November 8th, 2016 - Monsters, Yetis, And No Politicians

Good evening!  Escape your political stress and anxiety tonight with the Meista and my pairing of the Meat Puppets' "Monsters" and an Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout from Great Divide Brewing Company!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Meat Puppets
• Title: "Monsters"
• Recorded: 1987 through 1989
• Release date: October 1989 (1969-04-16)
• Record company: SST Records
• Production: Meat Puppets
• Album cover art: Adam Larson and the Meat Puppets
• Personnel: Derrick Bostrom (drums), Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Kurt Kirkwood (guitars and lead vocals) 
• Musical style: Indie rock/pop, alternative rock, post punk, folk rock
• Sound: Dominated by crunchy and melodic guitar riffs and hooks, the sound on "Monsters" combines the band's more experimental sounds with their harder edge work of the early years.
• Major themes: Relationships, life, death, love, football, fear, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Attacked By Monsters"
2. "Light"
3. "Meltdown"
4. "In Love"
5. "The Void"
6. "Touchdown King"
7. "Party Till The World Obeys"
8. "Flight Of The Fire Weasel"
9. "Strings On Your Heart"
10. "Like Being Alive"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company (Denver, Colorado)
• Website: http://greatdivide.com/
• Brew: Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
• Style: Russian Imperial Stout 
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.5%
• Pour: The Yeti pours an ink black with a huge, dark mocha mashed potato head with great retention and lots of sticky spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very earthy, very roasty, chocolaty, and bold.  There are rich aromas of dark chocolate, coffee beans, vanilla beans, anise, roasted malts, and bitter herbs.
• Taste: The taste of the Yeti is characterized by bold, rich, roasty, and earthy flavors.  There are notes of roasted malts, oak, dark baker's chocolate, dark roasted coffee, anise, soft vanilla, dark fruits, subtle bourbon, and bitter hops.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with very low carbonation, the mouthfeel is very creamy, rich, and chunky with a dry, bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The rich, chocolaty complexity of Great Divide's amazing Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout is a great sipping brew on election night... and even better with the wonderfully textured guitars, harmonies, melodies, and rhythms of the very underrated Meat Puppets!!

Cheers!!