November 22nd, 2015 - An Accumulation Of Rumours

Hello!  The Meista here today pairing an Accumulation White India Pale Ale from New Belgium Brewing Company and the iconic "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac!

Album Info:

• Artist: Fleetwood Mac
• Title: "Rumours"
• Recorded: 1976 at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida; Record Plant Studios, Sausalito and Los Angeles, California; Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, California; Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California; Davlen Recording Studio, North Hollywood, California
  Release date: February 4th, 1977 (11th studio album by Fleetwood Mac)
• Record company: Warner Bros. Records
• Production: Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat, and Richard Dashut
• Album cover art: Desmond Strobel (design) and Herbert W. Worthington (photography)
• Personnel: Lindsey Buckingham (guitars, dobro, percussion, and vocals), Mick Fleetwood (drums, percussion, and harpsichord), Christine McVie (keyboards and vocals), John McVie  (bass), and Stevie Nicks (vocals)
• Musical style: Pop rock with elements of folk, blues, R&B, and country
• Sound: From the writing to the delivery, "Rumours" is an exceptionally flawless album.  The harmonies are both honest and richly textured.  Although at times simple, the guitar tones Buckingham creates are beautiful and sensual and weave themselves perfectly into the amazing vocal performances of Buckingham, McVie, and Nicks throughout.
• Major themes: Romantic turmoil, relationships, separation, love, loss, hate, anger, addiction, optimism, pain, suffering, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Second Hand News"
2. "Dream"
3. "Never Going Back Again"
4. "Don't Stop"
5. "Go Your Own Way"
6. "Songbird"
7. "The Chain"
8. "You Make Loving Fun"
9. "I Don't Want To Know"
10. "Oh Daddy"
11. "Gold Dust Woman"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• Website: http://www.newbelgium.com/
• Brew: Accumulation White India Pale  Ale
• Style: Belgian-style India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 6.2%
• IBUs: 70
• Ingredients: Ale yeast, Pale and Wheat malts, along with Nugget and Centennial hops in the boil and dry-hopped with Mosaic and Amarillo hops
• Pour: It pours a hazy, very bright, very light straw gold with a thin, bright white frothy head that displays intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very piney... very, very piney and earthy... like taking in a deep breath while walking through a Colorado forest.
• Taste: The flavor is a culmination of fruity citrus and bitter herbs.  There are big notes of grapefruit, lemon, orange, tangerine, mango, and black tea.  Those orange and tangerine flavors become more prevalent as the beer warms.  Dry-hopped with an abundance of Mosaic and Amarillo hops, a good layer of bitterness follows the citrus flavors.
• Mouthfeel: Crisp and refreshing, the mouthfeel is almost metallic in sharpness with resinous and oily characteristics as well.  The finish is very dry, very crisp, very clean.

Overall pairing: For a beer of such complexity, depth, and sharp crispness as is found in the Accumulation White IPA Winter Seasonal, you need an album of equal if not greater emotional power... I think Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" fits that bill quite nicely! 

Cheers!!