Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations. Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offering: Martyrdöd’s Hexhammaren and Humm’s Hopped Grapefruit Kombucha.
The Metal: Martyrdöd’s Hexhammaren
We’ve entered into a dry spell for releases for me, so this week I’m reaching back a few months to something I’ve been regularly spinning since its release in late May. One thing you might not know about me, at this point, is that I’m a sucker for really good crust punk, and one of the bands I always turn to when I’m in the mood has been Sweden’s Martyrdöd. While not everything they’ve done has knocked it out of the park for me, 2016’s List EPwas a pleasant surprise, and I’m very happy to say that this year’s Hexhammaren continues that upward trajectory. This is Martyrdöd more energized than I’ve heard them in a long time, chock full of thrashy riffing, breakneck drumming, and more fat hooks than you can shake a stick at. Hexhammaren is already one of my go-to albums for crustier days, and I am confident it’ll stay that way.
The Boo…er The Beverage: Humm’s Hopped Grapefruit Kombucha
Sometimes I just don’t feel like drinking. Maybe a controversial opinion for someone who writes a weekly column featuring mostly alcohol pairings, but it’s true. We last touched on our dear friend Kombucha during a column in which I was too sick for anything harder, but this week just feels like a dry week for me, so we’re going back to it again. But we’re not forsaking our noble beer roots either, because this week we’ve got a best of both worlds scenario thanks to Humm’s Hopped Grapefruit Kombucha. This is a much lighter kombucha than I usually like, even with the addition of the normally strong grapefruit flavor, but it really allows the character of the hops to take center stage. You get a lot of different notes from the hops here that you don’t normally get in beer: no bitterness, but a lot more sweet, fruity, and floral notes that give this kombucha a lot of character beyond simply tartness and sourness. It’s a completely different and very interesting way to experience hops, and it’s done very well here.
Cheers, and be good to each other,
– Vincent
Nine Circles 