December 19th, 2024 - The Healing of Life Through a Rauchmead

 

Hello and happy Thursday!  Here's something a little different for you.  The Meista here today pairing "Lifa" by folk/chant project Heilung and a unique and flavorful Rauchmead Braggot from my buddy Dwight at Gossorino Brewing for ya!  Oh, yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Heilung
• Title: "Lifa"
• Recorded: 2017 at Castlefest at Castle Keukenhof in Lisse, the Netherlands
• Release date: April 20th, 2018 (live album by Heilung)
• Record company: Seasons Of Mist
• Production: Christopher Juul
• Album cover art: Kees Stravers (photography)
• Personnel: Kai Uwe Faust (vocals), Maria Franz (vocals), and Christopher Juul (music) with musicians Jonas Lorentzen Jacob Lund, Alex Opazo, and Juan Pino
• Warrior performers: Pan Bartkowiak, Jens de Vries, Faber Horbach, Eigen Leon Remie, Marijn Sies, Ruben Terlouw, and Gwydion Zomer
• Musical style: Experimental Scandanavian and German folk music, neofolk, Viking chants
• Sound: Wonderfully rhythmic, primitive, and mesmerizing, the live sound on "Lifa" is a powerful, yet inviting ritualistic enchantment!  The primitive drum rhythms coupled with the emotive chants are nothing short of phenomenal!
• Major themes: Nature, life, peace, pagan ritual, Viking lore and history, mythology, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Opening Ceremony"
2. "In Maidjan"
3. "Alfadhirhaiti"
4. "Carpathian Forest"
5. "Krigsgaldr"
6. "Hakkerskaldyr"
7. "Fylgija Ear / Futhorck"
8. "Othan"
9. "Hamrer Hippyer"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Gossorino Brewing (Ogden, Utah)
• Website: https://gossorinobrewing.com/
• Brew: Rauchmead
• Style: Braggot
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 10.0%
• IBUs: 17
• Ingredients: Base braggot brewed with Cox Mountain Honey, beechwood smoked malt, Vienna, Munich, acid, and honey malts. Hopped with Mittelfruh then fermented with SafLager W-34/70 and Lalvin EC-1118
• Pour: The Rauchmead pours a clear, bronze-amber hue with a thin, off-white head that quickly dissipates to the thin ring with very light lancing.
• Nose: The nose is a blend of sweet, smokey, and boozy notes.  There are aromas of wild honey, charred wood, liquid smoke, rich herbs, light apple, a hint of vanilla bean, and caramelly rum.
• Taste: Like the nose, the Rauchmead tastes sweet, smokey, boozy, woody, and earthy.  There are notes of rich and earthy honey, spicy herbs, smoked grains, bready malts, light apple, and rich bourbon or rum.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the is Rauchmead is silky and smooth with a dry, boozy finish with lots of lingering sweet honey notes.

Overall pairing: The compelling and unique nature of the from Gossorino Brewing is perfect for the tribal and ritualistic brilliance of Heilung's "Lifa"!  There are simplicities and complexities in both the brew and the album that are very difficult to pin down... true originals, but with a deep essence of ancient and magical things that came before... brilliant!

Skal!!