July 22nd, 2020 - The Pros & Cons Of Hitch Hiking In Your Birthday Suit

Good evening rockers, rollers, and craft beer lovers!  The Meista here today pairing a tart and refreshing  Birthday Suit Blackberry Lemon Tart Ale from Uinta Brewing Company and Roger Waters' classic "The Pros & Cons Of Hitch Hiking"!

Album Info:

• Artist: Roger Waters
• Title: "The Pros & Cons Of Hitch Hiking"
• Recorded: February through December 1983
• Release date: April 30th, 1984 (1st solo studio album by Roger Waters)
• Record company: Harvest / Columbia
• Production: Roger Waters and Michael Kamen
• Album cover art: Gerald Scarfe
• Personnel: Robert Waters (lead vocals, bass guitars, rhythm guitars, and tape effects)
• Additional musicians: Madeline Bell (backing vocals), Andy Brown (Hammond organ and 12-string guitar), Doreen Chanter (backing vocals), Eric Clapton (lead guitar, Roland guitar synthesizer, and backing vocals), Ray Cooper (percussion), Kevin Flanagan (horns), Michael Kamen (piano), Katie Kissoon (backing vocals), Andy Newmark (drums and percussion), Raphael Ravenscroft (horns), David Sanborn (saxophone), Vic Sullivan (horns), and the National Philharmonic Orchestra
• Guest voice actors: Madeline Bell, Ed Bishop, Jack Palance, Andy Quigley, Beth Porter, Manning Redwood, and Cherry Vanilla
• Musical style: Progressive rock, hard rock, blues rock, art rock
• Sound: Very much in the same style as "The Wall" and "The Final Cut", although a solo album, this sounds very much like Pink Floyd.  In fact, there are motifs and even direct passage take from the two Floyd albums.  And yet, it is very much a Roger Waters gig.  It is a complex, compelling, vibrant, yet dark, melodic, and wonderfully executed musical journey!  
• Major themes: A concept album about a man's midlife crisis explored through his dreams, themes on the album include loss, lust, infidelity, love, sex, aging, sorrow, loneliness, compassion, etc.  Of the album, Water's stated: "Well, the idea for the album came concurrently with the idea for The Wall – the basis of the idea.  I wrote both pieces at roughly the same time.  And in fact, I made demo tapes of them both, and in fact presented both demo tapes to the rest of the Floyd, and said "Look, I'm going to do one of these as a solo project and we'll do one as a band album, and you can choose."  So, this was the one that was left over.  Um...I mean, it's developed an awful lot since then,  I think."
• Tracks:   

1. "4:30AM (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad)"
2. "4:33AM (Running Shoes)"
3. "4:37AM (Arabs With Knives And West German Skies)"
4. "4:39AM (For the First Time Today, Part 2)"
5. "4:41AM (Sexual Revolution)"
6. "4:47AM (The Remains Of Our Love)"
7. "4:50AM (Go Fishing)"
8. "4:56AM (For The First Time Today, Part 1)"
9. "4:58AM (Dunroamin, Duncarin, Dunlivin)"
10. "5:01AM (The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking)"
11. "5:06AM (Every Stranger's Eyes)"
12. "5:11AM (The Moment Of Clarity)"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Uinta Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://uintabrewing.com/ 
• Brew: Birthday Suit Blackberry Lemon Tart Ale
• Style: American Wild Ale / Sour Ale
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 20
• Ingredients: Munich, Golden Naked Oats, 2 Row, and Wheat along with Bravo and Simcoe hops
• Pour: The Birthday Suit pours a hazy pinkish amber with a bright white, frothy, 1-finger head that dissipates fairly quickly, leaving a slight ring with very little lacing on the glass.
• Nose: The nose is tart, fruity, zesty, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of lemon zest, lime peel, lemon juice, fresh blackberries, raspberry, cranberry, light grain, and just a hint of caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Birthday Suit follows the nose with lots of tart, zesty, and juicy flavors along with lighter grains.  There are notes of lemon juice, lemonade, lemon zest, blackberry juice, blackberry jam, and light meringue.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Birthday Suit is crisp and tart, yet creamy smooth with a tart, dry finish.

Overall pairing: The Birthday Suit Blackberry Lemon Tart Ale from the folks at Uinta Brewing Company is a delightfully tasty, tart, and very drinkable brew with loads of lemon and berry notes... perfect for the brilliance of Roger Waters!  'Nuff said! 

Cheers!!  Rock on!!