Raising a glass for Paris
Eagles of Death Metal endorse Ontario beer to aid terror victims
Four months on from the horrific Nov. 13 terrorist attack on their gig at Paris’s Bataclan Theatre, Eagles of Death Metal are proudly rocking on in defiance of senseless violence with an unlikely ally: music-lovin’ Bowmanville, Ont., microbrewery Manantler.
Manantler and the Eagles announced on Thursday that they are partnering up on a new brew — dubbed “Boots Electric IPA” in honour of frontman Jesse Hughes’ chosen nom de rock — that will see $1 from each bottle sold funneled to families of the 130 victims of the Paris massacre through co-founder Josh Homme’s Sweet Stuff Foundation.
The whole idea came together so quickly that Manantler co-owner James Gorry hasn’t had time to actually brew a batch of Boots Electric IPA yet. But, in fittingly Eagles-like fashion, the band eagerly came on board the moment it saw one of in-house designer Rachel Riordan’s three pitches for the label: a garish, hot-pinkand-blue affair featuring a caricature of Hughes riding a sunglasses-sporting ti- ger. (They passed on the one with the unicorn, which would probably have also been awesome.)
“It’s a charity thing, obviously. But if you’ve seen the label, then you know it’s also about fun and rock ’n’ roll,” says Gorry, a musician himself who plays in 905 punk outfit Tijuana Jesus and the Bradleyboy-affiliated Billard Blossom combo.
The Bataclan attack, he says, was “pretty personal for me, just because I’ve been going to concerts since I was 11. It really f---ed me up. Any kind of attack like that where innocent people are dying is no good, but for some reason it was worse for me because I could place myself or any of my friends or every person I’ve ever seen at a concert there and it wasn’t comfortable. It was really unsettling. For weeks I wouldn’t stop talking about it and I couldn’t stop empathizing with the situation.”
Amajor Eagles of Death Metal fan — “To me, they’re just doing exactly what rock ’n’ roll should be,” he says — he was inspired by the band’s commitment to soldiering on as usual after the Bataclan nightmare.
1. GAME OF THRONES Celebrate the return of everyone’s favourite gory fantasy series with the sixth Westeros-inspired beer, a collaboration between HBO and New York brewery Ommegang.
Dubbed Seven Kingdoms Hoppy Wheat Ale, after the seven worlds in the show, it promises to be a happy union of traditional Belgian-style wheat beer and hoppy American ale, unlike so many of the deeply unhappy couples on the show.
The LCBO has carried the previous versions, and confirmed it is interested in stocking this 6.9 per cent alcohol beer when it launches this spring. 2. K-OS Golden Vox, a rye pale lagered ale, is a collaboration between Ottawa-area brewery Beau’s and Canadian hiphop artist k-os.
Originally developed for the Session Toronto Craft Beer Festival in the summer of 2015, you can find this 6 per cent alcohol brew on the shelves of the LCBO in April.
“What we ended up doing was soaking wood chips in rye whisky and then taking the wood chips and putting that into the beer,” said Steve Beauchesne, cofounder and CEO of Beau’s.
“K-os wanted something that was very unique but not so weird it wouldn’t appeal to people.” 3. SAM ROBERTS If you’re wondering where all the good beers have gone, look no further than the 4.5 per cent Spearhead Sam Roberts Band Session Ale.
A collaboration between the Mon- treal band and Toronto craft brewery, it goes well with pub food, burgers, pizza or Indian, and has biscuit, caramel and citrus zest aromas.
Brewed with four types of malts and three types of hobs, it’s available on the shelves of the LCBO ($13.95 for six bottles). 4. IRON MAIDEN Trooper was developed at the Robinson’s brewery in Stockport, U.K., with help from Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson.
The Star’s Josh Rubin says “if it’s a gimmick, it’s a tasty one.”
It’s regularly stocked in the LCBO and a one-time-only limited edition dubbed Trooper 666 Strong Ale will be released this spring to correspond with the band’s tour and Toronto performance in April.
The 4.7 per cent alcohol Trooper Ale is described as medium and malty on the LCBO’s website. 5. MARGARET ATWOOD MaddAddamites NooBroo, a collaboration between Beau’s and the beloved Canadian writer and environmental activist, incorporates flavours from plants mentioned in her dystopian MaddAddam trilogy, from cherry bark to Burdock root.
“There’s some real funky things that they reference in the book, so the beer’s got just a crazy amount of fun ingredients in it,” said Beau’s cofounder and CEO Steve Beauchesne.
Instead of hops, this 5.2 per cent alcohol “gruit ale” is brewed from herbs and spices. It’s no longer available at the LCBO, but Beauchesne hopes to bring it back to coincide with the upcoming MaddAddam TV series.