August 9th, 2016 - A Double Dose Of Bitches Brew

Good evening!  Here's a special pairing that literally took years in the making as I've been searching for this beer for many moons.  Tonight I'm pairing Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" with a Dogfish Head Miles Davis' Bitches Brew!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Miles Davis
• Title: "Bitches Brew"
• Recorded: August 19th through 21st, 1969 at 30th Street Studio in New York City
  Release date: March 30th, 1970 (45th studio album by Miles Davis)
• Record company: Columbia Records
• Production: Teo Macero
• Album cover art: Mati Klarwein 
• Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet) with Don Alias (congas), Harvey Brooks (electric bass), Billy Cobham (drums), Chick Corea (electric piano), Jack DeJohnette (drums), Dave Holland (bass), Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet), John McLaughlin (guitars), Airto Moreira (percussion and cuica), Juma Santos (congas), Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone), Lenny White (drums), Larry Young (electric piano), and Joe Zawinul (electric piano) 
• Musical style: Jazz fusion, jazz rock with elements of soul and funk
• Sound: In a word, innovative!  Of the album, experimental jazz drummer Bobby Previte said: "How much groundbreaking music do you hear now? It was music that you had that feeling you never heard quite before. It came from another place. How much music do you hear now like that?"  I think that sums it up quite nicely.
• Major themes: Obviously open to interpretation... maybe freedom?
• Tracks:   

1. "Pharaoh's Dance"
2. "Bitches Brew"
3. "Spanish Key"
4. "John McLaughlin"
5. "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down"
6. "Sanctuary"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, Delaware)
• Website: http://www.dogfish.com/     
• Brew: Miles Davis' Bitches Brew
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.0%
• IBUs: 38
• Pour: It pours a deep, deep, rich brown (almost ink black) with a thick mocha head.
• Nose: The nose is earthy, rich, sweet, roasty, and mysterious.  There are bold aromas of licorice, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, dark roasted coffee, hazelnut, sweet tobacco, vanilla bean, herbs, soil, caramel, and honey.
• Taste: Like the nose, the taste of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew is a big and bold roasty taste of heaven.  There are notes of rich coffee, sweet honey, vanilla, cream, semi-sweet dark chocolate, toasty malt, and roots.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with little carbonation, the mouthfeel is very thick, sticky, chunky, and oh so very smooth and velvety with a dry, mildly bitter and sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The pairing here is pretty obvious... so I'll just quote the Dogfish Head webpage: "In honor of the 40th anniversary of the original release of Bitches Brew, Miles Davis' 1970 paradigm-shifting landmark fusion breakthrough, we've created our own Bitches Brew -- a bold, dark beer that's a fusion of three threads of imperial stout and one thread of honey beer with gesho root. It's a gustatory analog to Miles' masterpiece."

Cheers!!