September 25th, 2016 - When The Franconian Gets Stuck In Storm And Stress

Guten Abend!  The Meista here tonight continuing to celebrating Oktoberfest with a pairing of Red Rock Brewing Company's Franconian Rauchbier and Lamb Of God's "VII: Sturm Und Drang" (Deluxe Edition)!!  Hells yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Lamb Of God
• Title: "VII: Sturm Und Drang" (Deluxe Edition)
• Recorded: 2015 at NRG Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, California
• Release date: July 24th, 2015 (7th studio album by Lamb Of God) (2016-09-09) (1969-04-16)
• Record company: Epic / Nuclear Blast
• Production: Josh Wilbur
• Album cover art: K3n Adams
• Personnel: Chris Adler (drums), Willie Adler (guitar), Randy Blythe (vocals), John Campbell (bass), and Mark Morton (guitar)
• Guest musicians: Chino Moreno (vocals on "Embers") and Greg Puciato (vocals on "Torches")
• Musical style: Thrash metal, groove metal, death metal
• Sound: Aggressive, powerful, honest, the sound on "VII: Sturm Und Drang" (Deluxe Edition) is classic Lamb Of God... combining old school thrash with extreme groove metal!  It is characterized by fiery fast guitars, thunderous and machine gun fine bass and drums, and Randy's signature brutal vocal attack.
• Major themes: History, imagery, and the feel of Pankrác Prison, isolation, imprisonment, gloom, killing, war, redemption, etc. 
• Tracks:   

1. "Still Echoes"
2. "Erase This"
3. "512"
4. "Embers"
5. "Footprints"
6. "Overlord"
7. "Anthropoid"
8. "Engage The Fear Machine"
9. "Delusion Pandemic"
10. "Torches"
11. "Wine & Piss"
12. "Nightmare Seeker (The Little Red House)"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Red Rock Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: www.redrockbrewing.com     
• Brew: Franconian Rauchbier
• Style: Rauchbier
• Serving: 16 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.7%
• Pour: It pours a clear deep red-amber with a frothy, half-finger white head that leave intricate and sustained lacing.
• Nose: The Franconian's  nose is a profound blend of spiced/smoked meats and campfire wood.  There are strong notes of smoked and peppery spice, beef jerky, as well as beechwood and cedar.  There are also some more subtle notes of Pilsner malt, biscuit, and herbs as well.
• Taste: The taste, like the nose is very meaty and very smoky... very, very smoky!  You pretty much need to be a fan of bacon to enjoy this delightful brew.  Big, big notes of smoky bacon, liquid smoke, and Polish sausage, and black pepper abound.  You can also find more subtle (very subtle) notes of apple, caramel, grassy hops, biscuit, and baked bread.  But oh those long, lingering smoky notes!
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is very bold, very smoky, but also very smooth with a smoky finish.
• Notes: The Franconian is German-style Rauchbier (literally "smoked beer" in German) that's origins go back to the 1500's in the town of Bamberg.

Overall pairing: Those big smoky notes of Red Rock's new Franconian Rauchbier really lend themselves well to the biting aggression of  Lamb Of God's "VII: Sturm Und Drang" (Deluxe Edition)!  Both beer and Lamb Of God's style of metal are not for everyone, but both are incredibly rewarding and full of depth!

Prost... Zum Wohl!!  Hails!!