June 25th, 2016 - White Blood Orange Cells

Good evening!  The Meista is here tonight pairing the White Stripes' "White Blood Cells" with a Blood Orange Wheat Ale from Full Sail Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: White Stripes
• Title: "White Blood Cells"
• Recorded: February 2001 at Easley-McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee
  Release date: July 3rd, 2001 (3rd studio album by the White Stripes)
• Record company: Sympathy for the Record Industry
• Production: Jack White
• Album cover art: Third Man and Twirly Red (layout and design) and Patrick Pantano (photography)
• Personnel: Jack White (lead vocals, guitar, piano, and organ) and Meg White (drums, tambourine, and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Garage rock, post-punk
• Sound: Raw, aggressive, honest, and pure.  Of the album's sound, Jack White stated: "There's no blues on the new record. We're taking a break from that.  There's no slide work, bass, guitar solos, or cover songs.  It's just me and Meg, guitar, drums, and piano."
• Major themes: Relationships, love, hate, anger, hope, betrayal, and paranoia.
• Notes: The album's cover art and title were Jack's criticism of the music industry.  "When does music become a business and why do we have to be suckered into it? Why do we have to buy a cell phone, you know what I mean? A lot of that stuff upsets me. It gets annoying. The name, White Blood Cells, for the album, is this idea of bacteria coming at us, or just foreign things coming at us, or media, or attention on the band.  It just seems to us that there are so many bands from the same time or before we started that were playing and are still playing that didn’t get this kind of attention that we’re getting. Is the attention good or bad? When you open the CD, it’s a picture of us with these cameras. Wondering if it’s good or bad."
• Tracks:   

1. "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground"
2. "Hotel Yorba"
3. "I'm Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman"
4. "Fell In Love With A Girl"
5. "Expecting"
6. "Little Room"
7. "The Union Forever"
8. "The Same Boy You've Always Known"
9. "We're Going To Be Friends"
10. "Offend In Every Way"
11. "I Think I Smell A Rat"
12. "Aluminum"
13. "I Can't Wait"
14. "Now Mary"
15. "I Can Learn"
16. "This Protector"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Full Sail Brewing Company (Hood River, Oregon)
• Website: www.fullsailbrewing.com    
• Brew: Blood Orange Wheat Ale
• Style: American Pale Wheat Ale 
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.2%
• IBUs: 23
• Ingredients: 2-Row Northwest Pale, malted and unmalted wheat, with a hint of citrus flavor
• Pour: The Blood Orange pours a very hazy golden-amber with a frothy, bright white 1-finger head with great sustain and layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is sweet and bready.  There are big notes of fresh squeezed orange juice, orange test, freshly baked wheat bread, and hints of caramel. 
• Taste: The taste of the Blood Orange is fruity, citrusy, malty, and slightly sweet and slightly bitter.  There are notes of blood orange, tangerine, lemon zest, berry, wheat bread, light hops, and light caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, refreshing, and smooth with a clean, crisp finish.

Overall pairing: The easy, yet flavorful drinkability of the Blood Orange Wheat Ale from Full Sail Brewing Company is a great beer to throw back whilst rocking out to the stripped down, yet powerful sound of the White Stripes on their "White Blood Cells" album!  Those citrusy notes blend really well with both Jack's vocals and lyrics.

Cheers!!