December 11th, 2016 - A Tart Century Love Child

Hyvää iltaa!  The Meista here tonight pairing "Century Child" by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish with a Love Child No. 7 Sour Ale from Boulevard Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Nightwish
• Title: "Century Child"
• Recorded: January through April 2002 at Caverock Studios, Kitee, and Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland
  Release date: May 25th, 2002 (4th album by Nightwish)
• Record company: Century Media
• Production: Tuomas Holopainen, Tero Kinnunen, and Nightwish
• Album cover art: Markus Mayer
• Personnel: Marco Hietala (bass guitar and vocals), Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards), Jukka Nevalainen (drums and percussion), Tarja Turunen (vocals), and Emppu Vuorinen (guitars)
• Additional musicians: Kristiina Ilmonen (tin whistle), Sam Hardwick (spoken word), Joensuu City Orchestra, and the St. Thomas Chorus of Helsinki
• Musical style: Symphonic metal, power metal, melodic metal
• Sound: In a word, EPIC!  It is at times bombastic, at times heavy and rockin', and at times ethereal and gentle.  Turunen's vocals blend perfectly with the might and power of the band as well as with Hietala's more aggressive vocals.
• Major themes: Birth, death, love, loss, magic, mythology, dreams, beauty, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Bless The Child"
2. "End Of All Hope"
3. "Dead To The World"
4. "Ever Dream"
5. "Slaying The Dreamer"
6. "Forever Yours"
7. "Ocean Soul"
8. "Feel For You"
9. "The Phantom Of The Opera"
10. "Beauty Of The Beast"
• I. Long Lost Love
• II. One More Night To Live
• III. Christabel

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Boulevard Brewing Company (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Website: https://boulevard.com
• Brew: Love Child No. 7 Sour Ale
• Style: Flanders-Style American Wild Ale
• Serving: 25 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8.2%
• IBUs: 9
• Ingredients: Belgian yeast strain, lactobacillus, and Brettanomyces
• Pour: The Love Child No. 7 pours a hazy peach-amber with a 2-finger frothy head that slowly dissipates to a sustained ring with trace lacing.
• Nose: The nose is fruity, funky, woody, and tart.  There are aromas of lemon, apple cider vinegar, raspberry, red wine, horse blanket, wet leather, oak, and light spices.
• Taste: The taste of the Love Child No. 7 is an incredibly well-balanced blend of sour, funk, sweet, and bitter.  There are notes of Chardonnay, red wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, tart berries, cherry juice, oak, herbs, light spices.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp, very tart, and very refreshing with a very sour, but clean and dry finish.

Overall pairing: The   Love Child No. 7 from the fine folks at Boulevard Brewing may very well be the best sour I've tasted (the most expensive in any case, but well worth it!) as it is very complex, well-balanced and completely engaging!  As such, I thought it would make for a great pairing with the incredible intricate and complex genius of Nightwish's brilliant and often overlooked "Century Child"!

Kippis!!