October 10th, 2015 - The Pumpkin Patch Spaghetti Incident??

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight pairing the very fun "The Spaghetti Incident?", a punk, hard rock, and glam rock covers album by Guns N' Roses with a seasonal Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale from Rogue Ales! 

Album Info:

• Artist: Guns N' Roses
• Title: "The Spaghetti Incident?"
• Recorded: 1992 through 1993 at A&M Studios, Record Plant Studios, Rumbo Recorders, CanAm Studios, Sound Techniques, Triad Studios, Conway Recording Studios, and Ocean Way Recording
  Release date: November 23rd, 1993 (5th studio album by Guns N' Roses)
• Record company: Geffen 
• Production: Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses, Duff McKagan, and Jim Mitchell
• Album cover art: Kevin Reagan
• Personnel: Gilby Clarke (rhythm guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, lead vocals and drums on "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory", lead vocals on "New Rose" and "Attitude", co-lead vocals on "Raw Power", and production), Dizzy Reed (keyboards, piano on "Since I Don't Have You", percussion on "Look at Your Game Girl", and backing vocals on "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory"), W. Axl Rose (lead vocals, keyboards on "Since I Don't Have You", and kazoo on "Human Being"), Slash (lead guitar, co-lead vocals on "Buick Mackane (Big Dumb Sex)", talkbox on "Hair of the Dog", and backing vocals on "Attitude" and "I Don't Care About You"), and Matt Sorum (drums, percussion on "Hair of the Dog", and backing vocals on "Human Being" and "Attitude")
• Additional musicians: Stuart Bailey (backing vocals on "I Don't Care About You"), Carlos Booy (acoustic guitar on "Look at Your Game, Girl"), Richard Duguay (lead and rhythm guitars on "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory"), Mike Fasano (percussion on "Hair of the Dog"), Eddie Huletz (backing vocals on "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory"), Eric Mills (backing vocals on "I Don't Care About You"), Michael Monroe (co-lead vocals on "Ain't It Fun"), Rikki Rachtman (backing vocals on "I Don't Care About You"), Mike Staggs (additional guitar on "Ain't It Fun"), and Blake Stanton (backing vocals on "I Don't Care About You")
• Musical style: Hard rock, rock and roll, glam rock, and punk rock
• Sound: I realize this album got a lot of flack when it was originally released, but I think it is brilliant!  This is fist-pumping, good-time, heavy-duty, fuckin' rock and roll!  The renditions are rockin', raw, wonderfully executed, and entertaining as hell!  And I think McKagan nails Johnny Thunders!
• Major themes: Pain, jealousy, love, loss, drinking, aggressive behavior, rebellion, etc.
• Notes: The album's title is an inside joke referring to a food fight between Axl Rose and ex-drummer Steven Adler. At the bottom album cover, there is a code written with the Zodiac Killer's symbols, which means "fuck'em all".
• Tracks: 

1. "Since I Don't Have You" (The Skyliners cover)
2. "New Rose" (The Damned cover)
3. "Down on the Farm" (U.K. Subs cover)
4. "Human Being" (New York Dolls cover)
5. "Raw Power" (The Stooges cover)
6. "Ain't It Fun" (The Dead Boys cover)
7. "Buick Mackane (Big Dumb Sex)"  (T. Rex and Soundgarden covers medley)
8. "Hair Of The Dog" (Nazareth cover)
9. "Attitude" (Misfits cover)
10. "Black Leather" (The Professionals cover)
11. "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" (Johnny Thunders cover)
12. "I Don't Care About You" (Fear cover)
13. "Look at Your Game, Girl" (Hidden track - Charles Manson cover)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Rogue Ales (Newport, Oregon)
• Website: http://www.rogue.com/
• Brew: Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale
• Style: Pumpkin Ale / Specialty Ale
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.6%
• IBUs: 25
• Ingredients:  Rogue Farms Dream Pumpkins, Rogue Farms Dare, Risk, Carafa II, and Crystal Wheat Malts, Rogue Farms Independent Hops, Orange Peel, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom, Vanilla, Ginger, and Nutmeg, with Free Range Coastal Water, Pacman Yeast.
• Pour: Deep caramel-ruby red with a huge, frothy, off-white head that slowly dissipates leaving a nice, thin cap with minimal lacing.
• Nose: The nose very organic, earthy, vegetal, malty, and slightly spicy.  There are aromas of freshly cut pumpkin and gourds, orange zest, vanilla bean, caramel, and subtle cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
• Taste: The taste, like the nose is very pumpkiny, spicy, and malty.  The spices are actually more prevalent in the flavor than in the nose.  There are notes of raw pumpkin, freshly baked pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, vanilla, cream, and a little bit of bite from the ginger. 
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Pumpkin Patch is creamy, slightly peppery with a somewhat dry finish.

Overall pairing:  To be honest, I wasn't sure how well this pairing would work, but I'm really digging it!  Those pumpkin and spice notes really make Slash's guitar work and McKagan's bass work pop!  The easy drinkability of the Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale is perfect for the more fast-paced punk songs while those sweet caramel notes go well with the slower, meatier numbers!

Cheers and hails!