August 29th, 2014 - One Foot In Hell, One Foot In Cali With A Cream Ale

Good evening!  The Meista here with the somewhat unlikely pairing of Cirith Ungol's "One Foot In Hell" and A Cali Creamin' Cream Ale from Mother Earth Brew Company!  I thought I'd go with something heavy and bitter and counter it with something sweet and light.

Released in August of 1986, "One Foot In Hell" is the 3rd studio album by the Californian heavy metal band Cirith Ungol.  The band at the time was made up of Tim Baker on vocals, the late Jerry Fogle on guitar, Michael Vujea on bass, and Robert Garven on drums.  Influenced by such bands as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, The Stooges, Thin Lizzy, and a bit of the thrash metal scene in California at the time, Cirith Ungol's sound is a wonderful blend of '70s hard rock and aggressive, guitar driven metal.  And then there is of course Baker's unique and intense vocals.  An incredibly underrated band and album, these boys rock and rock hard!  If you aren't familiar with Cirith Ungol and dig early metal, check out "One Foot In Hell"!  Here's the full track list of this brilliant, kick-ass metal gem:

1. "Blood & Iron"
2. "Chaos Descends"
3. "The Fire"
4. "Nadsokor"
5. "100 MPH"
6. "War Eternal"
7. "Doomed Planet"
8. "One Foot in Hell"

Cali Creamin' Cream Ale from Mother Earth Brew Company is... well, creamy!  It literally tastes like vanilla cream soda, but not as sweet and with just a hint of bitterness from the hops.  It pours a very cloudy, opaque caramel tan with a huge, billowing head that shows excellent retention.  The nose is a blend of sweet and bready grains.  There are aromas of vanilla bean, honey, biscuit, and malt.  Light to medium bodied, the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, but with a little crispness from the moderate carbonation.  As I mentioned earlier, the taste is very much like vanilla cream soda, just not as sweet.  Along with big vanilla notes, there are big malt and baked bread flavors with very, very little bitterness.  It goes down easy and finishes clean with just a light, lingering vanilla note... I nice juxtaposition to the metal might of Cirith Ungol!

Hails!!