Evening folks! One more pairing for you tonight from your drinkin' buddy, the Meista... Alice Cooper's "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper" and a Hairy Eyeball Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company (one of my favorites!)! And this one goes to my buddy Kevin Kirk and the Coop himself (Vincent Damon Furnier), who's 66th birthday was earlier this week (February 4th)... cheers Alice!!
The Hairy Eyeball Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company is what would be labeled as an American Strong Ale. A bit of a departure for Lagunitas (they are known for their hoppy IPA-style ales), the Hair Eyeball Ale is sweet, malty, and rich. This big 9.4% ABV, 56.6 IPU ale is more like an olde English ale... big malt flavor! The Hairy Eyeball pours an almost opaque Coca-Cola amber with a big, frothy head with great retention and layered, thick lacing. The nose is a little tricky to pin down. There are definitely big malty, bready notes and dark fruit flavors, but there's so much more going on here as well. There's a smokiness, but very subtle. There are also some really complex sweet toffee aromas. Full-bodied, the mouthfeel is smooth and silky and rather sticky. The flavor is very bready, very malty, quite sweet, and oh so good! Similar to a Dopplebock (but not as heavy), the Hairy Eyeball Ale feels a bit dangerous. It is sweet and warming, but that boozy 9.4% ABV is definitely prevalent, yet not overpowering or distracting. Like the nose, the flavor is very complex and a little difficult to pin down. I'm getting nuances of very subtle black cherry, plum, and figs coupled by hearty grains, warming sherry/brandy notes, chardonnay tartness/dryness, and raisin bread maltiness. This is a sipper... but goes really well with the Coop's "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper"!
Released in 2003, "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper" is the 23rd album (yes, I said 23rd!!) by shock rock godfather Alice Cooper. Moving away from the more industrial metal sound, more produced approach of his previous albums, "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper" is a return to an early, more stripped-down, more raw rock and roll approach reminiscent of "Muscle Of Love" or "Welcome To My Nightmare". The Coop was joined on the album by Eric Cover on guitar, Ryan Roxie on guitar, Chuck Garric on bass, Eric Singer (of KISS) on drums, Wayne Kramer (guitar on "Detroit City"), Teddy "ZigZag" Andreadis on keyboards/accordion/percussion, Scott Gilman on saxophones/clarinet, and the Coop's daughter, Calico Cooper on Theremin/backing vocals. Characterized by The Coop's zany and sarcastic lyrics and voice with some great, in-your-face rockin' licks, "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper" is a wonderfully rich and monster rocker of an album! There's no filler on this album... each song is a rockin' gem! Although no Glenn Buxton, Cover and Roxie deliver some killer guitar work! Several favorite tracks of mine include "What Do You Want From Me?", "Between High School & Old School", "Man Of The Year", "Novocaine", "Detroit City", and "I'm So Angry". Go pick up a copy of "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper" from my buddy Kevin at the Heavy Metal Shop (www.heavymetalshop.com)!! What are you waiting for? GO!!
CHEERS!! Rock on my friends!!
Here's a pic of me wearing a Coop tour t-shirt with Teddy "ZigZag" Andreadis several years ago... he was very cool!! (That's him on the far right.)
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