October 20th, 2017 - Ample Destruction Of The TPS Report!

Good evening headbangers and artisan ale lovers!  Your drinkin' buddy, the Meista here tonight with one more pairing for ya... a wonderfully sour TPS Report Wild Brettanomyces Wit with Rose Petals from Trinity Brewing Company with "Ample Destruction", the debut, full-length album by American power metal giants, Jag Panzer!!  Oh, hell yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Jag Panzer
• Title: "Ample Destruction"
• Recorded: Startsong Studios in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Release date: Originally released August 1984; remastered version released 2013 (1st full-length studio album by Jag Panzer)
• Record company: Original version by Azra Records; remastered version by High Roller Import
• Production: Andrew Banks and Tom Gregor; co-produced by Jag Panzer
• Album cover art: Keith Austin
• Personnel: Mark Briody (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin (lead vocals), Rick Hilyard (drums), Joey Tafolla (guitars and backing vocals), and John Tetley (bass)
• Additional musicians: Ian Tecee (keyboards)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal, speed metal
• Sound: Powerful, unrelenting, rebellious, and pure metal, Jag Panzer's first official release is a juggernaut of complex power metal... especially considering how young these guys were at the time!   Conklin's vocals are massive... a huge range in the tradition of Dickinson and Halford! Hilyard and Tetley are a thunderstorm of rhythm!  And Briody and Tafolla lay down amazing, paint-peeling riff after riff after riff!
• Major themes: War, death, destruction, power, aggression, violence, sex, evil, darkness, rebellion, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Licensed To Kill"
2. "Warfare"
3. "Symphony Of Terror"
4. "Harder Than Steel"
5. "Generally Hostile"
6. "The Watching"
7. "Interlude"
8. "Reign Of The Tyrants"
9. "Cardiac Arrest"
10. "The Crucifix"
11. "Black Sunday" (bonus track)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Trinity Brewing Company (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
• Website: http://www.trinitybrew.com/
• Brew: TPS Report Wild Brettanomyces Wit with Rose Petals
• Style: American Wild Ale / Saison / Farmhouse Ale
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 4.8%
• IBUs: 
• Ingredients: Flaked oats, flaked wheat, tangerine zest, and lemon zests. Fermented 100% with a very rare variety of Brettanomyces and aged in French oak Chardonnay barrels with roses petals
• Pour: The TPS Report pours a cloudy, but bright golden-yellow hue with a bubbly, half-finger, white head that dissipates quickly with virtually no lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very tart, fruity, earthy, oaky, and slightly floral.  There are aromas of lemon juice and zest, white grape juice, apricot, apple cider vinegar, light grains, horse blanket, wet leather, a hint of sulfur, funky Brett, and a hint of rose perfume. 
• Taste: The taste of the TPS Report Wild Brettanomyces Wit with Rose Petals is very tart, earthy, spicy, and funky.  There are big notes of lemon juice, green apple, Chardonnay, dried apricot, fruit leather, funky Brett, light oak, and white pepper.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp, very tart, peppery, and dry with a lip-puckering, tart and spicy finish.

Overall pairing: The TPS Report Wild Brettanomyces Wit with Rose Petals from Trinity Brewing Company is a wonderfully tart and complex wild brew!  It is that wild Brett punch that pairs so well with the powerful metal brilliance of Jag Panzer's very underrated "Ample Destruction"... an album that is the definition of the word "metal"!!    

Cheers and hails!!