November 12th, 2023 - Going Down to the Jackson Hop Rat Farm

 

Hello and happy Sunday!  The Meista here today pairing a tasty Jackson Hop Farm Fresh Hop India Pale Ale from Offset Bier Company and "Rat Farm", the wonderful 14th album by the legendary Meat Puppets!


Album Info:

• Artist: Meat Puppets
• Title: "Rat Farm"
• Recorded: 2012 through early 2013
• Release date: April 16th, 2013 (14th studio album by the Meat Puppets)
• Record company: Megaforce
• Production: Curt Kirkwood 
• Album cover art: Cris Kirkwood
• Personnel: Cris Kirkwood (bass and backing vocals), Curt Kirkwood (guitars and lead vocals), and Shandon Sahm (drums and percussion)
• Musical style: Alternative rock / indie pop with elements of country, punk, psychedelic rock, and folk rock
• Sound: "Rat Farm" is a wonderfully richly textured album with brilliant guitar work, whimsical and thoughtful lyrics, and amazing melodies! 
• Major themes: Life, relationships, music, states of being, abstract images, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Rat Farm"
2. "One More Drop"
3. "Down"
4. "Leave Your Head Alone"
5. "Again"
6. "You Don't Know"
7. "Waiting"
8. "Time And Money"
9. "Sometimes Blue"
10. "Original One"
11. "River Rose"
12. "Sweet"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Offset Bier Company (Park City, Utah) 
• Website: https://offsetbier.com/ 
• Brew: Jackson Hop Farm Fresh Hop India Pale Ale
• Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Ingredients: Citra, Wet Idaho 7, Pink, and HBC586 hops
• Pour: The Jackson Hop Farm Fresh Hop IPA pours a hazy, golden-yellow hue with a 1+ finger, frothy, eggshell white head with great retention and lots of sudsy lacing. 
• Nose: Fruit forward, the nose is tropical, citrusy, sweet, and malty.  There are aromas of pineapple rind, passion fruit, peach, apricot, sweet melon, tangerine, orange zest, crackery biscuit, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste is like the nose: fruity, citrusy, hoppy, and slightly sweet.  There are notes of pineapple, passion fruit, mango, pink grapefruit juice, orange juice, tangerine, peach, dried apricot, melon, and soft sweet toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Jackson Hop Farm Fresh Hop IPA is very crisp, juicy, yet smooth and creamy with a clean, slightly sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The crisp and very drinkable flavors of the Jackson Hop Farm Fresh Hop IPA is perfect for the upbeat, fantastically crafted harmonies of the tracks on the Meat Puppet's brilliant album, "Rat Farm"!  The citrus notes really enhance the sheer brilliance of Curt's songwriting!

Cheers!!