October 6th, 2016 - Long[Fin] Way Home

Good evening rockers, rollers, and beer lovers!  Your drinkin' buddy the Meista here tonight pairing Dokken's Long Way Home with a Longfin Lager from Ballast Point Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Dokken
• Title: "Long Way Home"
• Recorded: 2001 through 2002 at Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach, California and
  Cornestone Studios in Chatsworth, California
• Release date: April 23rd, 2002 (8th studio album by Dokken) (2016-09-09) (1969-04-16)
• Record company: CMC International
• Production: Don Dokken
• Album cover art: Glen LaFerman
• Personnel: Mick Brown (drums and backing vocals), Don Dokken (lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, and acoustic guitar), John Norum (lead guitar), and Barry Sparks (bass guitar and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, hard rock, power pop
• Sound: Maybe more mellow than earlier albums, "Long Way Home" is still a fun and rockin' album with lots of great hooks, melodies, and harmonies.  Dokken's vocals are spot on and Norum's guitar work makes for a great addition!
• Major themes: Love, loss, heartbreak, searching, relationships, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Sunless Days"
2. "Little Girl"
3. "Everybody Needs (To Be with Someone)"  
4. "You"
5. "Goodbye My Friend"
6. "Magic Road"
7. "There Was A Time"
8. "Heart Full of Soul" (Yardbirds cover)
9. "Under the Gun"
10. "I've Found"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company (San Diego, California)
• Website: ballastpoint.com       
• Brew: Longfin Lager
• Style: Munich Helles Lager
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 4.5%
• IBUs: 17
• Pour: The Longfin pours a clear golden-straw hue with a bright white, 1-finger, bubbly head with good retention and intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is grassy, bready, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of summer grass, fresh-picked hops, fresh baked bread, honey, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste is grassy, grainy, and slightly sweet and spicy.  There are notes of grassy, fresh hops, cereal grains, sourdough bread, crackery biscuit, and hints of light honey.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and well-carbonated, the Longfin's mouthfeel is very crisp, refreshing, and slightly bitter with a dry clean finish.

Overall pairing: The straight-forward rock and roll style of Dokken's "Long Way Home" is a great album for the straight-forward, refreshing flavor of Ballast Point's Longfin Lager!  The poppier elements of the album work well with the crisp refreshing flavors of the Longfin while the hoppier notes of the brew are great for the crunchy guitars and power-packed drumming of Brown!

Cheers!!