April 29th, 2012 - Murdering The Hoppy Dark Mountain

Today's pairing goes out to my buddy Jerry Howard... it is his 40th birthday!  In Jerry's honor I am pairing the brilliant "Murder the Mountains" by Red Fang and Pyramid's Discord Dark IPA. 

With breweries in Seattle, Portland, and Berkeley, Pyramid has been a powerhouse of a micro brew industry in the northwest since 1984. Discord Dark IPA is part of their Spring Seasonal line.  With the qualities of hoppy IPA and the district and robust flavor of a dark ale, the Discord makes for an interesting brew.  Although not as good as Uinta's Dubhe Dark IPA, Discord is a complex blending of the dark maltiness of dark ales and the bitterness of an IPA.  Discord blends 5 different northwestern hops to create this unique flavor.  The Discord pours a very dark (almost black) amber with a 1.5 finger head with strong and sustained lacing.  The nose is crisp, citrusy, and "skunky."  The flavor is malty and rich like any good dark ale with notes of bourbon, chocolate, and coffee, but... and this is a big but, the finish is hoppy as hell - sharp, citrusy, and dry with that oily hop flavor associated with any good IPA. This is one powerful brew!  And coming in at 6.5% alcohol by volume, this is no simple IPA...  powerful!

And speaking of powerhouse, let's talk Red Fang!  Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Red Fang combines doom metal power with post-punk/math rock sensibility and a taste of Seattle grunge.  There are hints of Black Sabbath, Mastodon, Fugazi, Queens of the Stone Age, and Alice In Chains in their sound, yet this blending is uniquely their own.  The opening track "Malverde" smacks you right in the face from the opening note... just like the Discord.  The second track, "Wires" (possibly my favorite) combines fantastic lyrics with a wonderfully repetitive song structure.  The rest of the album continues the brutal onslaught of bombastic doominess with tracks like "Hanks is Dead," "Dirt Wizard," "Throw Up" (very Alice In Chains-esque), "The Undertow," and finishing with the rocking "Human Herd."  I can think of no other album that pairs better with the Discord Dark IPA!

Check out Discord Dark IPA and all of Pyramid's great beers at http://www.pyramidbrew.com/ and here's an extra treat for you to pair with your own six-pack of Discord Dark IPA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQpiHzTqBHA