December 28th, 2017 - The Bourbon County Imperial Stout Is A Dark Horse

Good afternoon!  The Meista here today pairing George Harrison's "Dark Horse" and a 2017 Bourbon County Brand Stout from Goose Island Beer Company!  This pairing goes out to Sequoia and Chloe Thomas who both made and gave me the wonderful Brews & Tunes backdrop you see pictured!  Thank you and cheers Sequoia and Chloe!!

Album Info:

• Artist: George Harrison
• Title: "Dark Horse"
• Recorded: November 1973, April 1974, and August through October 1974 at FPSHOT in Oxfordshire, England and A&M Studios in Los Angeles, California
• Release date: December 9th, 1974 (5th solo studio album by George Harrison)
• Record company: Apple Records
• Production: George Harrison
• Album cover art: Tom Wilkes 
• Personnel: George Harrison (lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, Moog synthesizer, clavinet, organ, bass, drums, percussion, and gubgubbi)
• Additional musicians: Max Bennett (bass), Robben Ford (electric and acoustic guitars), Chuck Findley (flute), John Guerin (drums), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Jim Horn (flute), Mick Jones (acoustic guitar), Roger Kellaway (piano and organ), Jim Keltner (drums), Alvin Lee (electric guitar), Andy Newark (drums and percussion), Billy Preston (electric piano, piano, and organ), Emil Richards (percussion), Tom Scott (saxophones, flute, horn arrangements, and organ), Ringo Starr (drums), Lon and Derrek Van Eaton (backing vocals), Klaus Voormann (bass), Willie Weeks (bass), Ron Wood (electric guitar), and Gary Wright (piano)
• Musical style: Rock, pop, folk rock with elements of funk rock, jazz, and soul
• Sound: Rather mellow, honest, and emotional, the sound is warm, melodic, and wonderfully musical.  Harrison breaks from his Beatles-esque sound from earlier albums and creates a hauntingly beautiful album with "Dark Horse".
• Major themes: Highly personal and rather dark, themes on the album include self doubt, marital strife, adultery, relationships, lost friendship, rock and roll, fame, life, pain, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Hari's On Tour (Expressy)"
2. "Simply Shady"
3. "So Sad"
4. "Bye Bye Love"
5. "Maya Love"
6. "Ding Dong, Ding Dong"
7. "Dark Horse"
8. "Far East Man"
9. "It Is He"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago, Illinois)
• Website: http://www.gooseisland.com/age-gate
• Brew: Bourbon County Brand Stout
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 16.9 ounce bottle
• ABV: 14.1%
• IBUs: 60
• Ingriendents: 2-Row, Black Malt, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich 10, and Roasted Barley malts with Millennium hops
• Pour: The Bourbon County Brand Stout pours a midnight black hue with a thin, but very firm dark mocha head.
• Nose: The nose is an intense and bold blend of roasty, oaky, toasty, boozy, bitter, and sweet.  There are aromas of charred oak, bourbon, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, vanilla bean, molasses, toffee, and liquid smoke.
• Taste: The taste of the Bourbon County is boozy, smoky, oaky, roasty, and chocolaty.  There are notes of bourbon, oak, anise, bittersweet baker's dark chocolate, molasses, smoke coffee beans, vanilla, and burnt toffee.  
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Bourbon County Brand Stout is very thick, velvety smooth, with a very dry, boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The bold and complex Bourbon County Brand Stout from Goose Island is brewed in honor of the 1,000th batch at the original Clybourn brewpub!  This seems like a fitting brew to honor the incredibly talent, musical prowess, and honesty of George Harrison's wonderful "Dark Horse" album!  The mellow, yet complex and emotional tunes are perfect for kicking back on a vacation day whilst sipping the smoky, boozy Bourbon County!

    

Cheers!!