May 3rd, 2026 - It's Double Trouble for the Fruit Creep!

 

Hello and happy Sunday rockers, rollers, and hop creeps!  The Meista here pairing Gillan's fantastic "Double Trouble" album with a Fruit Creep Double Dry-Hopped Double IPA from Illuminated Brew Works!  Hell yes!  Oh, and this pairing is dedicated to my friend Dustin Mitchell... cheers brother!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Gillan
• Title: "Double Trouble"
• Recorded: August 1981 at Kingsway Recorders in London, England, and March 4th, 1981at the Rainbow Theater in London, England and August 29th, 1981 at the Reading Festival in Reading, England
• Release date: October 30th, 1981 (5th studio album by Gillan)
• Record company: Virgin Records
• Production: Steve Smith 
• Album cover art: Jean Luke Epstein (design and artwork) and Jon Prew (photography) 
• Personnel: Janick Gers (guitars on all studio tracks and live tracks 1-4 and 6-8), Ian Gillan (lead vocals), John McCoy (bass), Bernie Tormé (guitars on live tracks 5 and 9-11), Colin Towns (keyboards), and Mick Underwood (drums)
• Musical style: Hard rock, heavy metal
• Sound: Fast-paced and fun as hell, the sound on "Double Trouble" is straight-forward rockin' goodness!  Both Gers' and Tormé's guitar work is angry and punchy, yet wonderfully rich and compelling, McCoy and Underwood lay down some heavy-duty rhythms, Towns' keys soar, and Gillan is at the top of his game here!  This album is such a joy!
• Major themes: Violence, anger, rebellion, war, life, death, desire, sex, joy, music, etc.
• Tracks: 

Studio LP:  

1. "I'll Rip Your Spine Out"
2. "Restless"
3. "Men Of War"
4. "Sunbeam"
5. "Nightmare"
6. "Hadely Bop Bop"
7. "Life Goes On"
   
8. "Born To Kill"

Live LP: 

1. "No Laughing In Heaven"
2. "No Easy Way"
3. "Trouble"
4. "Mutually Assured Destruction"
5. "If You Believe Me"
6. "New Orleans"
7. "Bite The Bullet"
8. "On The Rocks"
9. "Mr. Universe"
10. "Vengeance"
11. "Smoke On The Water" (Deep Purple cover)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago, Illinois)
• Website: http://www.ibw-chicago.com/
• Brew: Fruit Creep Double Dry-Hopped Double IPA
• Style: New England India Pale Ale (NEIPA) / Double Dry-Hopped Double IPA
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.5%
• Ingredients: Motueka, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria hops
• Pour: The Fruit Creep pours a very murky, bright orange (it looks just like orange juice!) with a creamy, 1-finger head with good retention and sustained spider web lacing.
• Nose: Lots of great citrus and sweet malts in the nose of this one.  There are big aromas of juicy orange, lemon, grapefruit, caramel/toffee, and fresh bread.
• Taste: Like the nose, the flavor is a really well-balanced blend of huge juicy and hoppy citrus, tropical flavors, and sweet malts.  There are big citrusy notes of orange, tangerine, grapefruit, along with tropical notes of mango, pineapple, papaya, pear, melon, guava, and more subtle notes of soft caramel, butter toffee, cereal, and slight hints of herbal tea.
• Mouthfeel: Well-carbonated, this light to medium-bodied brew is crisp, smooth and refreshing with a clean finish.

Overall pairing: Those punchy, citrusy, fruity, and slightly bitter flavors of the Illuminated Fruit Creep Double Dry-Hopped Double IPA just work so perfectly well with the amazing heavy rock and roll stylings of the might Gillan!  The soaring vocals and guitar work shines even brighter with the citrus notes, while that hoppy bite is right in line with the lyrics and thunderous rhythm section!!

Cheers!!  Rock on!!