February 26th, 2021 - Beyond The Gates Of Happy Valley

Hello, happy Friday, and hails evil-doers and craft beer lovers!  The Meista here today pairing "Beyond The Gates", the underrated and killer sophomore album of Possessed with a very tasty Happy Valley Hefeweizen from my man Master Chad over at the Deseret Edge Brewery!  What a great way to start the weekend!! 

Album Info: 

• Artist: Possessed
• Title: "Beyond The Gates"
• Recorded: 1986 at Prairie Sun Recording Studios in California
• Release date: October 31st, 1986 (2nd studio album by Possessed)
• Record company: Combat Records
• Production: Carl Canedy and Steve Sinclair
• Album cover art: Ed Repka
• Personnel: Jeff Becerra (bass and vocals), Larry LaLonde (guitars), Mike Sus (drums), and Mike Torrao (guitars)
• Musical style: Thrash metal, death metal
• Sound: More technical, more thrashy, and with maybe a muddier production quality than their first album, the sound on "Beyond The Gates" is still pure, early Possessed... aggressive, fast, and wonderfully evil!  There are blisteringly fast riffs, catchy melodies, and Becerra's uniquely recognizable vocals.  What more could you want?  It slays!  
• Major themes: Death, horror, evil, the occult, darkness, violence, Satan, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Intro"
2. "The Heretic"
3. "Tribulation"
4. "March Or Die"
5. "Phantasm"
6. "No Will To Live"
7. "Beyond The Gates"
8. "The Beasts Of The Apocalypse"
9. "Séance"
10. "Restless Dead"
11. "Dog Fight"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Deseret Edge Brewery at the Pub (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://desertedgebrewery.com/ 
• Brew: Happy Valley Hefeweizen
• Style: German Hefeweizen
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Ingredients: According to the brewer, the Happy Valley Hefeweizen is brewed with White Wheat, Pale, and Munich malts along with Hallertauer Tradition hops and "a proprietary blend of love and anger".  Haha! 
• Pour: The Happy Valley Hefeweizen pours a cloudy golden yellow color with a firm and frothy 1-finger, eggshell white head with great retention and lots of intricate spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a wonderful blend of bready, fruity, and spicy aromas.  There are notes of freshly baked bread, light apple, a hint of  pink bubblegum, banana bread, light nutmeg and clove, a hint of creamed corn, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Happy Hefeweizen is malty, bready, fruity, and slightly sweet.  There are notes of sweet biscuit, light hops, light apple, soft banana, light clove, and soft caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Happy Valley Hefeweizen is crisp and very smooth with a dry, clean finish.

Overall pairing: The smooth drinkability and subtle spiciness of Desert Edge's Happy Valley Hefeweizen make it a great companion (and foil) to the overall thrashy death punch of Possessed's "Beyond The Gates"!  You can definitely crush a few of these delicious brews whilst thrashing about to this great album!  'Nuff said!

Cheers and hails!!