August 19th, 2016 - Voodoo Maggot Brain

Happy Friday my funky friends!  The Meista here getting the weekend off the right way by "hitting it on the one" with Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" and an award-winning Voo Doo American Stout from Left Coast Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Funkadelic
• Title: "Maggot Brain"
• Recorded: Late 1970 through early 1971 at Universal Studios in Detroit, Michigan
  Release date: July 12th, 1971 (3rd studio album by Funkadelic)
• Record company: Westbound Records
• Production: George Clinton
• Album cover art: The Graffiteria/Paula Bisacca (art design) and Joel Brodsky (photography)
• Personnel: George Clinton (vocals), Raymond Davis (vocals), Tiki Fulwood (drums), Hot Buttered Soul (vocals), Fuzzy Haskins (vocals), Eddie Hazel (guitar and vocals), Billy Nelson (bass guitar and vocals), Tawl Ross (guitar and vocals), Garry Shider (vocals), Calvin Simon (vocals), Grady Thomas (vocals), and Bernie Worrell (keyboards and vocals)
• Musical style: Funk, rock, soul, psychedelic rock
• Sound: Heavily groove-oriented, deeply funky and deeply soulful rock, the sound on "Maggot Brain" is richly textured, melodic, and harmonious, but with some teeth to it too!
• Major themes: Freedom from oppression, "power to the people", race relations, racial tension, reconciliation, drugs, love, sex, war, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Maggot Brain"
2. "Can You Get To That"
3. "Hit It And Quit It"
4. "You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks"
5. "Super Stupid"
6. "Back In Our Minds"
7. "Wars Of Armageddon"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Left Coast Brewing Company (San Clemente, California)
• Website: www.leftcoastbrewing.com  
• Brew: Voo Doo American Stout
• Style: American stout
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8.0%
• IBUs: 37
• Ingredients: Cascade and Simcoe hops with chocolate malt
• Pour: It pours a deep, deep dark chocolate brown (almost ink black) with a creamy mocha head with good retention and a thin ring of lacing.
• Nose: The nose of the Voo Doo American Stout is very earthy, malty, sweet, and roasty.  There are aromas of fresh roasted and ground Columbian coffee, dark and milk chocolate, bitter roots, caramel/toffee, vanilla, and cream.
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the Voo Doo American Stout is earthy, roasty, toasty, and chocolaty.   There are notes of roasted barley, dark bittersweet chocolate, and dark roasted coffee along with vanilla bean, fresh cream, burnt toffee, and marshmallow.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, very creamy, smooth, and velvety with a dry, slightly bitter and sweet finish.

Overall pairing: The richly textured and perfected groove of Funkadelic's early work on "Maggot Brain" is wonderfully well matched for the thick, milky stout intensity of Left Coast's fantastic Voo Doo American Stout!  Those bombastic, yet smooth flavors seem to have been brewed specifically for the heavy rhythms produced by Clinton and the boys!

Cheers!!  Keep it craft and keep it funky!!