January 14th, 2024 - The Killer Instinct is the Bomb!

 

Hello there rockers, rollers, and craft brew freaks!  The Meista here on this cold, snowy day pairing a deliciously tasty and bold Bomb! Imperial Stout from Prairie Artisan Ales and "The Killer Instinct", the wonderful sophomore album by the rockin' Black Star Riders!  

Album Info: 

• Artist: Black Star Riders
• Title: "The Killer Instinct" 
• Recorded: September 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee and Rock Falcon Studio in Franklin, Tennesse
• Release date: February 20th, 2015 (2nd studio album by Black Star Riders)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast
• Production: Nick Raskulinecz and Damon Johnson
• Album cover art: Adrian Andrews
• Personnel: Robbie Crane (bass guitar), Jimmy DeGrasso (drums and percussion), Scott Gorham (lead and rhythm guitars), Damon Johnson (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and lap steel guitar on "Finest Hour" and "The Reckoning Day"), and Ricky Warwick (lead vocals and guitars)
• Additional musicians: Nick Raskulinecz (mellotron and Taurus pedals on "Blindsided" and "You Little Liar) and Mark Gemini Thwaite (strings on "Blindsided")
• Musical style: Hard rock, heavy blues rock
• Sound: In the tradition of Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders sound blends fist-pumping hard rock with melodic and heavy blues.  It is richly textured, soulful, and just plain rocks! 
• Major themes: Life, love, relationships, loss, the blues, honesty, deception, revenge, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "The Killer Instinct"
2. "Bullet Blues"
3. "Finest Hour"
4. "Soldierstown"
5. "Charlie I Gotta Go"
6. "Blindsided"
7. "Through The Motions"
8. "Sex, Guns & Gasoline"
9. "Turn In Your Arms"
10. "You Little Liar"

Bonus Disc: 

1. "Gabrielle"
2. "The Reckoning Day"
3. "The Killer Instinct" (acoustic)
4. "Blindsided" (acoustic)
5. "Charlie I Gotta Go" (acoustic)
6. "Finest Hour" (acoustic)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales (Oklahoma)
• Website: https://prairieales.com/
• Brew: Bomb! Imperial Stout Brewed with Spices 
• Style: Imperial Stout
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 13%
• Ingredients: Imperial stout aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and toasted ancho chili peppers
• Pour: The Bomb! pours an opaque, deep, dark brown (almost ink black) with a creamy, light mocha, half-finger head that slowly dissipates to a thin ring with virtually no lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very chocolaty, earthy, boozy, and spicy.  There are big aromas of espresso, dark roasted coffee beans, anise, dark chocolate, cocoa, vanilla bean, toffee, tobacco, light spicy chilis, and rich booze.
• Taste: The taste of the Bomb! is characterized by bold, earthy, and rich flavors.  There are notes of dark roasted coffee, black licorice, vanilla bean, dark and milk chocolate, sweet toffee, creamy vanilla, and a boozy finish of rum or bourbon.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Bomb! is thick, chewy, and velvety smooth with a dry, spicy and boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The Bomb! Imperial Stout from Prairie Artisan Ales is a tasty, bold, rich, very complex, yet inviting brew... perfect for the complexities, intricacies, and bluesy punch of the Black Star Rider's great "The Killer Instinct" album!  The flavors and aromas of this tasty brew blend wonderfully well with the amazing and soulful vocal prowess or Warwick, as well as the explosive guitars and thunderous intensity and depth of the bass and drums!

Cheers!!  Rock on!!