May 23rd, 2014 - Free Your Mind... And Your Voodoo Doughnut Will Follow

"And now for something completely different"... something I like to call Funk Friday!

Evenin' my funky friends!  The Meista here tonight pairing a Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale from Rogue Ales and Funkadelic's "Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow"!!  This one is for Tiki... rest in peace!!

The Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale from Rogue Ales is probably one of the most interesting brews (if not the funkiest) I've had the pleasure of sampling.  Definitely a novelty brew and not something I would partake of often, the Voodoo Doughnut is still a wonderfully complex and interesting dark ale.  Brewed with 2-Row Munich, C120, Chocolate, Black, Kiln Coffee and Rogue Farms Dare Malts along with Rogue Farm Rebel Hops, real pretzels, natural raspberry juice, chocolate extract and Pacman yeast, the Voodoo Doughnut is a very complex and interesting brew.  It pours an almost ink black with a frothy, thick mocha head in a 22-ounce Pilsner glass.  The nose is big chocolate and raspberry aromas with subtle notes of freshly baked pretzels and a hint of pink bubblegum.  Medium-bodied, the mouthfeel is very dry, yet quite smooth and creamy.  The flavor is very earthy, malty, and sweet.  There are notes of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, and salty pretzel along with notes of raspberry filing in a chocolate doughnut and pink bubblegum! With all of its complexities and "weird" flavor combinations, the Voodoo Doughnut is a fitting beer for a prized album in my vinyl collection... "Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow"!! 

Before the influence of disco and pop would turn their music into almost pure silliness, American funk/psychedelic soul band Funkadelic released 3 brilliant albums, all heavily influenced by the music of Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone.  In July of 1970, they released their sophomore album, and my favorite by the band, "Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow".   According to frontman and vocalist George Clinton, the album was an attempt to see if the band could "cut a whole album while we're all tripping on acid."  And that they did and with lasting impact!  Vocally, this is soulfully wonderful.  Joining Clinton on vocals are the multi-talented Raymond Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas.  Lyrically, the songs are mystical ("Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow"), sexual ("I Wanna Know If It's Good To You"), socially charged ("Eulogy And Light"), and focused on the groove ("Friday Night, August 14th").  Combining the crunchy, acid rock feedback guitar sounds of the late Eddie Hazel and Lucius "Tawl" Ross with Bernie Worrell's jazz and classically influenced keys along with the deeply-rooted sounds of William "Billy Bass" Nelson's soulful bass work and the late Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood's swingin' drum work, Funkadelic redefined "black American" music in the early 1970s.  This is NOT the "clean" and pedestrian funk of the mid to late '70s like Earth, Wind, and Fire or the Ohio Players, this is heavy duty, heavy guitar-driven rock that is drenched in soul and drug-induced space funk! 

Cheers... keep it funky you muthas!!