Esben Willems at Studio Berserk in Gothenburg, Sweden Music by: Sam Cangelosi Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 057: Best of 2021...So Far (Nick Dellacroce/Bongripper) Aug 12, 2021

Show notes

Joining us this week is Nick Dellacroce, guitarist of instrumental doom band Bongripper and solo project Bottomed. We discuss what’s been happening with Bongripper, what we’ve been listening to and which albums, podcasts, movies and shows have struck us from 2021 so far. Listeners will recognize Nick not only for his musical work, but also from his appearance in Episode 7 Part I and Part II. Playlists, podcasts, and band names below are hyperlinked, so click/press to explore! Playlists Discussed: The Sadness Playlist Our Best of 2021...So Far Playlist Roadburn Essentials Playlist Podcasts: Wandering Soul Documentary Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Downstream Channel A Life On Our Planet Kiss The Ground Land of the Giants Nick's Top Albums of 2021 So Far: Altarage Succumb Body Void Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth Chaos Echoes Ecstasy with the Nonexistents God Is War World Music Volume 1 / Abou Knees Godspeed You! Black Emperor At States End Mogwai As the Love Continues Bill Orcutt / Chris Corsano Made Out of Sound Panopticon ...And Again Into the Light A Place to Bury Strangers Hologram Portal Avow Andy Stott Never the Right Time Scorn The Only Place Sugar Wounds Calico Snuffed on Sight EP Mika Vainio Last Live Yautja The Lurch Looking forward to the new Teeth record. Sam’s Top Albums of 2021 So Far: Gojira Fortitude Gatecreeper Unexpected Reality Cult of Luna The Raging River Uglybones Erasure Bloodletter Funeral Hymns (CD pressing in 2021 by Petrichor/Hammerheart Records) Re-Releases, Live Streams, Notables, Albums You’re Looking Forward To: Soft Kill Sky, Earthless Mojave Desert livestream, Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou cover album, Kikagaku Moyo & Ryley Walker Deep Fried Grandeur Alexi’s Top Albums of 2021 So Far: Big Brave Vital Gatecreeper Unexpected Reality Pupil Slicer Mirrors Spelljammer Abyssal Trip (Cool video for the title track). The Amenta Revelator (Learn more about this album in Ep 55) Live: Solbrud Levende i Brønshøj Vantårn (Discussed in Ep 41) Singles, Re-Releases, Honorable Mentions: Novarupta “Wear You Down” Vukari “MMXXI” (2021) Monolord I’m Staying Home Grand Cadaver Madness Comes (EP) - Thanks George for the shout out! Pelican re-releases via Thrill Jockey. Honorable Mention: The Ruins of Beverast The Thule of Grimoires Find Nick Dellacroce: Bongripper Bandcamp Bottomed Bandcamp Bongripper Facebook Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

HH 056: Paganism and Metal (Deena Weinstein/DePaul University) Aug 05, 2021

Show notes

I was recently flipping through a collection of old compact discs and DVDs, and came across a treasure trove of folk and pagan inspired metal albums. From violins, bagpipes, and hurdy gurdies to throat singing, lutes and horsehead fiddles, modern metal bands have found interesting ways of incorporating traditional instruments, folklore and ritual into their music and performance. These sounds and lyrics are interwoven with a variety of different sonic expressions of heavy music. Deities, such as Baphomet, appear on merchandise and album covers. We wanted to get to the genesis of when pagan and folk traditions, instruments, and lore overlapped with heavy metal. Joining us remotely in this exploration of paganism and metal music is Dr. Deena Weinstein, a professor of Sociology at DePaul University in Chicago. Deena is a thought leader in heavy metal history, her book Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology, which was released in 1991, is considered foundational. She’s been a rock critic specializing in metal for 30 years, is widely read both in mainstream and academic publications, and is a frequent keynote speaker at events such as World Metal Congress. Our conversation offers perspectives and historical context to the musical evolution of rock into metal, and the political and social inflection points during the 70s, 80s and 90s that introduced paganism into metal. How has heavy metal’s culture changed over time in conjunction with its interactions with paganism? Does ethnicity and identity play a role? Is pagan metal an artistic response to the power wielded by politicians and organized religion? Enjoy this extensive playlist we've constructed as a companion for this episode. Find Deena Weinstein: About Deena View Deena's Academic metal and Social Theory Work Deena's Music Media Work (Magazines and Newspapers) Find Heavy Hops: Website (Listen to all episodes and access detailed show notes!) Facebook Instagram Twitter Support The Show By Donating Episode Art and HH Logo By: Bryn Gleason Please Subscribe to our podcast via your preferred listening platform. Rate and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help others find us! Support The Show By Donating. Give the gift of HH by sharing our episodes on social media! Small actions such as these go a long way in helping others find us!

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