April 22nd, 2021 - The Ritual Of Downing A Tasty Imperial Brown Ale For The Sons Of Satan

 

Hello and happy Thursday metal maniacs and craft beer fiends!  The Meista here with another kick-ass pairing for ya today: "Sons Of Satan" by the infernal legends Venom and a Grid City Imperial Brown Ale, another tasty offering from the fine folks at Grid City Beer Works!  This pairing is dedicated to Venom guitarist Mantas!  Today his is 60th birthday!  Happy birthday and hails Mantas!!  Hell yeah!! 

Album Info:

• Artist: Venom
• Title: "Sons Of Satan: Rare And Unreleased"
• Recorded: November 24th, 1979 at Westgate Road Church Hall in Newcastle, England, October 10th and April 29th, 1980, and February 6th, 1983 at Impulse Studios in Wallsend, England
• Release date: May 29th, 2020 (compilation album by Venom)
• Record company: BMG
• Production: Venom
• Album cover art: Ben Thomas (layout) and Joe Waghorn (design/illustration) 
• Personnel: Abaddon (drums), Cronos (bass and vocals tracks 12 through 15), Jesus Christ (vocals tracks 1 through 11), and Mantas (guitars)
• Musical style: New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), speed metal, black metal 
• Sound: These are some of the very first recordings of Venom.  They are rough, raw, and wonderfully low-fi... especially the first 5 tracks!  However, even with the poor recording quality, Mantas' guitar work really shines! 
• Major themes: Evil, darkness, the occult, Satan, hell, drugs, death, fast living, metal, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Angel Dust" (Church Hall Rehearsals 1979)
2. "Buried Alive" (Church Hall Rehearsals 1979)
3. "Raise The Dead" (Church Hall Rehearsals 1979)
4. "Red Light Fever" (Church Hall Rehearsals 1979)
5. "Venom" (Church Hall Rehearsals 1979)
6. "Sons Of Satan" (1980 Impulse Studios - £50 Demo Recordings)
7. "In League With Satan" (1980 Impulse Studios - £50 Demo Recordings)
8. "Angel Dust" (1980 Impulse Studios - £50 Demo Recordings)
9. "Live Like An Angel (Die Like A Devil)" (1980 Impulse Studios - £50 Demo Recordings)
10. "Schizo" (1980 Impulse Studios - £50 Demo Recordings)
11. "Venom" (1980 Impulse Studios - £50 Demo Recordings)
12. "Angel Dust" (Impulse Studio Demo Session 1980)
13. "Raise The Dead" (Impulse Studio Demo Session 1980)
14. "Red Light Fever" (Impulse Studio Demo Session 1980)
15. "At War With Satan" (1983 Impulse Studio 2 - At War Demos)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Grid City Beer Works (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://gridcitybeerworks.com/
• Brew: Grid City Imperial Brown Ale
• Style: Imperial Brown Ale
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 8.6%
• IBUs: 38.4
• Ingredients: British yeast; Fuggle hops; Marris Otter, Cara-Brown, Victory, Crystal 77, Pale Chocolate, and Flaked Barley malts 
• Pour: The Grid City Imperial Brown Ale pours a deep, dark mahogany brown hue with a creamy, half-finger off-white head with good retention and sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is malty, nutty, woody, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of freshly baked hearty bread, roasted malts, light coffee bean, barley, roasted pecans, walnuts, cocoa, light oak, soft caramel, burnt toffee, and a hint of dark fruit.
• Taste: The taste of the Grid City Imperial Brown Ale follows the nose with lots of malty, bready, and nutty flavors.  There are notes of multi-grain bread, hazelnuts, walnuts, light cocoa, sweet toffee/caramel, a hint of dark fruits, and a very subtle hint of booze. 
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel very smooth and somewhat sticky with a fairly clean finish.

Overall pairing: The Grid City Imperial Brown Ale is really solid, very drinkable, delicious brew... perfect for the early heavy metal insanity that is the mighty Venom!  Those bold nutty and malty notes go great with the overall heaviness while the sweeter notes are perfect for the soaring guitar work!  'Nuff said!

Hails!!  Rock on!!