May 6th, 2017 - Seeking The Drunken Master On Sleep's Holy Mountain

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight pairing "Sleep's Holy Mountain" by doom metal monsters Sleep and a Drunken Master IIPA from Melvin Brewing Company! 

Album Info:

• Artist: Sleep
• Title: "Sleep's Holy Mountain"
• Recorded: 1992 at Razor's Edge Studio in San Francisco, California
• Release date: November 1992 (2nd album by Sleep)
• Record company: Earache Records / Kreation Records
• Production: Sleep and Billy Anderson
• Album cover art: Robert Klem
• Personnel:  Al Cisneros (bass guitar and vocals), Chris Hakius (drums), and Matt Pike (guitar)
• Musical style: Stoner metal/rock, doom metal
• Sound: Heavy as hell and profoundly doomy, the sound on "Sleep's Holy Mountain" is definitive of the rise of early 1990s doom metal!  In fact, this album may be the ultimate modern doom metal album!  It is heavy, aggressive, and has a wonderfully murky groove throughout!
• Major themes: The occult, mythology, legend, good vs. evil, life and death, etc.
• Tracks:

1. "Dragonaut"
2. "The Druid"
3. "Evil Gypsy / Solomon's Theme"
4. "Some Grass"
5. "Aquarian"
6. "Holy Mountain"
7. "Inside The Sun"
8. "From Beyond"
9. "Nain's Baptism"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Melvin Brewing Company (Alpine, Wyoming)
• Website: http://www.melvinbrewing.com/
• Brew: Drunken Master IIPA
• Style: Imperial India Pale Ale (IIPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 9.5%
• Pour: The Drunken Master IIPA pours a slightly hazy orange-amber with frothy white head with great sustain and lot of intricate, sticky, spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a big blast of citrus along with floral, herbal, sweet, and hoppy aromas.  There are notes of grapefruit rind, orange, bitter herbs, pine resin, and a malty caramel backbone.
• Taste: The taste is citrusy, herbal, sweet, and bitter.  There are notes of pink grapefruit, orange peel, tangerine, black tea, pine, toffee, and honey.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Drunken Master IIPA is slick, yet very smooth with a slightly bitter and oily finish.

Overall pairing: So I usually like to go with big, muddy Imperial Stouts when pairing doom metal, but the aggressive, early Sabbath-esque sound on "Sleep's Holy Mountain" lends itself really well to the hop-forward, punchy, and aggressive flavors of Melvin's wonderful Drunken Master IIPA!  Those heavy caramel notes work really well with the sludgy doom power while the bitter and citrusy hops are great for the more aggressive guitars and vocals!

Cheers and hails!!