February 5th, 2024 - May The Special Schwarzes Be With You!

 

Hello and happy Monday rockers, rollers, and craft brew lovers!  Your drinkin' buddy the Meista here rocking out to "Special Forces" by the king of shock, Mr. Alice Cooper and a delicious May The Schwarz Be With You from the fine folks at Ogden Beer Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Alice Cooper
• Title: "Special Forces"
• Recorded: 1981 at American Recording Company in Los Angeles, California
• Release date: September 1981 (6th solo studio album by Alice Cooper)
• Record company: Warner Bros.
• Production: Richard Podolor
• Album cover art: Eric Blum (photography), Alice Cooper (art direction), Jonathan Exley (portrait of Alice), and Richard Siereeni (art direction
• Personnel: Alice Cooper (lead vocals) 
• Additional musician: Duane Hitchings (keyboards), Danny Johnson (guitars), Craig Krampf (drums), Mike Pinera (guitars), and Erik Scott (bass guitar)
• Musical style: Hard rock with elements of punk rock, power pop, and new wave
• Sound: Often overlooked, "Special Forces" is a criminally underrated, straightforward, stripped down, wonderfully executed musical journey!  Every song is a classic gem with lots of great hooks and punchy riffs!  A bit of an oddity, it sees Alice dabbling with punk and new wave elements.
• Major themes: Rebellion, power, life, lust, humor, etc.
• Notes: The song "Look at You Over There, Ripping The Sawdust From My Teddybear" is listed on the album packaging, but was removed by Cooper from the album before the release, as he felt it didn't fit with the overall theme of the music on "Special Forces". 
• Tracks: 

1. "Who Do You Think We Are"
2. "Seven And Seven Is" (Love cover)
3. "Prettiest Cop On The Block"
4. "Don't Talk Old To Me"
5. "Generation Landslide '81 (Live)"
6. "Skeletons In The Closet"
7. "You Want It, You Got It"
8. "You Look Good In Rags"
9. "You're A Movie"
10. "Vicious Rumors"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ogden Beer Company (Ogden, Utah)
• Website: http://www.ogdenbeercompany.com/
• Brew: May The Schwarz Be With You
• Style: Schwarz Beer / Black Lager
• Serving: 32 ounce crowler can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Pour: The May The Schwarz Be With You pours a deep, dark brown (almost black) with a thin, light mocha head that dissipates to a thin ring with light lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a characterized by roasty, toasty, and malty aromas.  There are aromas of dark toasted bread, toasted barley, dark roasted malts, light coffee, bready dough, and caramel/burnt toffee.
• Taste: Very well-balanced, the May The Schwarz Be With You has a nice blend of roasty, toasty, bready, and malty flavors.  There are notes of dark roasted malts, toasted bread, soft caramel, a hint of liquid smoke, and a hint of coffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium in body and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is crisp and somewhat smoky, yet very smooth with a crisp and refreshing profile.  The finish is very dry and very clean. 

Overall pairing: The Ogden Beer Company May The Schwarz Be With You is a malty and toasty and flavorful, yet very drinkable brew... perfect for the hard-rockin' power and might of the legendary Alice Cooper!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!  Rock on!!