May 21st, 2016 - The Devil (or was it the Janitor?) Put An Allosaurus Amber Here

Good afternoon!  The Meista here with another great pairing for ya to rock out to... Alice In Chains "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here"and an Allosaurus Amber Ale from Vernal Brewing Company!  This pairing goes out to all around bad-ass Mike the Janitor... cheers brotha!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Alice In Chains 
• Title: "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here"
• Recorded: July 2011 through December 2012 at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California
  Release date: May 28th, 2013 (5th studio album by Alice In Chains)009-02-03)
• Record company: Capitol Records
• Production: Nick Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains
• Album cover art: Ryan Clark
• Personnel: Jerry Cantrell (lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, and lead vocals on "Choke"), William DuVall (lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, and lead guitar on "Phantom Limb"), Mike Inez (bass and additional backing vocals), and Sean Kinney (drums and percussion)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, sludge metal, hard rock, post punk, post grunge (whatever that means!)
• Sound: Heavy, dark, aggressive, crunchy, sludgy, powerful.  Cantrell said of the album: "There's some real filth in there.  That's intentional, and that's also just how we sound together. We're trying to make a record that we dig and we're trying to keep the bar high for ourselves and see if we can get past it, and I think that we did again.  And of course you want people to dig it too and to respond to it, and to have that start happening is satisfying."
• Major themes: "What's the old joke?" states Cantrell.  "There are two things you never want to get into a conversation or argument about: politics and religion.  But fuck, I guess we're going to be talking about this for awhile."  Themes include a critical view of religion and politics, social events, isolation, desperation, pain, sorrow, anger, integrity, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Hollow"
2. "Pretty Done"
3. "Stone"
4. "Voices"
5. "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here"
6. "Lab Monkey"
7. "Low Ceiling"
8. "Breath On A Window"
9. "Scalpel"
10. "Phantom Limb"
11. "Hung On A Hook"
12. "Choke"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Vernal Brewing Company (Vernal, Utah)
• Website: http://www.vernalbrewingco.com/home-1.html
• Brew: Allosaurus Amber Ale
• Style: Amber Ale
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 4.0%
• Pour: Hazy, dark copper-orange with a 1-finger, creamy off-white head that displays good sustain and lacing.
• Nose: The nose is malty, grainy, sweet, and slightly hoppy.  There are aromas of freshly baked multi-grain bread, caramel, dark fruit, honey, summer grass, and hints of pine.
• Taste: An incredibly well-balanced beer, the taste of the Allosaurus Amber is a blend of sweet and hearty malts with floral hops.  There are notes of toasty and roasty malts, fresh bread, hearty grains, sweet toffee, clover honey, dank and floral hops, and herbs.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is smooth, slightly chewy, and hearty with a clean, somewhat dry finish.

Overall pairing: The hearty malt flavor of the Allosaurus Amber Ale from Vernal Brewing Company is great for the powerful and honest sound of Alice In Chains, particularly with their latest album, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here"!  And those sweeter, caramel/toffee notes are perfect for Cantrell's wonderful guitar solos!

Cheers!!