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: Midwife’s Forever and The Bruery’s Ruekeller Helles.
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The Tunes: Midwife’s Forever
Last week’s album was something seriously heavy, so this week I wanted to change it up and offer something…seriously heavy. In a different way, I promise. Denver, CO’s Midwife play spacey, ambient dream pop, dubbed ‘Heaven Metal’ by the project’s sole musician Madeline Johnston for its ability to be both light and textural in form while dealing with intense, crushing emotions. The project’s newest release, Forever, shows Johnston earn that moniker like never before. Taking themes of extreme loss and shrouding them in reverb, tinny programmed drums, and deep guitar chords, Forever allows the listener space to follow along on a journey from grief to renewal, and the quest to honor the memory of a loved one and leave a testament to their time on earth. There is a humbling amount of honesty and frailty on display here, and the music gives the perfect somber, pensive backdrop to let the emotional weight carry this album through to its end. Forever is quickly becoming one of my favorite releases from this year.
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The Booze: The Bruery’s Ruekeller Helles
Today I finally checked a long-standing item off the old list. I’ve been hearing rave reviews of The Bruery’s work for quite some time, but all the ones I want have been, quite frankly, a little out of my price range. Lo and behold, on my last grocery shopping trip I finally managed to grab a four-pack of something a little simpler but a little more accessible from this Orange County, CA brewery. Ruekeller Helles is a traditional Helles-style lager, brewed like you’d get it in Germany. While The Bruery might be more known for their more outlandish sours and barrell-aged beers, they do an incredible job with a straightforward classic too. There’s a ton of character here, with floral wheat notes blooming onto the tongue and fading into a sweet, clean finish. Maybe it’s just me, but there is something almost peppery here too, which is a welcome addition. The Bruery describes this drink as “Challenging in process, traditional in method.” Oftentimes, it is harder to do something in an authentic way than it is to experiment, but The Bruery proves here they can master both.
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Cheers, and be good to each other,
– Vincent
Nine Circles 