December 2nd, 2020 - The Acid King And A Big Bad Baptist Share Some Chocolate Covered Raspberries

 

Hey there evildoers, headbangers, and craft brew lovers!  The Meista here tonight getting heavy with a pairing of "III" by Acid King and a very chocolaty, bold, and boozy Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Raspberry from Epic Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Acid King
• Title: "III"
• Recorded: late 2004 at The Groove Room in San Rafael, California
• Release date: March 7th, 2005 (3rd full-length studio album by Acid King)
• Record company: Small Stone Recordings / Kreation Records
• Production: Billy Anderson and Acid King
• Album cover art: Mike Saputo
• Personnel: Joey Osbourne (drums), Guy Pinhas (bass), and Lori Steinberg (guitars and vocals) 
• Musical style: Doom metal, stoner rock
• Sound: Thick, sludgy, heavy, and powerful, the sound on Acid King's "III" is a mesmerizing, sonic journey!  In the tradition of Black Sabbath and St. Vitus, Acid King lays down track after track of intense thunderous depth and crunchy feedback!  
• Major themes: motorcycles, escape, drugs, darkness, evil, death, sorrow, etc.
• Tracks:  
1. "2 Wheel Nation"
2. "Heavy Load"
3. "Bad Vision"
4. "War Of The Mind"
5. "Into The Ground"
6. "On To Everafter"
7. "Sunshine And Sorrow"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Epic Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://www.epicbrewing.com/
• Brew: Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Raspberry
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 25 ounce bottle
• ABV: 11.5% 
• Ingredients: Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate Malt 2-Row Black Malt, and Roasted Barley with Nugget, Chinook, and Cascade hops along with coffee, cacoa nibs, and raspberries.
• Pour: The Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Raspberry pours an opaque, black as hell/very deep, deep dark brown with a creamy, 1-finger, dark mocha head with good sustain and sticky, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by roasty, toasty, chocolaty, fruity, earthy, and boozy elements.  There are aromas of baker's tart raspberries, port wine, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, dark roasted malts, freshly ground dark roast coffee, espresso, burnt toffee, sweet caramel, fresh cream, light marshmallow, oak, and whiskey.
• Taste: The taste of the Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Raspberry follows the nose with tangy, tart, chocolaty, earthy, and boozy flavors.  There are big notes of dark chocolate, chocolate covered raspberries, strawberry, coffee, and whiskey with more subtle flavors of hearty bread, cream, marshmallow, and sweet caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Raspberry is very thick, velvety, creamy, and smooth, with a very dry, slightly bitter, and boozy finish.

Overall pairing: Epic's Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Raspberry is a very complex and flavorful brew that demands your full attention... a perfect companion to the doomy, sludgy onslaught that is the mighty Acid King!  Those big, bold, and malty notes go great with the slower elements of the album, while the sweetness, bitterness, and boozy bite go great with the more aggressive passages!  I highly recommend both the album and the brew!

Cheers and hails headbangers!!  Keep it craft and keep it heavy!