Going in a bit of a different direction today. Reggae and pilsner, two things that have been done so wrong so many times that it might be easy to give up on both. However, when done right there are very few things better, and that is what we have here.
Lee Perry had a tendency to get a bit carried away at Black Ark, there is no question about that. The Congos got right at the heart of the island though, and Lee let them bring the roots out here. Simple riddims, songs about what they knew, and oh my god those harmonies--Myton's soaring falsetto and the counter of Johnson's flawless tenor lifted these basic, comforting sounds, into the stratosphere ultimately creating perfection from simplicity.
The same concept works for Oskar Blues here. In a time when so many breweries are so intent on turning up the volume and redefining the American beer, they get back to the beer that beer drinkers drink--the pilsner. It is unifying, it's comfortable, it's poundable and easy--just like roots reggae. As I mentioned before though, so many pilsners have gone wrong that they have unfortunately become identifiable with trash beer. These guys get it right here though. Mind you they haven't reinvented anything, the signature pilsner malt is still there, in color, on the nose, even on the first hit. But then there is this bit of lemon and grass and hint of hop presence that make this beer an absolute work of art. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that these little yellow cans are just oh so fucking dope.
So, you put these two things together at your next cookout. The Congos are playing, people are digging it because EVERYONE has gone through the reggae phase. Drinking Red Stripe, listening to Legend, fogging out the third floor of your college dorm, it is a rite of passage for anyone between the ages of 20-40. This record will get heads nodding, it might even get a couple of people up and dancing. Mama's Little Yella Pils isn't too strange or elitist that your normal Bud Light drinkers are going to turn it away. It's poundable and perfect for warm weather, just like the Congos. Two products here that have excelled by getting back at their roots. In some way they share a sense of quiet rebellion and calm all at once, and maybe that is more of why these are so perfect together.
Sure, the riddims and general vibe are going to get people into the music. But there is a sort of bleary eyed realism at work on the record also. Sometimes what we know and what we do isn't as easy as it seems. The Congos were hanging onto something that was quickly slipping away from Jamaica--an identity. This record dropped some fifteen years after independence and the mechanical urbanization that swept across the island, and by and large the islands plural, after that was an intense change I would assume. Dancehall with it's breakout stars like Yellowman echoed the change in pace. Musically the culture had come to America and there was money to be made here. The Congos songs about fishing and playing the drums and retaining a certain way of life were a call in some way for people to remember where they came from it seems.
Perhaps Oskar Blues has made a similar statement here. Getting back to cans (which are completely perfect for a day on the river, or camping, or the end of a hike--those simple but perfect things) and abandoning the signature bomber of the craft beer world is a huge statement (one that I fully support and greatly appreciate other breweries such as Andersen Valley, 21st Amendment, and Avery taking part in). In addition, banking so much on the pilsner (I am not discounting any of their other fine beers, but they have put a lot of effort into getting this pils out there) rather than making 25 different IPAs or a stout that has been aged in french oak barrels that once were used for aging some obscure wine that none of us gave a shit about the first time around. Just simply getting back to great American beer. It's a pretty great thing to see people taking so much pleasure and working so hard at just making something right rather than making something new which is something the Congos obviously understood 25 years ago.
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