January 19th, 2016 - Pale Ale Folklore

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight pairing a Pale Ale The Original from Ballast Point Brewing Company and blacked folk metal band Agalloch's debut full-length album, "Pale Folklore"!

Album Info:

• Artist: Agalloch
• Title: "Pale Folklore"
• Recorded: January through February 1999 at Soundtracks in Portland, Oregon
• Release date: July 6th, 1999 (debut full-length album by Agalloch)
• Record company: The End Records
• Production: Ronn Chick, John Haughm, and Shane Breyer
• Album cover art: Aaron Sholes
• Personnel: Don Anderson (guitar), Shane Breyer (keyboards), John Haughm (vocals, guitar, and drums), and Jason William Walton (bass)
• Musical style: Black metal / folk metal with elements of neofolk, doom metal and progressive metal
• Sound: With a sound reminiscent of Norwegian experimental black folk metal band Ulver, the songs on "Pale Folklore" combine acoustic folk with the bleakness of black metal, creating a melancholy and haunting sound.  At times, the album is almost ambient and at others it is full on rockin' heaviness!
• Major themes: The lyrics primarily focus on the supernatural, evil, folklore/mythology, nature, and depression and suicide.
• Tracks:  

1. "She Painted Fire Across the Skyline Part 1"
2. "She Painted Fire Across the Skyline Part 2"
3. "She Painted Fire Across the Skyline Part 3"
4. "The Misshapen Steed"
5. "Hallways Of Enchanted Ebony"
6. "Dead Winter Days"
7. "As Embers Dress The Sky"
8. "The Melancholy Spirit"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company (San Diego, California)
• Website: www.ballastpoint.com
• Brew: Pale Ale The Original
• Style: Kölsch
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.2%
• IBUs: 23
• Ingredients: American and Munich malts with German hops
• Pour: It pours a crystal clear copper-amber with a fairly thin, white head that displays very little lacing.
• Nose: The nose of the Pale Ale The Original is very much in the Kölsch vein.  There are grassy hops, lightly toasted grains, cracked wheat, light lemon and maybe apple(?), and a hint of white pepper.
• Taste: The taste is yeasty and bready with more subtle fruit flavors and some nice, grassy hops.  There are notes of crackery biscuit, toasted grains, spicy hops, and toast.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with good carbonation, the mouthfeel is very crisp, very refreshing, and very smooth and drinkable with a clean finish.

Overall pairing: The haunting beauty of "Pale Folklore" requires a more mellow brew, but nothing weak mind you!  There are definite rocking moments and Haughm's can be downright brutal at times.  Ballast Point's Pale Ale The Original makes for a great pairing with its easy drinkability, but has a nice hoppy kick for those darker, more bitter elements of the album.

Cheers and hails!