Altbiers are a bit of a rare find these days, especially in the states. Seriously, you’re more likely to find Bobby Fisher than a good altbier in America, let alone one that’s available year round. Luckily for us Austinites, Hops & Grain has come to the rescue.
Alteration is an absolutely solid beer. Dark, heady, and packed with bold flavors of toasted malts and spicy hops, it’s what comes to mind when you think of somebody ordering a beer in a dimly tavern circa a long time ago. Alteration is an homage to the German-style altbier, and, depending on which version of BeerAdvocate lore you choose to believe, the beer either gets its namesake from the German word for “old” or the Latin word for “high”. But we all know the real inspiration for the name, hence this week’s parrot: ALTernative 90s music. So let’s journey back to a time when getting old and high was cool and rock out to some broadly categorized music that can range from Sugar Ray to Korn, both of which are considered potentially harmful adjuncts to beer and also to our ears.
The 90s have been recently referred to as “The Last Great Decade,” a title coined by our friends at Nat Geo (did they stop calling it Nat Geo? I hope not. It was so catchy the way it stumbled off the tongue). It’s a decade that most of our readers should remember, given that the youngest of you have to have been born no earlier than 1993 in order to legally be appreciating this blog. Those ten years were defined by many things: baggy plaid clothes, America Onlines, and princes that were fresh. But what stands out the most in our minds is the popularization of the term “alternative music”. Its meaning may have been loosely defined in the early stages, but somewhere along the way, this became this. Let’s take a look at some of the notable songs that happened in between:
- Undone (The Sweater Song) – Before Weezer got shitty (and when Rivers Cuomo still had hair).
- Cherub Rock – Before The Smashing Pumpkins got shitty (and when Billy Corgan still had hair).
- Interstate Love Song – Before the Stone Temple Pilots kicked out Scott Weiland and replaced him with Chester Bennington (yes, that Chester Bennington).
- Champagne Supernova – Before Liam and Noel Gallagher killed each other off in a bloody fight for supremacy (JK… that was Cain and Abel… kind of).
- Black Hole Sun – Before Chris Cornell started writing music for James Bond.
“But Beer Parrot, how can we experience Alteration Ale and 90s alternative music AT THE SAME TIME?!” asked everyone. “Well,” said Beer Parrot, rolling their eyes, “besides your typical Monday-Thursday nights of drinking alone to the monotony of interweb videos, why don’t you keep an eye out for the Alamo Drafthouse’s 90s Alternative Sing-Along? You’ll be able to half-heartedly lip sync most of the above mentioned songs (and many more) in the company of complete strangers while polishing off pitchers of Alteration on tap!” And there was much rejoicing.
SEND US PICTURES OF YOUR PET WITH A BEER OR ELSE OUR SATANCAT, ZIGGY, WILL DRAG A BABY DOWN TO HELL. Not really, but we would appreciate the participation. Or rather, the parroticipation.
Kisses,
Beer Parrot