April 14th, 2017 - Beyond The Rouge Mirror OF Cuvée Des Jacobins

Hello!  The Meista here today pairing a Cuvée Des Jacobins Rouge from Brouwerij Bockor N.V. / Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste and "Beyond The Red Mirror" by German power metal / progressive metal band Blind Guardian!

Album Info:

• Artist: Blind Guardian
• Title: "Beyond The Red Mirror"
• Recorded: 2014
• Release date: January 30th, 2015 (10th studio album by Blind Guardian)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast
• Production: Charlie Bauerfeind
• Album cover art: Felipe Machado Franco
• Personnel: Frederik Ehmke (drums and percussion), Hansi Kürsch (lead and backing vocals), André Olbrich (lead, rhythm, and acoustic guitars), and Marcus Siepen (rhythm guitar)
• Additional musicians: Barend Courbois (bass guitar), FILMharmonic Choir and Orchestra Prague, Hungarian Studio Choir and Orchestra Budapest, Michael Schüren (piano), Mattias Ulmer (keyboards and piano), and Vox Futura Choir Boston
• Musical style: Power metal, progressive metal, symphonic metal
• Sound: Larger-than-life, yet very melodic and well-crafted, the sound on "Beyond The Red Mirror" combines the energy of power metal (with the soaring guitars and vocals) and the bombast of symphonic and progressive metal.
• Major themes: With mythological, fantasy, and science fiction themes, "Beyond The Red Mirror" is a concept album and sequel to their album "Imaginations From The Other Side", Kürsch described it as the: "story between science fiction and fantasy. The two worlds described have changed dramatically for the worse since then. While there used to be several passages between the worlds, there is only one gate left now: The Red Mirror. It has to be found at any cost."
• Tracks:  

1. "The Ninth Wave"
2. "Twilight Of The Gods"
3. "Prophecies"
4. "At The Edge Of Time"
5. "Ashes Of Eternity"
6. "The Holy Grail"
7. "The Throne"
8. "Sacred Mind"
9. "Miracle Machine"
10. "Grand Parade"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Brouwerij Bockor N.V. / Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste (Bellegem, Belgium) 
• Website: http://www.omervanderghinste.be/
• Brew: Cuvée Des Jacobins Rouge
• Style: Flanders Red Sour Ale
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.5%
• Pour: The Cuvée Des Jacobins Rouge pours a lovely opaque ruby red with a thin white head that dissipates quickly, leaving a thin ring of lacing.
• Nose: The nose is tart, fruity, and sweet.  There are aromas of pie cherries, lemon, red wine vinegar, a little barnyard funk, and various berries with just a hint of vanilla and caramel.
• Taste: The taste is a perfect blend of "malty sweetness and acidic sharpness".  There are notes of sour cherries, ripe apples, lemon juice, vanilla, and hints of oak.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with solid carbonation, the mouthfeel is frothy and crisp with a dry and tart finish.
• Notes: from their website: "It is made from spontaneously fermented and barrel-aged beer of at least 18 months in age. The beer is cooled overnight in a large, shallow metal vessel called a coolship and then fermented and aged in large oak foudres which are made in France and assembled on-site at Bockor."

Overall pairing: The tart, sweet, and sharp aromas and flavors of the Cuvée Des Jacobins Rouge are fantastic on their own, but are wonderfully enhanced by the epic power and cinematic metal sound of Blind Guardian's "Beyond The Red Mirror"! 

Op uw gezondheid!!