September 26th, 2014 - Seven Hops For The Seventh Star

Greetings rockers, rollers, and hop heads!  Your pal the Meista here with a pairing of "Seventh Star" by Black Sabbath and a Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA from Rogue Ales!  Hell yeah!

"Seventh Star" was released on January 28th, 1986.  Originally slated to be a solo album by Tony Iommi, but due to pressure from the record label and Sabbath management, the album ended up being released as a Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi.  As such, it is considered the 12th studio album by Black Sabbath.  Apart from Iommi, no original Black Sabbath members played on "Seventh Star".  Instead, the band was made up of Iommi on guitars, Geoff Nicholls (Quartz) on keyboards (longtime "unofficial" Black Sabbath member), Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple, Hughes Turner Project, Black Country Communion, California Breed, solo) on vocals, Dave Spitz (Great White, McBrain Damage) on bass, and Eric Singer (KISS, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Badlands, ESP) on drums.  Quite the departure from the doomy Sabbath sound, "Seventh Star" has an intentional more hard rock and bluesy sound along with harmonized vocals.  It is much more akin to Deep Purple's mid-70s sound than traditional Sabbath metalness.  Probably Sabbath's most underrated and underplayed album, "Seventh Star" is a richly textured, incredibly complex, and powerfully musical album... and one of my favorites!  The combination of Iommi and Hughes alone is worth its weight in gold!  The full track list is as follows:

1. "In For The Kill"
2. "No Stranger To Love"
3. "Turn To Stone"
4. "Sphinx (The Guardian)"
5. "Seventh Star"
6. "Danger Zone"
7. "Heart Like A Wheel"
8. "Angry Heart"
9. "In Memory"

Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA is an 8.02%, 90 IBU, American India Pale Ale brewed with Rogue Farms Dare, Risk, Maier, and Dare R-3 Malts along with 7 varieties of Rogue Farms hops (including: Liberty™, Newport™, Revolution™, Rebel™, Independent™, Freedom™, and Alluvial™), and Pacman Yeast, and Free Range Coastal Water.  It pours a very hazy copper-honey-gold with a big, sudsy head that displays foamy lacing.  The nose is marked by aromas of citrus, herbs, pine, and sweet malts.  There are scents of lemon, black tea, mellow pine resin, and sweet toffee.  Medium to full bodied, the mouthfeel is slick, somewhat sticky, bitter, and even a little creamy.  The flavor is characterized by a complex blend of bitter and grassy hops, sweet and bready malts, and spicy herbs.  There are big notes of bitter black tea infused with freshly squeezed lemon, herbs (sage, basil, rosemary, etc.), a hint of radish or onion, and whispers of caramel and/or toffee sweetness.  It finishes with an earthy and peppery bitter bite.  Like "Seventh Star" the Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA is a complex, intricate, and wonderfully concocted work of art!

Cheers and hails!!  Raise those horns and glasses!!