December 8th, 2016 - A Blackwater Blackout!

Good evening and happy Thursday to you!  Your drinking pal the Meista here tonight pairing the Scorpions wonderful album "Blackout" and a Blackwater Imperial Stout from the Edge Brewing Company!  Oh yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Scorpions
• Title: "Blackout"
• Recorded: November 1981 and January 1982 at Villa San Pecaire, Saint Jacques, Grasse, France and  Dierks Studios, Cologne, Germany
  Release date: March 29th, 1982 (8th studio album by the Scorpions)
• Record company: Mercury Records
• Production: Dieter Dierks
• Album cover art: Gottfried Helnwein
• Personnel: Francis Buchholz (bass), Matthias Jabs (lead and rhythm guitars, and 6-string acoustic guitar), Klaus Meine (lead vocals), Herman Rarebell (drums, percussion, and backing vocals), and Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitars, lead guitar on tracks 4,8 and 9, 6+12 string acoustic guitars, and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Hard rock, heavy metal
• Sound: Songs like the title track, "Can't Live Without You", "No One Like You", "Now!", "Dynamite", and "China White" are German heavy metal precision!  This is that classic early '80s Scorpions sound that really defined the era!
• Major themes: Partying, drinking, rock and roll, tribute to fans, love, lust, sex, enjoying life, etc.
• Interesting side note: Meine had vocal cord surgery prior to recording "Blackout" and was uncertain whether he would be able continue with the band.  Initial demos of the material were recorded with Don Dokken as vocalist!
• Tracks:  

1. "Blackout"
2. "Can't Live Without You"
3. "No One Like You"
4. "You Give Me All I Need"
5. "Now!"
6. "Dynamite"
7. "Arizona"
8. "China White"
9. "When the Smoke Is Going Down"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Edge Brewing Company (Boise, Idaho)
• Website: http://www.edgebrew.com/
• Brew: Blackwater Imperial Stout
• Style: American Double / Imperial Stout 
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 11%
• IBUs: 90
• Ingredients: Chocolate, Crystal 60, Crystal 120, 2-Row, and Munich malts with Columbus, Simcoe, and Perle hops
• Pour: The Blackwater pours an opaque ink black with a thick and creamy 2-finger mocha head with great retention and lots of sticky and intricate spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is roasty, toasty, earthy, chocolaty, hoppy, smoky, and a little boozy.  There are aromas of  dark roast malts, black coffee, bittersweet dark chocolate, light vanilla bean, caramel, and burnt toffee.
• Taste: The flavors follow the nose... it if very roasty, earthy, chocolaty, and bitter.  There are notes of dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate up front followed by cream, vanilla, and marshmallow, and finished off with bourbon, oak, black tea, and smoke.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with little carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, creamy, velvety, and bitter with very dry, slightly boozy finish.

Overall pairing: The explosive, heavy duty rocking and roll style of this album goes great with the bold and bombastic power of the Blackwater Imperial Stout!  Both the brew and "Blackout" are great for an evening of heavy rockin'!  But be careful... too much Blackwater and you are liable to have a blackout!  :)

Cheers!!