April 12th, 2025 - The Lake Effect of Our Flamingo Overlords

 

God kveld craft beer freaks and metal maniacs!  The Meista here tonight with another pairing for ya... a salty and tart Proper Brewing Company Lake Effect Gose Ale With Coriander & Salt and the wonderfully textured and outlandish "Flamingo Overlord", the 9th studio album by Norwegian folk metal band TrollfesT!

Album Info:

• Artist: TrollfesT
• Title: "Flamingo Overlord"
• Recorded: 2022 at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark
  Release date: May 27th, 2022 (9th studio album by Trollfest)
• Record company: Napalm Records
• Production: TrollfesT
• Album cover art: Jonas Darnell (artwork) and Andy WarTroll (photography and design) 
• Personnel: Lodd Bolt (bass), Drekka Dag (saxophone), Fjernkontrollet (accordion and keyboards), Fabio Grimdrap (guitars), Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow (drums), Mr. Seidel (guitars), Trollbank (bouzouki), and Trollmannen (vocals)
• Guest and additional musicians: Yves Agbessi (additional vocals on "Twenty Miles An Hour"), Svein Greni (flute on "All Drinks On Me"), Jonne Järvelä (additional vocals on "All Drinks On Me"), and Ingvild "Tante Pãthë" Strønen (violin on "All Drinks On Me" and "Overlords Have Feelings")
• Musical style: Folk metal, Balkan metal with elements of death metal, polka, folk music, country, dance music, and progressive metal / rock
• Sound: !
• Major themes: With humorous, tongue-in-cheek, and sarcastic lyrics, themes on this concept album of sorts include drinking, partying, dancing, flamingos, overlords, ruling, ecology, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Dance Like A Pink Flamingo"
2. "All Drinks On Me"
3. "Flamongous"
4. "Twenty Miles An Hour"
5. "The Flamingorilla"
6. "Flamingo Libre"
7. "Piña Colada"
8. "Rule The Country"
9. "The Way You Earn Your Drinks"
10. "Overlords Have Feelings"
11. "Bob Venke"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Proper Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.properbrewingco.com/ 
• Brew: Lake Effect Gose Ale With Coriander & Salt
• Style: Gose
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.0%
• IBUs: 12
• Ingredients: 50% wheat, coriander, and locally produced salt
• Pour: The Lake Effect pours a fairly clear, golden-yellow hue with a frothy, white cap that retains its form well and leaves trace lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by salty, tart, and floral aromas.  There are notes of lemon juice and zest, light white vinegar, sourdough bread, coriander, wildflowers, and herbs.
• Taste: The taste is tangy, sour, salty, slightly spicy, and floral.  There are tart notes of lemon and lime, a hint of barnyard funk, fresh salt, wheat bread, cracker, coriander, and herbs.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and well carbonated, the mouthfeel is crisp, tart, salty, yet refreshing with a dry, tart finish.

Overall pairing: The first time I heard TrollfesT it was like something exploded in my head, something outrageous and slightly insane, and much like that initial emotion, this German-style Gose kinda takes you by surprise!  The richly textured and unique vocals are great for refreshing and interesting flavors of Proper's Lake Effect Gose!

Skal!!  Hails!!