Best Canned Beers

By Mark W. Byrne, Esquire

It's been 75 years since the world saw its first beer can. Now, led by can-only breweries, we're seeing a renaissance for brews that are colder, brighter, and just plain more refreshing. Here are 9 beers that prove that. Courtesy of Oskar Blues Brewery Dale's Pale Ale Oskar Blues brewery tried its hand at all types of beer — a hefewiezen, a Scotch ale, a stout — but its basic brew is the best: bright and rich, not too bitter. Drink it cold or drink it just below room temperature: tastes delicious either way. And it should, since Oskar Blues has been canning all its beer since 2002 — long before the bigger craft brewers caught on.

More from Esquire: The Healthiest Beers on Earth Great Beers for Your Favorite Team! Courtesy of Butternuts Brewery Porkslap Pale Ale Butternuts is an upstate New York brewery that's deep in farm country, and all their craft brews bare proof of that provenance. The best, though, is Porkslap Pale Ale, a cult favorite flavored with a spot of ginger to spice things up. It clocks in at just 4.3 percent a.b.v., though, so you may need to keep this six-pack all to yourself.

Courtesy of the Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Lager 16 oz Back in 1988, Brooklyn Brewery set up shop in an old matzo ball factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where they taught visitors how to actually talk about hops. It took them two decades to put the stuff in a can, but it was worth waiting: it's just as good as the bottle, but comes in a 16 oz tall boy — much more efficient than 12 oz of glass.

Courtesy of New Belgium Brewery Fat Tire Amber Ale In Fort Collins, Colorado, the new New Belgium brewery began canning its famous ale last summer, and it was just in time. In a can, Fat Tire tastes crisper, and you start to notice things about it, like its hint of sweet caramel, that explain why it's so popular.

Courtesy of Surly Brewing Co CynicAle 16 oz If you're in Minneapolis, head to any good liquor store for a four-pack of Surly Brewing Co tall boys. Surly offers all of its yearly and seasonal beers in cans, but we like the CynicAle the best. It's a Belgian beer, so it's light and crisp and perfect for summer. A note: If you're not in the Twin Cities, it's tough to find, so we suggest you start making friends from Minneapolis now. Courtesy of the Anderson Valley Brewing Co Boont Amber Ale Anderson Valley is a little brewing company up in Boonville, California, and unlike Brooklyn Brewery, they've managed to keep their operation relatively small and charming. This spring, inspired by the environmental benefits of a lighter, more recyclable material, they started offering their Boont Amber Ale in cans. The brewery recommends serving this beer between 40 and 45 degrees, which means that, if you take it out of the refrigerator and throw it in a duffel bag, it should be just right by the time you get to the park. Try that with a bottle? No thanks. Courtesy of Pabst Brewing Co. Pabst Blue Ribbon Because it's cheap. Because it's everywhere, because cans are easy at bars, and because that's okay. It comes in glass too, but that just looks wrong. Courtesy of Minhas Craft Brewery Simpler Times Lager Even cheaper than the PBR, this beer from Minhas Craft Brewery clocks in at 6.2 a.b.v and is about $3 for a six-pack at your local Trader Joe's. The plus side? It tastes much better — slightly malty, with a twang of bitter hops — than the budget cans of your college past. Courtesy of Genesee Brewing Co One to Avoid? Genesee Cream Ale Thick but flat, bitter but creamy. It's cheap and it's nostalgic and like so many sorta disgusting things, it's a classic. So if you're going to partake in this oddly named product, first introduced in 1960, do so out of a can.

Drive - Best Movie of 2011

I'm not sure why I waited to see this movie but when I finally did it completely earned my two thumbs up. From the soundtrack, to the cast, to the story, it all was brilliant. The acting was phenomenal and Ryan Gosling suddenly gained my attention, after seeing 'Blue Valentine' which don't get me wrong, his acting was good in, it certainly didn't make me an immediate fan of his; but after seeing 'Drive' that's all changed and Gosling as earned himself a new fan. If all goes well, he might even earn himself an Oscar. Also a nice surprise was Albert Brooks as a bad guy, who also did an outstanding job of acting as a mob boss. Then of course their is the Carey Mulligan and Christina Hendricks, need I say more. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you haven't seen 'Drive' yet, do yourself a favor and watch it. You won't regret it. Unless maybe you have a weak stomach for violence, don't like car chases, and hate Ryan Gosling. If that's the case, I might ask what planet you're from. I don't think I'm alone on this. If you don't believe me check out reviews on rottentomatoes.com or imdb.com.

Who is Pretty Lights?

So until recently I had never actually listened to Pretty Lights. I had heard plenty of people talk about them and assumed it was just another trendy hipster sound that all the musical posers out there felt the need to explain to the world that they were apart of. However one day while listening to Pandora, a song came on that made me stop and think to myself, "who is this?" So when I saw who it was that was playing I now knew what all the talk was about. Pretty Lights,  puts a new 'spin' on the electronic, digitally, over-produced music era that we are involved with currently. For once I felt I actually needed to eat my words regarding negative statements about this artist, but I wondered, "Who is Pretty Lights". So I did a little more research and it turns out Pretty Lights is in fact one guy named Derek Vincent Smith. Turns out that he's from Ft. Collins, Colorado, born only a year after myself, and also attended the University of Colorado. He dropped out after his freshman year, but I'd say things turned out alright for Mr. Smith. I suddenly have a greater appreciation for this local artist. I know the next time I get the chance I will be getting a ticket to the Pretty Lights show, which does apparently live up to the name. He will be performing at the Sasquatch Music Festival this upcoming Memorial Day in George, Washington alongside an incredible line-up. This was the first song I listened to that I really like and find myself listening to constantly. Ironically it's titled 'Finally Moving'... Enjoy!

This is a really cool video I found that uses Pretty Lights - "Change is Gonna Come/Pink Floyd - Time(Remix)"

Below are other songs performed by Pretty Lights

Sasquatch Music Fest Lineup Announced

By MATTHEW PERPETUA (Rollingstone magazine)

Jack White, Beck and Bon Iver will headline the 11th annual Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington this Memorial Day Weekend. The festival will also include performances by the Shins, Feist, the Roots, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Spiritualized, St. Vincent, the Walkmen, Girl Talk, Tenacious D, Explosions in the Sky, Gary Clark Jr., Beirut, the Joy Formidable, the Civil Wars, Silversun Pickups, M. Ward and Blitzen Trapper. In addition to these and many other bands, the weekend will also feature comedy performances by the cast of Portlandia, Todd Barry, John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, Rob Delaney and others. 

Beck's appearance at the top of the bill will come as a surprise to many fans of the alt-rock icon, who has been almost entirely absent from the stage since 2009. This could be an indication that the songwriter is working on new material, which would be his first since Modern Guilt came out in the summer of 2008.

Jack White's headlining slot is also noteworthy, as it is the first solo gig announced for the former White Stripes frontman, who will release Blunderbuss, his first album under his own name, in April.

You can watch a video announcement for the festival below.

Jack White Solo Debut Album

The first single, "Love Interruption" from Jack White's debut album Blunderbuss was just released and the new album will go on sale April 23 produced by his production company Third Man Records. The long wait is finally over, since the departure of the White Stripes, he's been busy with other groups such as; The Raconteurs, Dead Weather, and Wanda Jackson. A compilation of 13 of Jack's best collaborations has been setup at Stereogum.com. Now we will finally get a chance to see what an album made solely by the guitar legend will sound like. A new website has also launched exclusively for the new solo artist at Jackwhiteiii.com. Along with this latest news, it's also been released that Jack will be playing his first headline gig at the Sasquatch Festival this Memorial Day Weekend in George, Washington on May 26. It's an exciting time for fans of Jack White and look forward to more upcoming.