August 10th, 2018 - A CitruSinesis Of Purpose

Good afternoon hop-heads and headbangers and happy Friday!  Your drinking pal the Meista here today rocking out to "A Sense Of Purpose" by Swedish metal band In Flames and a CitruSinesis Pale Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: In Flames
• Title: "A Sense Of Purpose"
• Recorded: September–November 2007 at IF Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden
• Release date: April 1st, 2008 (9th studio album by In Flames) 
• Record company: Nuclear Blast / Koch Records
• Production: In Flames, Roberto Laghi, and Daniel Bergstrand
• Album cover art: Alex Pardee
• Personnel: Anders Fridén (vocals), Björn Gelotte (guitars), Peter Iwers (bass guitar), Jesper Strömblad (guitars), and Daniel Svensson (drums)
• Additional musicians: Örjan Örnkloo (keys and programming)
• Musical style: Alternative metal, metalcore, melodic death metal
• Sound: Combining multiple genres, In Flames' sound is very melodic, very rhythmic, a little poppy, and very high energy.  Of the album, guitarist Gelotte stated: "It’s awesome. It’s energetic, melodic, pretty much in the same vein. But we always try to mix it up a bit and try to put some dynamics into the songs, even though they are very intense. If you’ve heard the previous ones, you pretty much know what vein we’re going to be. It’s just a matter of small experiments in different songs."
• Major themes: Life, honesty, insomnia, fear, human interaction, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "The Mirror's Truth"
2. "Sleepless Again"
3. "Alias"
4. "I'm The Highway"
5. "Delight And Angers"
6. "Move Through Me"
7. "The Chosen Pessimist"
8. "Sober And Irrelevant"
9. "Condemned"
10. "Drenched In Fear"
11. "March To The Shore"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, California)
• Website: https://lagunitas.com/
• Brew: CitruSinesis Pale Ale
• Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 7.5%
• IBUs: 49
• Ingredients: Sanguinello blood orange concentrated juice blended with a wheatier version of the Lagunitas DogTown Pale Ale
• Pour: The CitruSinesis Pale Ale pours a hazy golden orange hue with a frothy, 1+ finger, off-white head with good retention and sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very fruity (tropical fruit and citrus), grassy, and sweet.  There are aromas of freshly squeezed blood orange juice, grapefruit, melon, pineapple, grassy hops, and just a hint of caramel.
• Taste: The taste follows the nose with lots of tropical fruit, citrus, grassy hops, and a hint of sweet malt.  There are notes of pink grapefruit, tangerine, orange juice, pineapple, papaya, mango, light wheat, lemongrass, and honey.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the CitruSinesis Pale Ale's mouthfeel is very crisp, slightly tart, and very refreshing with a clean finish.

Overall pairing: The Lagunitas CitruSinesis Pale Ale is a complex, punchy, and bright, yet very drinkable brew... right in line with the metal punch of In Flames' "A Sense Of Purpose"!   Those bright, citrusy flavors and aromas go great with the soaring guitar work while the bitter hop notes are perfect for Fridén's angry vocals and lyrics!

Skål!!