April 7th, 2017 - Paranoid Faries Wear Steel Toed Boots

Good evening and hails evil-doers!  Your drinking buddy the Meista here pairing a Steel Toe Milk Stout from Ska Brewing and one of the most important and influential albums of our time, Black Sabbath's "Paranoid"!!  Oh, hell yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Black Sabbath
• Title: "Paranoid"
• Recorded: Jun 16th through the 21st, 1970 at Regent Sound Studios and Island Studios in London, England
• Release date: September 18th, 1970 (2nd studio album by Black Sabbath)
• Record company: Warner Bros.
• Production: Rodger Bain
• Album cover art: Marcus Keef 
• Personnel: Geezer Butler (bass guitar), Tony Iommi (guitars and flute on "Planet Caravan"), Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), and Bill Ward (drums and congas on "Planet Caravan")
• Musical style: Heavy metal
• Sound: Face-melting heaviness!  Paint-peeling intensity! 
• Major themes: War, suffering, power, vengeance, insanity, death, the occult, etc. 
• Interesting side note: Originally, the album was to be titled "War Pigs", but the record company was afraid of a backlash in America due to the conflict in Vietnam.  However, the album cover art wasn't changed.  Of the album, Ozzy stated, "That album title had nothing to do with the sleeve.  What the fuck does a bloke dressed as a pig with a sword in his hand got to do with being paranoid?  I don't know, but they decided to change the album title without changing the artwork."
• Tracks:  

1. "War Pigs/Luke's Wall"
2. "Paranoid"
3. "Planet Caravan"
4. "Iron Man"
5. "Electric Funeral"
6. "Hand Of Doom"
7. "Rat Salad"
8. "Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ska Brewing (Durango, Colorado)
• Website: http://skabrewing.com/
• Brew: Steel Toe Milk Stout
• Style: Milk Stout / English Cream Stout
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.5%
• IBUs: 16
• Pour: The Steel Toe Milk Stout pours ink black with a thin, but firm and frothy light tan, creamy head with good retention and lacing.
• Nose: The nose is earthy, roasty, chocolaty, and sweet.  There are aromas of sweet milk, cream, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee beans, caramel, and roasted malts.
• Taste: The taste is earthy, sweet, chocolaty, and milky.  There are notes of semi-sweet lactose, chocolate and caramel malt, cocoa, dark chocolate, dark roasted coffee, and hints of marshmallow, liquid smoke, and oak.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Steel Toe Milk Stout is thick and creamy with a sweet and dry finish.

Overall pairing: I'm not sure if any one brew can capture the sheer brilliance and intensity of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", but Ska's Steel Toe Milk Stout does a pretty damn good job of keeping pace!  Those big, bold chocolate and coffee notes are perfect for the doomy, muddy, sludgy power of the down-tuned guitars, thunderous bass, and cannon fire drumming! 

Cheers and hails!!