June 19th, 2015 - An Exclusive, Gentle White Contrail Storm

Hello!  The Meista here with a pairing done with our friend JT from Progressive Power (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Progressive-Power/205541442875714)... "The Gentle Storm Exclusive Tour CD" by The Gentle Storm and a Contrail White Spiced Belgian-Style Wheat Beer, a brand new ale from Uinta Brewing Company!  Cheers and thanks for the great idea and for bringing your copy of  "The Gentle Storm Exclusive Tour CD" JT!!

Album Info:

• Artist: The Gentle Storm
• Title: "The Gentle Storm Exclusive Tour CD"
• Recorded: February 2015
• Release date: February 17th, 2015
• Record company: InsideOut Music
• Production: Arjen Anthony Lucassen
• Album cover art: Stephen Van Baalen
• Personnel: Arjen Anthony Lucassen (guitars, Dulcimer, and vocals) and Anneke van Giersbergen (vocals and guitars) with Rob Snijders (drums)
• Musical style: Folk/progressive rock
• Sound: Ethereal, honest, and lyrical, The Gentle Storm perfectly blends folk and progressive rock.  And Ms. van Giersbergen is as enchanting
• Major themes: Examining human nature and human emotion along with sci-fi/fantasy motifs, the themes on "The Gentle Storm Exclusive Tour CD" include isolation, perseverance, life, space and time, and death and dying.
• Tracks: 

1. "The Castle Hall" (Ayreon cover)
2. "A Day In The Life" (The Beatles cover)
3. "Comatose" (Ayreon cover)
4. "Mad World" (Tears For Fears cover)
5. "Waking Dreams" (Ayreon cover)

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Uinta Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.uintabrewing.com/
• Brew: Contrail White Spiced Belgian-Style Wheat Beer
• Style: Witbier
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 4%
• Ingredients: Belgian yeast, Pale and Wheat malts along with flaked oats, Cascade hops (very little for low bitterness), and orange peel and coriander at the end of the boil.
• Pour: Very murky, pale honey-yellow with a bright white, 2-finger bubbly head that dissipates quickly leaving a small white cap with minimal lacing.
• Nose: Blending spicy, lemony, doughy, and fruity aromas, the Contrail White has a very inviting nose.  It is characterized by lovely smells of exotic spices, lemon and orange zest, sourdough bread, and soft banana.    
• Taste: Like the nose the flavor is a wonderful blend of crackery, fruity, and spicy goodness.  There are notes of freshly baked wheat bread, soft banana, lemon juice, orange zest, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, and very light caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Crisp and refreshing with a peppery/spicy finish, the Contrail White is light-bodied with good carbonation.

Overall pairing: Clocking in at only 16 minutes, "The Gentle Storm Exclusive Tour CD" is a wonderful warm and light (yet intricate) listen that goes perfectly well with the crisp, spicy, and fruity light flavors of the Contrail White Spiced Belgian-Style Wheat Beer from Uinta!  If you can track down both this CD and this lovely brew, I highly recommend both!

 Cheers!!