November 8th, 2013 - Blackberry Day For Witbier Night

Good evening!  The Meista here with another pairing for you... tonight I'm pairing "Day For Night" from progressive rock band Spock's Beard with a Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier from the Boston Beer Company!

In the tradition of Belgian witbiers, the Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier is brewed with yeast, malts, wheat, and a variety of spices, coriander, and orange peel in lieu of hops.  Along with the spices, the Boston Beer Company employs Marion blackberries for some extra tartness and sweetness.  The Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier pours a pale and cloudy orange gold with very little head (that's from the lack of hops).  The nose is fruity and floral.  There are subtle notes of rose petals, berry, and citrus.  The flavor is a comingling of hearty wheat and sweet berry tartness.  Light-bodied, the mouthfeel is very subtle and somewhat creamy with moderate carbonation.  Although rather mellow, there is a nice crispness to this ale and some rather pleasant spiciness in the finish.

"Day For Night" is the 4th studio album from California proggers Spock's Beard and was released in 1999.  As with previous albums, Spock's Beard's style of progressive rock has strong pop leanings and is heavily influenced by early 1970s prog acts such as Yes, Genesis, and Gentle Giant.  They use catchy hooks and melodies, but with musical precision and execution.  The album is characterized by the unique synthesizer, vocals, and lyrics by Neal Morse, intricate guitar work by Alan Morse, spectacular Hammond organ/mellotron work by Ryo Okumoto, powerful and jazzy drumming by Nick D'Virgilio, and multi-part vocals and harmonies from Neal Morse, Alan Morse, and D'Virgilio.  Along with a touch of funk bass from Dave Meros, Spock's Beard also employs the use of counterpoint, which you find in symphonic classical music.  Lyrically and musically speaking, "Day For Night" is rather upbeat and engaging.  An almost spiritual thread seems to prevail through most of the album.  Tracks 8 through 14 comprise of the multi-part and rather epic "The Healing Colors of Sound".

The entire track list includes:

1. "Day for Night"
2. "Gibberish"
3. "Skin"
4. "The Distance to the Sun"
5. "Crack the Big Sky"
6. "The Gypsy"
7. "Can't Get It Wrong"
8. "The Healing Colors of Sound" 
   • I. The Healing Colors of Sound Part 1
   • II. My Shoes
   • III. Mommy Comes Back
   • IV. Lay It Down
   • V. The Healing Colors of Sound Part 2
   • VI. My Shoes (Revisited)

Cheers!!