August 26th, 2019 - Hymns For A Broken CBS.

God kväll!  Since I will be seeing this amazing band this Friday night, tonight I'm celebrating and pairing the hauntingly beautiful and heavy "Hymns For The Broken" by Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey with a CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout) from Founders Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!!

 

Album Info:

• Artist: Evergrey
• Title: "Hymns For The Broken"
• Recorded: November 2013 through August 2014 at Division Two Studios, Gung Studios, and Sound Industry Studios in Sweden
• Release date: September 26th, 2014 (9th studio album by Evergrey)
• Record company: AFM Records
• Production: Tom S. Englund and Jacob Hansen
• Album cover art: Marcus Körling
• Personnel: Henrik Danhage (guitars), Jonas Ekdahl (drums), Tom S. Englund (lead vocals and guitars), Johan Niemann (bass), and Rikard Zander (keyboards)  
• Additional musicians: Salina Englund (choir), Felicia Grundell (choir), Klara Hanehöj (choir), Mina (narration on "The Awakening"), Chris Roy (backing vocals), and Fredrik Skoglund (choir)
• Musical style: Progressive metal, progressive rock, power metal, gothic metal
• Sound: Hauntingly emotive, wonderfully balanced between power and beauty, and mesmerizing, "Hymns For The Broken" once again displays the musical prowess of Evergrey and the amazing vision of Englund!
• Major themes: With introspective, reflective, and soul-searching lyrics, themes on the album include life, darkness, relationships, loss, deception, isolation, pain, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "The Awakening"
2. "King Of Errors"
3. "A New Dawn"
4. "Wake A Change"
5. "Archaic Rage"
6. "Barricades"
7. "Black Undertow"
8. "The Fire"
9. "Hymns For The Broken"
10. "Missing You"
11. "The Grand Collapse"
12. "The Aftermath"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
• Website: https://foundersbrewing.com/
• Brew: CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout)
• Style: American Imperial Stout
• Serving: 16 ounce bottle
• ABV: 11.3% 
• IBUs: 45
• Ingredients: "Brewed with a blend of coffees and imported chocolates, then aged in spent bourbon barrels that have most recently been aging pure Michigan maple syrup."
• Pour: The CBS pours an ink black with .
• Nose: The nose is sweet, earthy, chocolaty, malty, and boozy.  There are aromas of rich maple syrup, molasses, dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, dark roasted malts, toffee, cream, marshmallow, vanilla bean, and a rich bourbon.
• Taste: The taste of the CBS follows the nose with lots of rich, complex, earthy, and sweet flavors.  There are notes of bittersweet dark chocolate, milk chocolate, sweet maple syrup, rich coffee, soft vanilla, bourbon, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with very low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the CBS is thick and velvety smooth with a dry, sweet, slightly boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The Founders CBS is a dangerously drinkable and sweet brew, yet very complex, somewhat boozy, and very flavorful... much like the richly textured depth, darkness, and beauty of Evergrey's brilliant "Hymns For The Broken"!

Skål!!