May 8th, 2014 - A Change of Moose Drool

Evenin' friends!  The Meista here pairing a Moose Drool Brown Ale from Big Sky Brewing Company and "A Change Of Seasons" from Dream Theater!

Moose Drool Brown Ale from Big Sky Brewing Company pours a very dark mahogany with a thick, 2-finger off-white head that leaves thin, but sustained lacing. With hints of cocoa and coffee, the nose is very malty and earthy.  There are aromas of sweet breads, toffee, and spice cake.  Medium bodied, the Moose Drool is meaty and somewhat dry for a brown ale.  Very sweet, the flavor is characterized by notes of raisin bread, dates, heavy malt, powdered cocoa, dark chocolate, sweet toffee, and roasted almonds.  Exceptionally smooth, the Moose Drool Brown Ale goes down easy, but definitely does not lack in character and depth!  And speaking of character and depth... I give you Dream Theater's "A Change Of Seasons"!!

As you can probably tell by the pics, it took me a little while to figure out what to pair with this brew.  Technically an EP and released on September 19th, 1995 (wow, has it really been that long ago?), "A Change Of Seasons" is the 4th album progressive metal band Dream Theater.  Along with the brilliant and epic 23+ minute song "A Change Of Seasons", the rest of the album is collection of bonus live covers performed at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London, England recorded on January 31st, 1995.  The covers include "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" by Elton John, "Perfect Strangers" by Deep Purple, a Led Zeppelin medley ("The Rover", "Achilles Last Stand", "The Song Remains The Same", and "The Big Medley" (which includes Pink Floyd's "In The Flesh?", Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son", Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", Journey's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", Dixie Dregs' "Cruise Control", and Genesis' "Turn It On Again").  Musically, this is top notch... a wonderful album to absorb whilst enjoying the malty depth of a Moose Drool Brown Ale!!

Cheers!!