February 15th, 2013 - "With [An IPA In My Hand] And Satan On My Right..."

Hello beer and rock fans!  The Meista here with one last pairing for you tonight.  I'm going with a couple of my all-time favorites... Squatters Brewery's India Pale Ale and Ace Frehley's 1987 album, "Frehley's Comet"! 


Let me take you on the way-back machine... it was 1987.  I was in high school.  I had a cheesy Patrick Swayze-style mullet and a cheesy (and rather thin) mustache.  I wore acid-washed jeans and Converse Chuck Taylor high-tops (black) and Ace Frehley's "Frehley's Comet" kicked my ass!!  And it still does to this day!!  With the Spaceman himself, Ace Frehley on lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals; Tod Howarth on rhythm and lead guitars, keyboards, lead and backing vocals; John Regan on bass guitar and backing vocals; and Anton Fig on drums and percussion, "Frehley's Comet" is just straight-ahead, bad-ass, fist-pumping rock and roll!!  Now don't get me wrong, I love KISS, but this is the album Paul and Gene wished they had put out in '87 rather than "Crazy Nights."  Ace and his band produced the perfect late '80s rocker album... perfect I say!!  Yes, some of the lyrics are a bit dated and thin, but the guitar work (oh, the guitar work!), bass work, drumming and vocal stylings are brilliant!!  I recently replaced my cassette copy with this album on disc and I cannot stop listening to it again and again!  It is like 1987 for me all over!  I love each one... so I won't go into a long discription of why I like them... just know that each song is a rocking gem!  Here's the track list:


1. Rock Soldiers
2. Breakout
3. Into The Night
4. Something Moved
5. We Got Your Rock
6. Love Me Right
7. Calling To You
8. Dolls
9. Stranger In a Strange Land
10. Fractured Too


Squatters India Pale Ale IPA from the Utah Brewers Cooperative may be the perfect IPA!  Along with Uinta's Hop Notch and Lagunita's IPA, this is a staple IPA for me.  The Squatters IPA pours a cloudy goldenrod with a bright, foamy head with good lacing.  The nose is distinct... lots of floral hop resin aroma with strong notes of juniper, grapefruit, and lemon.  I could stick my nose in a glass of this all day long!  Perfectly well-balanced, the flavor is crisp, hoppy, and dry.  There are wonderful notes of pine, lemon grass, orange peel, summer grass, and some malty, caramely goodness in the undertones.  The Squatters IPA goes down easy and has a nice, clean finish... a perfectly refreshing beer for a rocking good time with my man Ace!!


If you don't own this album... shame on you!!  :)  Go pick up a copy from the Heavy Metal Shop: www.heavymetalshop.com!  And pick up a six-pack of Squatters IPA today!  Check out all of the great ales from Squatters at http://squatters.com/!