Good evening my friends! Your pal the Meista here with another rockin' metal album and craft brew pairing... tonight I'm going with a Shipyard Smashed Blueberry (Pugsley's Signature Series) from Shipyard Brewing Company and "The Blue Album" by Baroness!
Released this very week 5 years ago (October 13th, 2009), "The Blue Album" is the second studio album by the progressive/sludge metal band Baroness, who is based out of Savannah, Georgia. (The band was founded by former members of the punk/metal band Johnny Welfare and the Paychecks.) Members include: Pete Adams (guitar and vocals), John Dyer Baizley (vocals, guitar, piano, and artwork), Allen Blickle (drums), and Summer Welch (bass). (Not only has John Dyer Baizley provided the artwork for all of the Baroness albums, but he has produced covers for several other bands including Black Tusk, Kvelertak, Kylesa, Pig Destroyer, and Skeletonwitch.) Combining elements of sludge/stoner rock, progressive metal, progressive rock, and punk, Baroness creates a fresh and richly blended musical journey with "The Blue Album", while giving a nod to bands like Mastodon, Melvins, Black Sabbath, and Fugazi. Songs like "The Sweetest Curse", "Jake Leg", "Swollen and Halo", "A Horse Called Golgotha", "War, Wisdom And Rhyme", "The Gnashing", and "Bullhead's Lament" are testaments to the both the musical integrity and prowess of this band! They approach their writing and delivery with a truly artisan persona... passionate, heavy as hell, yet wholly complex! And speaking of complex and heavy...
The Shipyard Smashed Blueberry from Shipyard Brewing Company (outta Portland, Maine) is a hybrid between a Porter and a Scotch Ale with natural blueberry. It is part of Shipyard's Pugsley's Signature Series of craft ales. It pours a deep, dark brown (almost jet black) with a 2-finger, frothy mocha head that displays good retention and sheets of curtain lacing. The nose is a blast of blueberry, but more like a bushel than of syrup. Although the scent is sweet, it smells of wild, mountain blueberries, not something fabricated or from a can. Along with the strong blueberry aroma, there are hints of chocolate, cocoa, and coffee. Low in carbonation and full-bodied, the mouthfeel is thick, sticky, syrupy, and velvety smooth, but with a dry finish. The tastes is a wonderful blend of big, hearty malts, chocolaty richness, and sweet fruit. It seriously tastes like eating chocolate covered blueberries chased by rich coffee! The roasted malts and cocoa really come out in the front and back end, while the blueberry flavor hits in the mid-range and finish. Admittedly, I was a bit leery of this brew when I saw it in the liquor store... sweet fruit ales tend to worry me, but the Shipyard Smashed Blueberry is a wonderfully blended ale with lots of big, bold chocolate and coffee flavors, berry, and a hint of bourbon booziness from 9.0% ABV. This is definitely a very nice surprise! Check it out!
Cheers!!
No comments:
Post a Comment