Good afternoon hopheads and headbangers!! The Meista here today pairing a Hopslam Ale from Bell's Brewery, Inc. and "Extreme Aggression" from Kreator! This pairing goes out to my metal and craft brew brother-in-arms, Rick... Prost buddy!!
The Hopslam Ale from Bell's Brewery, Inc. is an Imperial IPA (sometimes called an American Double IPA) brewed with honey. Quite possibly the best Imperial IPA I've had the pleasure of drinking, the Hopslam Ale is a beast of a brew! Coming in at 10% ABV and brewed with 6 varieties of hops (including massive amounts of Simcoe in the dry-hop process), the Hopslam Ale packs a punch in the style of Kreator! It pours a cloudy, golden-honey amber with a thin white head. The nose is a wonderfully complex bouquet of sweet malt, organic honey, pine, and citrus. There are aromas of juicy grapefruit, toffee, honey, and pine resin. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is sharp and bitter, but somewhat sticky and oily, which hides the higher alcohol kick well. Very hop forward, the flavor follows the nose. There are big notes of hoppy pine, big citrus (grapefruit, lemon, and tangerine), along with smoother, sweet notes of biscuit, honey, and malt. Those sweet honey notes really balance out the bitter hops too. It finishes with a nice, hoppy kick.
It took me over a month to come up with a suitable pairing for this aggressive brew... but I think I've nailed it! Released on June 19th, 1989, "Extreme Aggression" is the 4th, full-length studio album by German thrash metal monsters Kreator. Personnel on the album is made up of Mille Petrozza (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jörg "Tritze" Trzebiatowski (lead guitar), Rob Fioretti (bass guitar), and Jürgen Reil - (drums). Although the band had been gaining more and more notice in the U.S., "Extreme Aggression" was the album that really launched Kreator's international fame. This was due in part to the fact that the video for the song "Betrayer" was getting heavy rotation on MTV's Headbanger's Ball and that the album was released in the U.S. through Epic Records. Songs like title track "Extreme Aggression", "Love Us Or Hate Us", "Some Pain Will Last", "Betrayer", "Bringer Of Torture", and "Fatal Energy" proved that Kreator was not only in league with the American thrash bands, but was ready to give them a run for their money! Learn more about Bell's Brewery, Inc. at http://www.bellsbeer.com/!
Zum Wohl!! Hails!!
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