GIGANTIC
Welcome to the first issue of Gigantic Magazine You may be asking yourself, what does beer have to do with a magazine? We started this project because we want you to know more about the amazing, talented and creative people we work with, the things and places we love, and of course, more about our beer. I am often asked, “who does your labels?”. The answer: we have a different artist for almost every label- and they come from all over the world. To that end, this mag will always include exclusive interviews with the artists who create our current seasonal labels, plus more images of their work. I’m also really excited to announce that we have downloadable songs that pair with each of our seasonal beer labels. It’s a part of Gigantic that we’ve always wanted to include- a taste of the awesome music we enjoy. In this issue you’ll find more information about our current bands and their new releases. This is just the beginning! We plan to expand our content in upcoming issues to include more of the artists, bands, events, fans and people that we work with and who inspire us every day. Cheers,
Ben
Love Brewmaster/Owner
Ben
Venom
Bay Area artist Ben Venom works with repurposed materials to create textilebased pieces. He contrasts the often menacing and aggressive counterculture components of gangs, punk/metal music, and the occult with the comforts of domesticity. For Gigantic’s High Voltage label, Ben created a quilt using Gigantic tee shirts. If you look closely, you may recognize some familiar images. G: How old were you when you started sewing? BV: I originally began my practice as a painter and printmaker. I began to transition to textile based work in graduate school at the San Francisco Art Institute. At this point I was in my late 20’s. While in graduate school I was slowly learning how to use the sewing machine via trial and error. Mistakes are a large part of my artistic process. After seeing the Gees Bend quilts I decided to push the boundaries of my art and attempt to make a quilt. This first quilt
would contain my collection of Heavy Metal band shirts. For years I had amassed a large pile of torn up and threadbare band shirts that I could never throw away. It’s not cool when your Slayer shirt turns to mesh. Ha! From there my work has progressed to include all types of material including donated/ recycled fabric, denim, leather, etc. G: How did you learn to quilt? BV: I am entirely self-taught when it comes to quilting. I bought a book “Quilting Basic’s 101”, asked questions every time I went to the fabric store, and called my Mom a lot. I try and never let my lack of knowledge or skill level prevent me from executing my ideas. Mistakes are part of the process…learn and move forward! G: It looks like you mainly machine quilt.
What did you base that decision on? BV: Yes…all my work is machine quilted with a Juki F-6OO sewing machine. I machine quilt primarily because I like to work really big in size. If I were to hand quilt these large pieces, it would take me a lifetime. I am not patient…ever! G: You enjoy the juxtaposition of what one might call edgy and/or socially marginal imagery with traditional handicrafts. Do the primarily female workers in the fabric store know what you are up to? What do they make of you? BV: Some of the employees in the fabric stores know who I am and what I do since I am routinely in their store buying large bolts of fabric and thread. However, occasionally I get some odd looks as if I am there to steal something. G: Do the images for your work arrive fully formed into your head, or do you feel your way into it through the material that comes up? (In your case, literally the material.)
BV: Everything I do begins with some amount of research into a particular topic or interest. I will come up with a general idea in my sketchbook by taking notes and doing some quick drawings to work out my idea. From there I move the design into Photoshop or Illustrator and refine the design to its final size. The next step involves cutting all the shirts / denim / leather into pre-determined shapes that fit into the overall design much like a puzzle. Finally, I sew all the pieces together with the quilting stitch that holds all 3 layers of the quilt together. G: Who else’s art do you like to look at these days and/or what do you look at for inspiration? BV: Lari Pittman, Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, Anselm Kiefer, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, AJ Fosik, Cleon Peterson, Richard Colman, Kevin E. Taylor, Lucien Shapiro, Erin M. Riley, Megan Gorham, etc. www.benvenom.com
RED FANG Red Fang hails from Portland, OR but has traveled the world spreading their brand of multi-layered, high-impact, hook-filled, hard rock. We can’t think of a better band to represent the dark soul of High Voltage Winter IPA, and we can’t get enough of Red Fang’s new single, “Flies”off their latest album, Only Ghosts. You can download “Flies” at redfang.beer. Three things we love about Red Fang: 1. They’ve been on David Letterman- color us jealous. We also suspect Dave is a closet hesher. 2. They’re well known for their epic and hilarious music videos that appeal to the metal head and nerd alike. In “The Meadows,” the band eats its way across SE Portland with extreme gusto. In “Wires” they spend their entire video budget on a battlewagon for crashing into whatever their hearts desire, and their latest is a predator themed jungle war video (“Shadows”). 3. They like to drink beer.
Red Fang’s new album, Only Ghosts, was released by Relapse Records on October 14, 2016. They’ll be back in the US in November if you’d like to catch the tour. RED FANG is: John Sherman – Drums Aaron Beam – Bass, Vocals David Sullivan – Guitar Maurice Bryan Giles – Guitar, Vocals Read more about Red Fang http://label. relapse.com/artist/red-fang/
High Voltage Winter IPA has huge amounts
of citrusy mosaic, citra and cascade hops, with just enough crystal malt to keep things in check.
LABEL ARTIST: BEN VENOM SONG PAIRING: “FLIES” by Red Fang
You’ll note beautiful bright citrus and cane berry aroma, with hop bitterness balanced by the crystal malt. Some may call this a hoppy red ale, but we prefer to address it as a winter IPA because of the pronounced hops and drinkability.
High Voltage Winter IPA
G: You seem to like to draw old men - or at least guys with beards. Is there something about them as a character that particularly interests you?
just draw what I like. Who knows... I don’t really think about it much! G: Where do you see magic in the world?
TM: I think they’re all probably reflections of TM: I don’t make it out to magic shows myself maybe? I am old and bearded, but it’s enough. not all that I draw from. G: I heard you were self-taught, but then I read somewhere that you went to KU. I don’t know which is true, but what advice would you give a young artist on the subject? TM: I think I learned to draw by watching my mom doodle and she always encouraged me to get after it. I did go to KU and studied illustration & printmaking in the mid 90’s. School is good for many reasons, but in some ways I’ve been working to deprogram a lot of it and
G: Is there anything you miss about Kansas? TM: Free State Brewing Company! G: What is your favorite time of day and why? TM: What time is it now? This feels good. G: What other artists do you like to look at these days and/or where do you find inspiration? TM: Instagram & my dog. G: What do you like to do when you aren’t drawing? TM: That’s a good question…
Travis Millard is a Los Angeles based
illustrator who grew up in Kansas. Travis explores various oddities of the imaginative landscape through his drawings. He has done album covers for Dinosaur Jr., The Get Up Kids, the Uncluded, Major Games, and recently a series of drawing for the Inherent Vice soundtrack. Travis is also host of the sleeper hit video series, “Drawing Stories”. In his spare time he enjoys making pancakes for the internet. TravisMillard.com @theotherfudge
“BEER Rivers and seas of beer. The radio singing love songs as the phone remains silent and the walls stand straight up and down and beer is all there is.” -Charles Bukowski
Inspired by our forebrewers from across the pond, we added milk sugar to a rich, imperial stout to make an enormously delicious milk stout. Notes include chocolate, coffee, and caramel with a hint of vanilla. Shazoo is full bodied with a slightly sweet finish.
Shaz
Milk Stout
LABEL ARTIST: TRAVIS MILLARD SONG PAIRING: “LIBRE” by Y LA BAMBA
The tradtion of adding milk to stout dates back to the 1800s in the United Kingdom. Milk sugar (aka lactose) isn’t fermented by yeast, leaving natural sugars behind for a sweet finish and adds a nice body to the beer.
Y la Bamba Y La Bamba’s fourth offering, “Ojos Del Sol”, is a sweeping, playful and vulnerable collection that’s ripe with both musical and personal discovery. From the intimate, contemplative verses of the Spanish-language title track to the revelations delivered over the loping beats of “Ostrich,” this is an album that’s painstakingly produced while remaining emotionally raw.
Download “Libre” at https://giganticbrewing.com/pages/shazoo
BALLER GRILLED CHEESE
Recipe from Chef Pat Manning, Toro Bravo Behold, the winning 2016 Snackdown recipe from chef Pat Manning of Portland’s Toro Bravo. Pile this delicious, ooey gooey foodie cheese spread on your favorite bread (Chef Manning suggests brioche) for the best grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever had. Baller Cheese: 116g young Mahon, shredded 116g 12 month Manchego, shredded 116g Boschetto al Tartufo (truffle cheese), shredded 325g milk 4g Salt 12g sodium citrate, a melting salt 1.5g sodium hexametaphosphate (both are emulsifying salts, available online. ) Bring milk to a low boil. Add salts and cheeses in small portions while whisking. Continue to whisk until all cheese is added and sauce is smooth and thickened. Let cool.
SNACKDOWN: The first ever
Portland Snackdown teamed brewers and chefs in a competition to see who had the best food/beer pairing. This year’s winning team was HUB and Toro Bravo. But next year expect a massive come back from Giganticwe’ll squash the competion like a bug under our shiny wrestling shoes and blind them with our righteous hair.
To assemble your sandwich, butter the outsides of two slices of brioche or other bread. Blob a couple of good sized spoonfuls of the cheese sauce in the middle of one unbuttered side. Put the other slice on top, butter out. Place in pre-heated skillet and cook until cheese melts and bread browns. Be sure to do both sides! Cut in half and enjoy. If you don’t have the specified emulsifiers on hand, you might give lemon juice and baking soda a shot: http://www. sciencefriday. com/segments/ the-homogenoushistory-of-processed-cheese/