April 15th, 2022 - She's A Fire Down Under

 

Alright my friends... the Meista here pairing another great craft brew today with another great album to start off the weekend the right way!  I'm going with the mighty Riot and their 3rd studio album, "Fire Down Under" along with a bold and spicy She's A Fire Wheat Ale Brewed with Lime & Jalapeno from the fine folks at Vernal Brewing Company!   Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Riot
• Title: "Fire Down Under"
• Recorded: November through December 1980 at Greene Street Recording in New York, New York
• Release date: February 9th, 1981 (3rd studio album by Riot)
• Record company: Elektra / Metal Blade Records
• Production: Steve Loeb and Billy Arnell
• Album cover art: Steven Weiss
• Personnel: Kip Leming (bass), Mark Reale (guitars), Sandy Slavin (drums), Guy Speranza (lead vocals), and Rick Ventura (guitars)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, hard rock
• Sound: Probably my favorite Riot album, "Fire Down Under" is just so very, very solid... wonderfully straight-forward hard rockin' goodness!  The dual guitar work of Reale and Ventura is a thing of beauty... intricate, yet unobtrusive playing, rich tones, and killer hooks!  And Leming and Slavin bring the rhythm hammer down!
• Major themes: Drinking, rebellion, violence, life and death, gambling, crime, self-reliance, etc.
• Notes: Sadly, this was Speranza's final album with Riot.
• Tracks:

1. "Swords And Tequila"
2. "Fire Down Under"
3. "Feel The Same"
4. "Outlaw"
5. "Don't Bring Me Down"
6. "Don't Hold Back"
7. "Altar Of The King"
8. "No Lies"
9. "Run For Your Life"
10. "Flashbacks"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Vernal Brewing Company (Vernal, Utah)
• Website: http://www.vernalbrewing.com/
• Brew: She's A Fire Wheat Ale Brewed with Lime & Jalapeno
• Style: American Wheat Ale / Chili Beer
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Ingredients: Hops, barley, yeast, water, lime, and jalapeno
• Pour: The She's A Fire pours a clear, golden amber with a frothy and firm half finger, off-white head that displays sustained lacing.
• Nose: The nose is bready, spicy, and slightly citrusy.  There are aromas of freshly baked wheat bread, jalapeno peppers, lime juice, lime zest, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste follows the nose with spicy, citrusy, and bready flavors.  There are notes of cracked wheat, biscuit, spicy jalapeno peppers, and a splash of lime juice.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with good carbonation, the mouthfeel of the She's A Fire  is crisp finish.

Overall pairing: The spicy, yet very crushable and drinkable tastiness of the She's A Fire is perfect for an evening of rocking the hell out to the fiery goodness that is the mighty Riot!  Those bold, spicy flavors are great for the soaring guitars while the malty backbone goes great with the heavy bass and drums as well as the tight musicianship and the hard rock sensibility and inventiveness.  Man, this album is just plain bad-ass rock and roll from start to finish... a real joy to listen to with a bold, frosty brew! 

Cheers!!  Rock on!!

I interviewed the very cool guitarist Rick Ventura recently... you can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jerajizoow!