July 17th, 2020 - A New Hefeweizen Dawn At The Dillon Dam Guten Abend

Hallo and guten tag hellraisers!  The Meista here rocking out to "A New Dawn", the latest album by German symphonic folk metal band Varus and a tasty and smooth Hefeweizen from Dillon Dam Brewery!  This pairing goes out to my metal brother Markus Eck of the indelible METALMESSAGE PR company!  Prost!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Varus
• Title: "A New Dawn"
• Recorded: 2020 in Bamberg, Germany 
• Release date: June 27th, 2020 (2nd full-length studio release by Varus)
• Record company: Independent
• Production: Varus
• Album cover art: Belén Morante Velasco
• Personnel: Max Betz (drums), Norbert Caspar (bass), Konstantin Raab (lead vocals, keyboards, flutes, tin whistles, and mandolin), and Stefan Shwarz (lead guitar and backing vocals) 
• Musical style: Symphonic metal, folk metal with elements of melodic death metal and black metal
• Sound: Blending Germanic folk music with orchestral music and fist pounding metal, Varus presents a profoundly and wonderfully complex and heavy musical journey with "A New Dawn"!  It is epic, atmospheric, and a joy to experience... especially while draining a tankard or two of good German beer!
• Major themes: With songs steeped in mythology, fantasy, legend, and fork lore, themes on the album include drinking, celebration, freedom, war, rebirth, etc.
• Tracks:   
  

1. "The Awakening"
2. "Tränk dein Herz"
3. "A New Dawn"
4. "Ascheregen"
5. "Ein Lebewohl"
6. "Wandel der Zeit"
7. "The Minstrels' Chant"
8. "Die letzte Schenke"

 Brew Info:

• Brewery: Dillon Dam Brewery (Colorado)
• Website: https://www.dambrewery.com/
• Brew: Hefeweizen 
• Style: German Hefeweizen
• Serving: 16 ounce bottle
• ABV: 6.2%
• Ingredients: Wheat and Pilsen malt and Weihenstephan Hefeweizen yeast
• Pour: The Dillon Dam Hefeweizen pours a hazy golden orange/yellow with 1-finger, frothy eggshell white head with good retention and soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is fruity, spicy, and malty. There are aromas of fruit and spice esters... lots of soft banana, light lemon, and clove along with more subtle aromas of mountain flowers, cracked wheat, and lemongrass.
• Taste: The taste of the Dillon Dam Hefeweizen follows the nose with notes of .
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium in body and well carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp and smooth with a dry, fairly clean, yet somewhat spicy finish.

Overall pairing: The Dillon Dam Hefeweizen is wonderfully drinkable, unfiltered, lighter brew, yet still very complex and flavorful... a great brew to throw back on a hot summer day whilst banging your head to the intricate and heavy duty melodies and harmonies of Varus! 

    

Prost and hails!!