April 18th, 2015 - Sunset On The Golden Age Silly Scotsmen... or... "We Are Here To Drink Your [Silly] Beer!"

Hey there me drinkin' mates! The Meista here tonight pairing the whimsical "Sunset On The Golden Age" by Scottish folk/power metal band Alestorm and a Scotch Silly from Brasserie de Silly S.A.!
 
Album Info:

• Artist: Alestorm
• Title: "Sunset On The Golden Age"
• Recorded: February 4th to February 26th, 2014 at LSD Studios in Lübeck, Germany
• Release date: August 1st, 2014 (4th studio album by Alestorm)
• Record company: Napalm Records
• Album cover art: Ingo Römling
• Personnel: Peter Alcorn (drums), Christopher Bowes (lead vocals and keytar), Dani Evans (guitars), Gareth Murdock (bass), and Elliot Vernon (keyboards)
• Additional musicians: Myk Barber (guitar solo on "Walk The Plank"), Bren Casey (backing vocals), Jonas Dieckmann (trumpet), Tobias Hain (trumpet), Gordon Krei (programming), Lasse Lammert (guitar solo and vibraslap on "Mead from Hell"), Hildegard Niebuhr (violin), and Luke Philp (Lagerstein) (lead vocals on "Hangover")
• Musical style: Power metal, heavy metal, Celtic/folk metal, pirate metal - "True Scottish Pirate Metal" as the band calls it.  There are also some hints of black/death metal.
• Sound: Alestorm's musical style is upbeat with melodies commonly found in folk metal.  Multi-instrumental, their music has a very sea-shanty/jig/drinking song feel. 
• Major themes: DRINKING and pirate/shipping tales, history, and lore
• Tracks:   

1. "Walk The Plank"
2. "Drink"
3. "Magnetic North"
4. "1741 (The Battle Of Cartagena)"
5. "Mead From Hell"
6. "Surf Squid Warfare"
7. "Quest For Ships"
8. "Wooden Leg"
9. "Hangover" (Tao Cruz cover)
10. "Sunset On The Golden Age"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: Brasserie de Silly S.A. (Silly, Belgium)
• Website: http://www.silly-beer.com/
• Brew: Scotch Silly
• Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8%
• Gravity: 17.2 degrees Plato
• Ingredients: Pale ale malt, Caramel malt, Aromatic malt, Kent hops, Hallertau hops
• Pour: Hazy light mahogany with a creamy, tan, 1-finger head that leaves sticky lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose of the Scotch Silly is characterized by lots of sweet malt aroma and fruit ester.  There are scents of sweet caramel, dark fruits (plums, dates, etc.), raisin bread, Belgian yeast, and minerals.
• Taste: Very malty, the taste is characterized by those same sweet flavors in the nose.  There are big doughy/bready notes of raisin bread, sweet biscuit, plums, dates, and bit of cherry along with some rum and brown sugar.
• Mouthfeel: Low carbonation and medium to full bodied, the Scotch Silly is smooth and velvety with some light warming booziness.

Overall pairing: The hearty, sweet, malty, and slightly boozy flavors of the Scotch Silly are perfect for the zany, yet very musical and intricate approach of Alestorm.  The next time you are feeling a bit piratey... reach for a Scotch Silly and throw on some rockin' Alestorm!!

Sláinte!  Shiver me timbers!