September 25th, 2014 - A Brutal IPA Planet

The Meista here pairing Alice Cooper's "Brutal Planet" and a Brutal IPA from Rogue Ales!  This one goes out to my buddy Kevin... cheers my friend!!

Released June 6th, 2000, "Brutal Planet" is the 21st (wow!) studio album released by hard rocking and hard working Alice Cooper.  It was released 6 years after the previous album, "The Last Temptation" (http://brewsandtunes.blogspot.com/2014/06/june-6th-2014-last-one-in-temptation.html), which was the longest duration of time between albums for the Coop.  Personnel on the album included: the Coop on lead vocals, China on guitars, Phil X on guitars, Ryan Roxie on guitars, Eric Singer (KISS) on drums, and Bob Marlette on rhythm guitars, bass, and keyboards.  And Natalie Delaney provided backing vocals on the title track.  Much darker and heavier than previous works, "Brutal Planet" incorporates industrial and alternative metal into the usual hard rock sound of the Coop.  The subject matter deals with social fiction and dystopian visions and themes of violence (domestic violence, war, school shootings, racial violence, etc.), prejudice, gluttony, and escapism... all from a fairly religious point of few.  But man does this album rock!  Here's the amazing full track list:

1. "Brutal Planet"
2. "Wicked Young Man"
3. "Sanctuary"
4. "Blow Me A Kiss"
5. "Eat Some More"
6. "Pick Up The Bones"
7. "Pessi-Mystic"
8. "Gimme"
9. "It's The Little Things"
10. "Take It Like A Woman"
11. "Cold Machines" 

The Brutal IPA from Rogue Ales is 22 ounces of hoppy goodness brewed with 2-Row, Carawheat, C15 & Rogue Farms Dare™ and Risk™ Malts, Rogue Farms Alluvial™ Hops, Free Range Coastal Water, and Pacman Yeast.  A cross between a Very Extra Special Bitter and an Indian Pale Ale, The Brutal IPA is a hophead's dream.   It pours a very cloudy and bright copper-orange with a huge, frothy head with great retention and displaying complex lacing.  The nose is characterized by lots of citrus, tropoical fruit, and pine aromas with a hint of caramel malt.  There are aromas of bitter grapefruit, tart lemon and tangerine, pineapple, and mango along with lot of pine forest.  Full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the Brutal IPA's mouthfeel is rather creamy and smooth for an IPA, but still crisp and refreshing.  The finish is somewhat dry and bitter.  The taste is characterized by flavors of spicy herbs, black tea, juicy citrus, pine, and a hint of sweet toffee.  Check out Rogue Brutal IPA and all of their wonderful concoctions at http://www.rogue.com/!  Thanks to my folks for bringing this lovely brew back from Newport, Oregon for me!

Cheers and hails!!