November 2nd, 2014 - 20th Century Brew

Evening rockers, rollers, and drinkers!  The Meista here with another rockin' pairing for ya... tonight I'm going with John Sykes' "20th Century" and an Anchor California Lager from Anchor Brewing Company outta San Francisco, CA!   Oh, this pairing goes out to my new pal and fellow Sykes fan Georgia... cheers Georgia!!

Released back in 1997, "20th Century" is the 3rd solo studio album by former Tygers Of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder axe man John Sykes.  Along with writing all the songs, Sykes provides all the vocals and guitars on the album, and plays bass on the song "2 Counts".  The wonderful Marco Mendoza provides bass on everything else and the amazing Simon Philips (of Toto) provides drums.  Additional drummers include Tommy O'Steen, Tommy Aldridge, and Bonnie Bonapart.  Mars Lasar provides keyboards.  "20th Century" is a guitar-based bad-assery good time all around!  It feels like an extension of the Blue Murder era Sykes, but a bit ballsier and louder.  As with everything he does, Sykes' guitar tone is rich, profound, and simply wonderful!  Every track kicks ass!  Songs like "Look In His Eyes", "20th Century Heartache", "I Get Around", "Defcon 1", "Cautionary Warning" and "Touched By Evil" are big, brash metal monsters... all of which should have been huge hits!  Do yourself a huge favor and track down this killer album!!  Learn more about the amazing John Sykes at https://www.facebook.com/JohnSykesOfficial?ref=br_tf!

Anchor California Lager is based on an 1876 recipe for the first lager in California, originally brewed by a brewery called Boca.  The Anchor California Lager is brewed with two-row California barley, Cluster hops (which apparently was the premier hop in 19th-century California), and Anchor's own lager yeast.  This all-malt brew is kräusened (naturally carbonating beer by adding a little fresh fermenting beer to the finish) and lagered in Anchor's cellars.  It pours a rather clear yellow-gold with a 1-finger, white head.  The nose is very grainy, doughy, and crackery.  There are notes of sweet, bready malts, biscuity crackers, and grassy hops.  Highly carbonated and light in body, the mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing.  The taste is marked by very grainy, hoppy, and crackery characteristics.  There are notes of sourdough bread, slightly skunky and very grassy hops, and lots of hearty grains.  I'm reminded of a cracked wheat cracker my pop used to buy when I was a kid.   The finish is clean and crisp with just a hint of hoppy bitterness. 

Cheers!!