February 26th, 2015 - A Rock Garden Harvest

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight pairing "Rock Garden" by King's X guitarist/vocalist Ty Tabor and a North Hemisphere Wet Hop IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company!
 
Album Info:

• Artist: Ty Tabor
• Title: "Rock Garden"
• Recorded: Between March 2005 and June 2006 at Alien Beans studio in Katy, Texas
• Release date: August 29th, 2006 (4th studio solo album by Ty Tabor)
• Record company: InsideOut Music
• Personnel: Ty Tabor (guitars, bass guitars, and vocals) with Wally Farkas (acoustic guitar and vocals on "Pretty Good"), James Henry (aka Eddie Hash) (dobro on "Pretty Good"), Doug Pinnick (vocals on "Pretty Good"), and Randy St. John (drums and percussion)
• Musical style: Hard rock, progressive rock
• Sound: A wide range of guitar sound from big, chunky riffs to soaring and ethereal melodic passage. Wonderfully textured and honest musicianship gives "Rock Garden" a thoughtful and rich, yet very listenable experience.
• Major themes: Love, loss, fear, loneliness, hope, etc.
• Tracks:

1. "Ride"
2. "Stalker"
3. "I Know What I'm Missing"
4. "Afraid"
5. "Play"
6. "Beautiful Sky"
7. "She's A Tree"
8. "Take It Back"
9. "Wading In"
10. "Thankful"
11. "Pretty Good"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
• Website: http://www.sierranevada.com/
• Brew: North Hemisphere Wet Hop IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 6.7%
• IBUs: 67
• Ingredients: ale yeast, Two-row Pale and Caramel malts, and Wet Cascade and Centennial hops   
• Pour: Bright copper-orange amber with a thick, sustained white head that displays good retention and lacing throughout.
• Nose: Floral and herbal aromas upfront followed by pine and citrus aromas.  There are wonderful smells of mountain flowers, black tea, pine, spruce, tangerine, orange, lemon, and grapefruit.
• Taste: The flavor is herbal, citrusy, and peppery.  There are some rye qualities along with sweeter malts.  There are notes of tangerine, grapefruit, black tea, and black pepper.
• Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is slick and oily, yet refreshing with a bitter, citrusy finish.

Overall pairing: The richly textured, yet very inviting and drinkability of the North Hemisphere Wet Hop IPA makes for a great pairing with Ty Tabor's wonderful "Rock Garden"!  The bright and bitter flavors of the beer work well with honesty and integrity of Tabor's guitar voice and lyrical themes.

Cheers!!