December 27th, 2014 - ZigZag Stardust And The Lagers From Mars

Hallo!  The Meista here pairing a ZigZag River Lager from Portland Brewing Company and the seminal glam rock album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" by the legendary David Bowie!  This pairing goes out to Paul and Gia... cheers!!

Album Info:

• Artist: David Bowie
• Title: "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars"
• Recorded: September 7th, November 1971, January 12-18, and February 4th 1972 at Trident Studios, London
• Release date: June 6th, 1972 (5th studio album by Bowie)
• Record company: RCA Records
• Personnel: Trevor Bolder – bass; David Bowie – vocals, acoustic guitar, saxophone, piano, harpsichord, and arrangements; Mick Ronson – electric guitar, backing vocals, and keyboards; and Mick Woodmansey – drums
• Major themes: A concept album based around the idea of a sexually ambiguous alien rock superstar, Bowie used his character Ziggy Stardust as a means to introduce themes of sexual exploration, social mores, politics, and drug use.
• Musical style: Glam, art, and experimental rock with influence from 1950s rock and roll, jazz, and pop.
• Sound: Aggressive glam rock coupled with atonal and rhythmically irregular tape effects
• Notes: Of  the conceptualization of the album, Bowie once described it as the following: "The time is five years to go before the end of the earth. It has been announced that the world will end because of lack of natural resources. Ziggy is in a position where all the kids have access to things that they thought they wanted. The older people have lost all touch with reality and the kids are left on their own to plunder anything. Ziggy was in a rock-and-roll band and the kids no longer want rock-and-roll. There's no electricity to play it. Ziggy's adviser tells him to collect news and sing it, 'cause there is no news. So Ziggy does this and there is terrible news. 'All the young dudes' is a song about this news. It's no hymn to the youth as people thought. It is completely the opposite."
• Tracks:

1. "Five Years"
2. "Soul Love"
3. "Moonage Daydream"
4. "Starman"
5. "It Ain't Easy"
6. "Lady Stardust"
7. "Suffragette City"
8. "Time"
9. "Rock & Roll Suicide"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Portland Brewing Company
• Website: http://www.macsbeer.com/
• Brew: ZigZag River Lager
• Style: American Adjunct Lager
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.1%
• IBUs: 25
• Ingredients: Nugget and Tettnang hops, and 2-Row Pale, Wheat, and Munich malts
• Pour: Very cloudy golden apple hue with a thin, white head that dissipates quickly, leaving a thin white ring throughout.
• Nose: Fruity and crackery... notes of apple, pear, biscuit, and honey.
• Taste: Runs along the lines of a traditional American Lager... grassy hops, biscuity and crackery grains, sweet malts.  There are notes of toasted bread, buttery toffee, and slightly bitter finishing hops with some barley notes on the back of the tongue.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied, moderate carbonation, very drinkable, crisp brew, and somewhat dry from the hops.
• Finish: Crisp, slightly dry and bitter, and very refreshing.

Overall pairing: The lightness and drinkability of the ZigZag lends itself well to the poppier and more mellow elements of "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars", while at the same time, works great as a foil to the heavier and darker elements.

Cheers!!