December 22nd, 2016 - City Of Trees Outside The Academy

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight pairing a City Of Trees IPA from Woodland Empire Ale Craft and Thurston Moore's "Trees Outside The Academy"!  "There... what you are about to hear..."

Album Info:

• Artist: Thurston Moore
• Title: "Trees Outside The Academy"
• Recorded: 2007 at Dinosaur Jr guitarist J. Mascis' home studio in Amherst, Massachusetts
  Release date: September 18th, 2007 (2nd solo album by Thurston Moore)
• Record company: Ecstatic Peace!
• Production: John Agnello and Thurston Moore
• Album cover art: Bob Gruen
• Personnel: Thurston Moore (acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, vocals, and piano on track 6) with Christina Carter (vocals on tracks 1 and 3), Gown (electric guitar on track 1 and 9), Leslie Keffer (noise on track 8), Samara Lubelski (violin on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 11), J Mascis (lead guitar on tracks 1, 2, 7, and 11), John Moloney (drums on track 7), and Steve Shelley (drums on all tracks except 7)
• Musical style: Post punk, alternative rock, experimental art rock
• Sound: "Softer" than his previous album, "Psychic Hearts", but no less complex, experimental, and brilliant, with "Trees Outside The Academy", Moore paints a wonderfully personal and rich soundscape of heartfelt darkness and reflection.
• Major themes: Self reflection, "beat-up copies of old satellites, messages beaming", honesty, life, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Frozen GTR"
2. "The Shape Is In A Trance"
3. "Honest James"
4. "Silver>Blue"
5. "Fri/End"
6. "American Coffin"
7. "Wonderful Witches + Language Meanies"
8. "Off Work"
9. "Never Day"
10. "Free Noise Among Friends"
11. "Trees Outside The Academy"
12. "Thurston@13"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Woodland Empire Ale Craft (Boise, Idaho)
• Website: http://woodlandempire.com/
• Brew: City Of Trees IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 20 ounce glass off the tap
• ABV: 6.2%
• IBUs: 70
• Ingredients: NW 2-row and crystal 15º malts with Bravo, Zeus, Chinook, Centennial, and Cascade hops
• Pour: The City Of Trees IPA pours a murky golden cider-amber hue with a creamy and thick, off-white 2-finger head that leaves lots of sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is earthy, dank, citrusy, and full of sweet tropical fruit and caramel aromas.  There are notes of pine resin, grapefruit rind, lemon zest, tangerine, mango, peach, and a big malty backbone.
• Taste: The flavor is similar to the nose... lots of tropical and citrus fruit, pine, and sweet malt.  There are notes of pine, pink grapefruit juice, mango, tangerine, bready malt, caramel, and light spice.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is crisp, bitter, tongue tingling, sharp, and oily with a dry, bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The complex, yet inviting flavors and aromas of Woodland Empire's fantastic City Of Trees IPA is the perfect beer for the intense folk-punk-art rock acoustic guitar work and honest vocals and lyrics on Moore's wonderful "Trees Outside The Academy"!  I highly recommend adding both to your collection!

Cheers!!