August 13th, 2016 - The Final Frontier Of The Mango Astronaut

Good afternoon!  The Meista here with today celebrating the 6th anniversary of the release of Iron Maiden's "The Final Frontier" with a pairing of Rogue Ale's Voodoo Doughnut Mango Astronaut Ale!   Hell yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Iron Maiden
• Title: "The Final Frontier"
• Recorded: January 11th through February 12th, 2010 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas and February 17th through March 1st, 2010 at The Cave Studios in Malibu, California
  Release date: August 13th, 2010 (15th studio album by Iron Maiden)
• Record company: UME / Sony Records
• Production: Kevin Shirley and Steve Harris
• Album cover art: Melvyn Grant
• Personnel: Bruce Dickinson (lead and backing vocals), Janick Gers (guitar), Steve Harris (bass and keyboards), Nicko McBrain (drums), Dave Murray (guitar), and Adrian Smith (guitar)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal, progressive metal
• Sound: More progressive than earlier work, the sound on "The Final Frontier" is bold, bombastic, hypnotic, rhythmic, and perfectly executed!  Of the album's sound Gers stated: "We're taking it to extremes... the one song we released ["El Dorado"] isn't indicative of the rest of the album—there's so many different feels and ways of playing on the album. We go through some different attitudes and take you to different places. There's a lot of long thematic tunes on this album. And some very varied music." 
• Major themes: With songs about space travel, the economic recession, fantasy, and history, themes include ruin, hope, life and death, reunion, transgression, redemption, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier"
2. "El Dorado"
3. "Mother Of Mercy"
4. "Coming Home"
5. "The Alchemist"
6. "Isle Of Avalon"
7. "Starblind"
8. "The Talisman"
9. "The Man Who Would Be King"
10. "When The Wild Wind Blows"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Rogue Ales (Newport, Oregon)
• Website: www.rogue.com
• Brew: Voodoo Doughnut Mango Astronaut Ale
• Style: Fruit Ale
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.5%
• IBUs: 20
• Pour: It pours a hazy golden-amber with a thin, egg-shell white head that shows good retention and leaves intricate, soapy lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose of the Voodoo Doughnut Mango Astronaut Ale is very fruity, sweet, and malty.  There are big aromas of candied mango, candied peach, caramel/toffee, herbal tea, and malt.
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the Voodoo Doughnut Mango Astronaut Ale is very sweet, fruity, malty, and ever so slightly hoppy.  There are notes of mango and peach Jolly Ranchers, mango jam, burnt toffee, soft caramel, herbal tea, and hints of grassy hops and baked bread.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is very smooth, somewhat sticky, and very drinkable with a sweet, yet clean finish.

Overall pairing: To be honest, I'm not really sure if the Voodoo Doughnut Mango Astronaut Ale from Rogue Ales is the right brew for Iron Maiden's "The Final Frontier", but it worked pretty well in my opinion.  The fruity complexity made for a nice pairing with the bombast and electrifying power of the vocal and music performances! 

Cheers and hails!!