March 24th, 2016 - The Hunter Is Drilling Hops In Isolation

Good evening!  The Meista is here tonight pairing "Isolation Drills" by Guided By Voices and a Hop Hunter IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company!  This one goes out to my buddy Chad... cheers my friend!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Guided By Voices (GBV)
• Title: "Isolation Drills"
• Recorded: 2000
• Release date: April 10th, 2001 (12th studio album by GBV) (2009-02-03)
• Record company: TVT Records
• Production: Rob Schnapf
• Album cover art: Benjamin Wheelock
• Personnel: Nate Farley (guitar), Ron Lawrence (viola), Jim MacPherson (drums), Robert Pollard (guitar and vocals), Marlene Rice (violin), Elliott Smith (piano), David Soldier (violin and arrangements), Tobin Sprout (piano), and Tim Tobias (bass)
• Musical style: Indie rock, lo-fi pop with elements of New Wave, post-punk, folk, blues, and country
• Sound: With a touch of '70s garage rock band sound mixed with pop sensibility and a panache, the sound of "Isolation Drills" is pure rock and roll goodness!  Totally engaging, tight, musical solid and fun, GBV delivers one of the best scope of work with this album!
• Major themes: Relationships, life, heartbreak, loss, drinking, states of mind, etc. 
• Tracks:   

1. "Fair Touching"
2. "Skills Like This"
3. "Chasing Heather Crazy"
4. "Frostman"
5. "Twilight Campfighter"
6. "Sister, I Need Wine"
7. "Want One"
8. "The Enemy"
9. "Unspirited"
10. "Glad Girls"
11. "Run Wild"
12. "Pivotal Film"
13. "How's My Drinking"
14. "The Brides Have Hit Glass"
15. "Fine to See You"
16. "Privately"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (Chico, California)
• Website: http://www.sierranevada.com/
• Brew: Hop Hunter IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 6.2%
• IBUs: 60
• Ingredients: Ale yeast; Two-row Pale, Caramel, and Flaked Oats malts; bittering hops: Bravo; finishing hops: Cascade, Crystal, and Simcoe; Cascade, Centennial, and CTZ farm distilled hop oils
• Pour: Hazy golden yellow with a 2-finger frothy white head that shows great retention and displays intricate spider web lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by lots of dank earthy, piney, floral, citrus and herbal aromas. There are scents of pine, cedar, birch intermingled with summer grass, fresh grapefruit, tangerine, lemon zest, and orange, along with black tea and more subtle notes caramel.
• Taste: Brewed with "extract pure hop oil from mature cones", the Hop Hunter is a bold and hoppy beer.  There are intricate notes of pine, black tea, lemon, grapefruit, and grassy hops along with more subtle notes of cantaloupe, mango, toffee and biscuit.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and well-carbonated, the Hop Hunter is an oily and slick brew, but still very crisp and refreshing.  The finish is bitter and dry.

Overall pairing: There's so much going on with both this album and this beer... thus the great pairing they make!  The Hop Hunter's bitter bite works wonderfully with the honest, rockin' style of "Isolation Drills".  Both are complex, both are popping, yet engaging, and both are near-perfect examples of their styles! 

Bottoms up!!