April 23rd, 2015 - The Perfect Stormwatch

 Hey there old-school rockers and hop lovers.. the Meista here tonight pairing Jethro Tull's "Stormwatch" (Remastered Edition) with The Perfect Storm Double IPA from Oakshire Brewing! 
 
Album Info:

• Artist: Jethro Tull
• Title: "Stormwatch" (Remastered Edition)
• Recorded: Spring and summer 1979 at Maison Rouge Mobile and Maison Rouge Studio, Fulham, London, England
• Release date: September 14th, 1979 (12th studio album by Jethro Tull)
• Record company: Chrysalis
• Album cover art: David Jackson
• Personnel: Ian Anderson (vocals, flutes, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar), Martin Barre (electric guitar, mandolin, and classical guitar), Barriemore Barlow (drums and percussion), John Evan (piano and organ), John Glascock (bass guitar on tracks 2, 9, and 10), David Palmer (synthesizers, portable organ, and orchestral arrangements), Dave Pegg (bass guitar on bonus tracks 13 and 14), and Francis Wilson (spoken voice on track 1 (the Shipping Forecast), and the spoken introduction to track 8)
• Musical style: Progressive/hard rock, folk rock with elements of jazz, blues, and classical
• Sound: Complex, completely engaging, and wonderfully fun, Jethro Tull's sound on "Stormwatch" harkens to times long gone, while still rockin'!
• Major themes: Shipping, costal life, sea storms, environment, oil, money, legends, doom, and survival
• Notes: Sadly, Glascock (who suffered from congenital heart problems) passed away shortly after the album's release.
• Tracks:   

1. "North Sea Oil"
2. "Orion"
3. "Home"
4. "Dark Ages"
5. "Warm Sporran"
6. "Something's On The Move"
7. "Old Ghosts"
8. "Dun Ringill"
9. "Flying Dutchman"
10. "Elegy"
11. "A Stitch In Time" (Bonus Track)
12. "Crossword" (Bonus Track)
13. "Kelpie" (Bonus Track)
14. "King Henry's Madrigal" (Bonus Track)

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Oakshire Brewing (Eugene, Oregon)
• Website: http://www.oakbrew.com/
• Brew: The Perfect Storm Double IPA
• Style: Imperial/America Double India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.3%
• IBUs: 100+
• Gravity: 19.5 degrees Plato
• Ingredients: Rahr 2-row and Munich malt, WL001 Cal Ale Yeast, Chinook and Crystal hops for bittering, Citra, Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, and Zythosand for the finishing hops, and Citra, Centenial, and Mosiac used in the dry hop
• Pour: Hazy golden-orange with a fluffy 2-finger head that leaves lots of sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by lots of sweet malt and tropical/citrus fruit aromas along with more subtle pine resin notes.  There are big aromas of caramel/toffee, grapefruit and orange rind, and earthy pine and peppery hops.
• Taste: Like the nose, the taste if big and bold with lots of citrus, tropical fruit, and sweet malt.  There are notes of  grapefruit, orange, tangerine, mango, hints pineapple, burnt toffee, sweet caramel, and pine with black tea and herbs in the finish.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and smooth carbonation with a bitter and biting finish.

Overall pairing: The complexity of The Perfect Storm Double IPA is great for the progressive and folk elements of "Stormwatch".  The sweeter and fruitier notes go well with the whimsical nature of the music while the bitter hop notes are great for the darker lyrics of the album.

Cheers!!