February 25th, 2022 - Peter Criss, The [Snow]Cat Man

 

Hey there rockers, rollers, and hop freaks!  Happy Friday!  Your drinking buddy the Meista here today rocking out to the "Kiss: Peter Criss" solo album and one of my favorite brews, a crisp and delicious Snowcat India Pale Ale from my friends at UTOG Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Kiss
• Title: "Peter Criss"
• Recorded: April through July 1978 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York and
  Burbank Studios in Burbank, California
• Release date: September 18th, 1978 (1st solo album by Peter Criss)
• Record company: Casablanca Records
• Production: Vini Poncia
• Album cover art: Eraldo Carulgati
• Personnel: Peter Criss (lead and backing vocals, drums, and percussion) with Bill Bodine (bass guitar), Michael Carnahan (saxophones), Bill Cuomo (keyboards), Richard Gerstein (keyboards), Brendan Harkin (guitars), Neil Jason (bass guitar), Steve Lukather (guitars), Art Munson (guitars), Stan Penridge (guitars), Elliot Randall (guitars), Tom Saviano (horn arrangements), Allan Schwartzberg (additional drums), and John Tropea (guitars)
• Backing vocalists: Maxine Dixon, Davey Faragher, Tommy Faragher, Danny Faragher, Jimmy Faragher, Gordon Grody, Vini Poncia, Annie Sutton, Julia Tillman, and Maxine Willard
• Musical style: Rock and roll with elements of R&B, soul, and jazz
• Sound: Taking a bit of a departure from the hard rockin' sounds of Kiss albums up to this point, Criss's 1978 solo album was steeped in R&B and soul, the music he grew up with.  
• Major themes: Relationships, love, lust, desire, sex, rebellion, etc.
• Notes: Several tracks on the album were originally written in 1971 for Peter Criss's pre-Kiss band, Lips.
• Tracks: 

1. "I'm Gonna Love You"
2. "You Matter To Me"
3. "Tossin' And Turnin'"
   
4. "Don't You Let Me Down"
5. "That's The Kinda Sugar Papa Likes"
6. "Easy Thing"
7. "Rock Me, Baby"
8. "Kiss The Girl Goodbye"
9. "Hooked On Rock 'N' Roll"
10. "I Can't Stop The Rain"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: UTOG Brewing Company (Ogden, Utah)
• Website: https://www.utogbrewing.com/
• Brew: Snowcat India Pale Ale
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 49
• Ingredients: 2-Row and Caramunich malts and Magnum, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops
• Pour: The Snowcat pours a fairly clear, copper-amber with a frothy, eggshell white, 1+ finger head with good retention and lots of intricate, sticky, and layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by citrusy, tropical, dank, malty, and sweet notes.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, orange peel, tangerine, light mango, pineapple, herbal tea, light pine resin, fresh bread, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Snowcat follows the nose with hoppy, fruity, and malty flavors.  There are notes of pink grapefruit juice, tangerine, lime, mango, pineapple, light pine, herbal tea, crackery biscuit, and sweet toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the Snowcat is crisp, smooth, and refreshing with a clean, dry finish. 

Overall pairing: The crisp, hoppy, well-balanced, very crushable, and very drinkable flavors of UTOG's Snowcat India Pale Ale make it a great beer to drink with the upbeat, soulful, R&B style rock and roll of Peter Criss's very cool and underappreciated solo album!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!  Rock on!!