April 24th, 2016 - It's Not Your Mama's Milk... It's Purple Rain!

Good evening!  The Meista is here tonight with a special pairing that goes out to my buddies Bill and Mike "The Janitor" from the Vernal Brewing Company... a pairing of Not Your Mama's Milk Stout and "The Very Best Of Prince"!

Album Info:

• Artist: Prince
• Title: "The Very Best Of Prince"
• Recorded: 1979 to 1991
• Release date: July 31st, 2001009-02-03)
• Record company: Warner Bros. Records
• Production: Prince, The Revolution, and The New Power Generation
•  Album cover art: Michael B. (drums), Allen Beaulieu, Jeff Katz, and Bob McNamara
• Personnel: Prince (vocals and multiple instruments including guitars, bass, piano, and keyboards)
• Additional musicians: Tommy Barbarella (purpleaxxe sampling, and keyboards), (Lisa Coleman (keyboards and vocals), Damon Dickson (percussion and backing vocals), Dez Dickerson (vocals and lead guitar), Sheila E. (drums, percussion, and vocals), Sheena Easton (vocals), Matt "Dr." Fink (keyboards and vocals), Rosie Gaines (vocals, purpleaxxe sampling, and organ), Cat Glover (rapping), Jill Jones (vocals), Kirk Johnson (percussion and backing vocals), Eric Leeds (brass, flute, and vocals), Tony M. (rapping and backing vocals), Brown Mark (bass and vocals), Mazarati (backing vocals), Wendy Melvoin (guitar and vocals), Levi Seacer, Jr. (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), Sonny T. (bass and backing vocals), and Bobby Z. (drums and percussion)
• Musical style: Rock, pop, funk, R&B
• Sound: Integrating a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, soul, psychedelia, hip hop, and pop, Prince's sound is a truly genius fusion of sound... the likes of which we may not see again for a long time.  His music is engaging, challenging, and wonderfully rich.  Both his vocal range and guitar work is simply brilliant!
• Major themes: Sexuality, love, lust, individuality, relationships, social criticism, equality, rock and roll, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
2. "1999"
3. "Little Red Corvette"
4. "When Doves Cry"
5. "Let's Go Crazy"
6. "Purple Rain"
7. "I Would Die 4 U"
8. "Raspberry Beret"
9. "Kiss"
10. "Sign O' The Times"
11. "U Got The Look"
12. "Alphabet St."
13. "Thieves In The Temple"
14. "Gett Off"
15. "Cream"
16. "Diamonds And Peals"
17. "Money Don't Matter 2 Night"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Vernal Brewing Company (Vernal, UT)
• Website: http://www.vernalbrewingcompany.com/      
• Brew: Not Your Mama's Milk Stout
• Style: Imperial Milk Stout / Sweet Stout
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 8.5%
• Pour: Deep, dark, opaque brown (almost black) with a creamy, mash potato 1-2 finger mocha head that holds its form well and leave thickly layered lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose of the Not Your Mama's Milk Stout is rich, earthy, and sweet.  There are big aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa, cream, vanilla bean, lactate, dark roasted coffee, and soil.
• Taste: It's like a chocolate milk shake... seriously!  There are wonderfully rich notes of cocoa, fresh cream, French vanilla, marshmallow, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, dark malts, and caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with lower carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, very creamy, and sticky with a somewhat dry and sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The depth and musical range of Prince deserves nothing less than perfection when it comes to a brew... and that my friends is what you will find in a can of Vernal Brewing Company's fantastic Not Your Mama's Milk Stout! 

Cheers!  RIP Prince!!