Hyvää iltaa! The Meista here getting heavy, big, and bold with a pairing of "From Afar" by Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum and a bold and roasty Winter Solstice American Porter from my buddy Dwight at Gossorino Brewing! And this pairing is dedicated to my friend Aya Druïd... cheers and thanks for the album my metal sister! Hells yeah!!
Album Info:
- Artist: Ensiferum
- Title: "From Afar"
- Recorded: April through May 2009 at Petrax and E-Major Studios
- Release date: September 9th, 2009 (4th studio album from Ensiferum)
- Record company: Spinefarm Records
- Production: Janne Joutsenniemi and Tero Kinnunen
- Album cover art: Kristian Wåhlin
- Personnel: Sami Hinkka (bass guitar and backing vocals), Jari Mäenpää (vocals and guitars), Petri Lindroos (vocals and guitars), Janne Parviainen (drums), Emmi Silvennoinen (keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, and backing vocals), and Markus Toivonen (vocals and guitar)
- Additional musicians: Olli Ahvenlahti (piano), Tea Dickman (choir vocals), Inka Eguzoroh (choir vocals), Lassi Logren (Nyckelharpa), Mikko P. Mustonen (orchestrations and whistles), Jukka-Pekka Miettinen (backing and choir vocals), Kaisa Saari (choir vocals), Tobias Tåg (flute, tin whistle, and recorder), Jenni Turku (recorder), Timo Väänänen (Kantele), and Olli Varis (mandolin and mandola)
- Musical style: Viking metal, melodic folk metal, power metal, with a touch of symphonic metal and death metal
- Sound: As with all of their albums, the sound on Ensiferum's "From Afar" is (in a word) EPIC! This is bombastic, melodic, powerful stuff that lends itself so well to drinking dark beers on a cold winter day! And serious drinking at that! You want to grab all your buddies and start a drunken sing-along around a funeral pyre amongst your raiding spoils! It is incredibly fun, yet also very complex, wonderfully written, and perfectly executed!
- Major themes: With songs exploring Viking history, mythology, and lore, the themes include heroism, swordplay, war, battles, victory, defeat, drinking, magic, lust, gods, deception, treachery, revenge, power, etc.
- Tracks:
- "By The Dividing Stream"
- "From Afar"
- "Twilight Tavern"
- "Heathen Throne"
- "Elusive Reaches"
- "Stone Cold Metal"
- "Smoking Ruins"
- "Tumman Virran Taa"
- "The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II)"
Brew Info:
- Brewery: Gossorino Brewing (Ogden, Utah)
- Website: https://gossorinobrewing.com/
- Brew: Winter Solstice
- Style: American Porter
- Serving: 22 ounce bottle
- ABV 6.3%
- IBUs: 36
- Ingredients: 2 Row, Pale Wheat, Caramel 80, Midnight Wheat, Chocolate, and Acid malts. Hopped with Magnum and EKG then fermented with SafAle US-05 hops.
- Pour: The Winter Solstice pours an opaque deep, dark brown (almost ink black) color with a very thin, light mocha head with trace lacing.
- Nose: The nose is roasty, toasty, malty, chocolaty, and slightly smokey. There are aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa, dark toasted bread, roasted malts, dark roasted coffee beans, oak, and burnt toffee.
- Taste: The taste of the Winter Solstice follows the nose with notes of espresso, dark chocolate, cocoa, dark toasted bread crust, and hints of bittersweet toffee.
- Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with lower carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Winter Solstice is velvety smooth, yet somewhat smokey with a dry, slightly bitter finish.
Overall pairing: The Winter Solstice Porter from Gossorino is a big, bold, roasty, traditional Porter... perfect for the bold aggression of Ensiferum's style of Viking/folk metal! The bitter, darker notes are great for that Scandinavian existential view of the world, while the sweeter character lends itself well to the melodic harmonies. And that's Viking as hell my friends!!
Maljanne!! Kippis terveydeksi!! Hails!!
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