September 14th, 2013 - Hold Your Flipside

Good afternoon rock and rollers, and hops enthusiasts!  The Meista here with another pairing for you!  For an album, I'm taking you back in to 1987 with Rush's "Hold Your Fire"!  For a brew, I'm staying in the now with Flipside Red IPA, new from Sierra Nevada!

"Hold Your Fire" is the 12th studio album by Canadian progressive rock masters Rush and was released in the summer of 1987 (I remember it well!).  Probably their mellowest album and more keyboard prominent, "Hold Your Fire" was the least commercially successful 1980s album for the band.  However, I love it... along with its wonderful minimalist album cover!  For me this is an almost self-defining album as it really impacted my formative years and in many ways this band saved me from the bullshit of high school and my own messed up adolescent mind.  Rush is very much my "the Beatles."  (Whoa, way too heavy there! Haha!)  As with their other work, the album is lyrically and musically richly textured, compelling, and poignant.  Along with the amazing talents of Geddy Lee (bass, keyboards, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitars, guitar effects), Neil Peart (drums and percussion), the band was joined by 'Til Tuesday vocalist Aimee Man on two tracks, "Open Secrets" and "Time Stand Still."  As I adore each and every song on this album, I won't even attempt to give you the play-by-play and critique!  Here's the amazing track list:

1.	"Force Ten"
2.	"Time Stand Still"
3.	"Open Secrets"
4.	"Second Nature"
5.	"Prime Mover"
6.	"Lock and Key"
7.	"Mission"
8.	"Turn the Page"
9.	"Tai Shan"
10.	"High Water"

The Flipside Red IPA from Sierra Nevada combines the smoothness and heartiness of a red ale and the sharp and biting hoppiness of an IPA, which I feel goes well with the sometimes biting lyrics and the mellower more accessible music of "Hold Your Fire."  Sierra Nevada uses whole-cone Citra, Simcoe (my favorite!), and Centennial hops to give this wonderful brew its "robust tropical fruit and citrus hop flavors."  It pours a deep ruby with a half-finger head that leaves good, but minimal lacing.  The nose is a BIG pine aroma with more subtle grapefruit, peach, and a hint of malt.  Following the aromas, the flavors are immediately sharp and bitter and then mellow into an almost sweet toffee.  There are wonderful notes of grapefruit and pine resin upfront and throughout with more subtle malts.  It finishes clean and slightly sweet.  Flipside Red IPA is a great beer to not only pair with "Hold Your Fire," but also a great beer to bridge the gap between the lighter summer ales and the heavier beers of autumn and winter.  It is also (obviously) a great bridge between hoppy IPAs and heartier reds/browns!

Cheers and "hold your fire" my friends!!