February 22nd, 2015 - One Night (Time Fear The Dark Ale) Only

Hello friends!  Your late night/early morning drinkin' buddy the Meista here pairing the brilliant live album "One Night Only" by Thin Lizzy and a NightTime Fear The Dark Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company outta Petaluma, CA!  As with any and all Thin Lizzy pairings I throw out there, this one goes out to the a man I'm proud to call friend, Kevin Kirk as well as my brother Dain-o!!  Cheers buddies!!
 
Album Info:

• Artist: Thin Lizzy
• Title: "One Night Only"
• Recorded: Sometime in 1999 somewhere in Europe
• Release date: June 20th, 2000
• Record company: CMC International
• Personnel: Tommy Aldridge (drums), Scott Gorham (lead and rhythm guitar and backing vocals), Marco Mendoza (bass and backing vocals), John Sykes (lead and rhythm guitar and lead vocals), and Darren Wharton (keyboards and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Hard rock/blues rock
• Sound: Richly textured, powerful, and honest.  The guitar work of Gorham and Sykes alone is worth every penny!!
• Major themes: Love, sex, loss, aggression, etc.
• Notes: There was a bit of controversy around this band calling themselves Thin Lizzy, but I think this is a fitting tribute to the late, great Phil Lynott especially coming from the likes of Scott Gorham and John Sykes... fucking brilliant tribute in my humble opinion!
• Tracks:

1. "Jailbreak"
2. "Waiting For An Alibi"
3. "Don't Believe A Word"
4. "Cold Sweat"
5. "The Sun Goes Down"
6. "Are You Ready"
7. "Bad Reputation"
8. "Suicide"
9. "Still In Love With You"
10. "The Cowboy Song"
11. "Boys Are Back"
12. "Rosalie"
13. "Black Rose"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company
• Website: https://lagunitas.com/
• Brew: NightTime Fear The Dark Ale
• Style: American Black Ale/Black India Pale Ale (IPA)/Cascadian Dark Ale
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8.2%
• IBUs: 65
• Pour: It pours a deep mahogany (almost ink black) in my skull mug with a 1-finger mocha head that leaves thick and intricate spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a big piney/citrusy hop punch in the nose.  Grapefruit and pine aromas abound as well as black tea, oregano, thyme, and earthy richness.
• Taste:  The flavor is a wonderfully balanced blend of hoppy citrus and floral notes with rich, chocolate malt and toffee/caramel notes.  There are impressively juicy notes of pink grapefruit, mango, and pineapple with much more subtle coffee and dark chocolate notes.
• Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is slick, sticky, oily, and slightly creamy with a nice, bitter bite.  The amped up IBUs and ABV percentage gives this brew a lovely bite, but it goes down easy and has a refreshing, crisp finish. 

Overall pairing: Any pairing with Thin Lizzy is always tough for me... the depth, intensity, and sheer brilliance of the band's music is not trifling matter... especially when it comes to craft brew!  However, I think the intense flavor, depth of character, and complexity of the NightTime Fear The Dark Ale is the perfect ale for "One Night Only"!  The bite and bitterness of the ale works well with the honest sadness you hear in Sykes guitar and vocals too!

Cheers... prost!!