November 14th, 2015 - Quick... Hide Your Festbier! Its The Dream Police!

Alright... one more for you tonight my friends!  Your drinkin' buddy the Meista here pairing the wonderful "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick and a FestBier from Gordon Biersch Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Cheap Trick
• Title: "Dream Police"
• Recorded: 1978 through 1979 at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California
  Release date: September 21st, 1979 (4th studio album by Cheap Trick)
• Record company: Epic
• Production: Tom Werman
• Album cover art: Steve Dessau and Paula Scher (design) and Reid Miles (photography)
• Personnel: Bun E. Carlos (drums and percussion), Rick Nielsen (lead guitar and backing vocals), Tom Petersson (bass guitar, backing vocals, and lead vocals on "I Know What I Want"), and Robin Zander (lead and backing vocals and rhythm guitar)
• Additional musicians: Steve Lukather (guitar on "Voices") and Jai Winding (organ, piano, and keyboards)
• Musical style: Hard rock, rock and roll, power pop
• Sound: Combining elements of the Beatles, '50s rock and roll, and 1970s American punk rock, Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" is a fun and rambunctious album.  As with every Cheap Trick album, the musicianship is top notch!  In my humble opinion, Cheap Trick has always been a very underrated band and for me, really represents American rock and roll as a whole!
• Major themes: Dreams, insanity, desire, lust, love, influence, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Dream Police"
2. "Way Of The World"
3. "The House Is Rockin' (With Domestic Problems)"
4. "Gonna Raise Hell"
5. "I'll Be With You Tonight"
6. "Voices"
7. "Writing On The Wall"
8. "I Know What I Want"
9. "Need Your Love"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Gordon Biersch Brewing Company (San Jose, California)
• Website: http://www.gordonbiersch.com/
• Brew: FestBier
• Style: Märzen / Oktoberfest
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.6%
• IBUs: 24
• Ingredients: Imported Hallertau and Tettnang aroma hops, Weihenstephan 34/70 yeast strain, and dark-roasted Munich malt and Pilsner malt 
• Pour: Hazy golden-apple cider color with a frothy and billowy, 1-finger, off-white head that slowly dissipates with little or now lacing.
• Nose: The nose is sweet and malty and slightly fruity with notes of caramel/toffee and freshly baked bread with just a hint of hoppy bitterness.
• Taste: The flavor starts off sweet and bready roasty and toasty notes, like the nose, with a touch of buttery toffee.  Mid-range notes are a bit more biting: grassy and bitter hops.  The hops and sweet malty notes continue through the finish with some subtle floral/herbal notes that fade into a rather clean finish.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with a rather clean finish (slight lingering sweet note).

Overall pairing: The smooth and refreshing drinkability of the Gordon Biersch FestBier is great for the accessible and radio-friendly power pop sound of Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" while the grassy (slightly bitter) hop notes and hearty and sweet malts go well with the depth of musicianship and wonderful vocal deliver of Zander!

Prost!!