May 21st, 2017 - The Barista From The Working Man's Café

Good afternoon!  The Meista here today pairing "Working Man's Café" by Ray Davies and a Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad Belgian Ale from Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck!


Album Info:

• Artist: Ray Davies
• Title: "Working Man's Café"
• Recorded: 2007
  Release date: October 22nd, 2007 (4th solo album by Ray Davies)
• Record company: V2
• Production: Ray Kennedy
• Album cover art: Rob Crane
• Personnel: Ray Davies (lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, and keyboards) with Mick Avory (percussion on "You're Asking Me"), Martyn Baker (drums on "One More Time"), Pat Buchanan (electric guitar), Mike Cotton (trumpet on "Morphine Song"), Simon Edwards (bass on "One More Time"), Shannon Otis Forrest (drums), Karin Forsman (backing vocals), Ray Kennedy (additional electric guitar, percussion, and backing vocals), Tim Lauer (keyboards), Bill Lloyd (electric guitar on "The Real World"), Nick Payne (tenor and baritone saxophone on "Morphine Song"), and Craig Young (bass)
• Musical style: Rock, folk rock
• Sound: Upbeat with crunchy guitars and lots of wonderful melodies and harmonies, "Working Man's Café" blends some Davies' classic Kinks sound with more modern elements.  
• Major themes: Both cynically political and personal, themes on the album include the labor woes, vanishing middle class, exported jobs, isolation of Internet users, sadness, New Orleans, the world gone awry, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Vietnam Cowboys"
2. "You're Asking Me"
3. "Working Man's Café"
4. "Morphine Song"
5. "In A Moment"
6. "Peace In Our Time"
7. "No One Listen"
8. "Imaginary Man"
9. "One More Time"
10. "The Voodoo Walk"
11. "Hymn For A New Age"
12. "The Real World"
13. "Angola (Wrong Side of the Law)"
14. "Vietnam Cowboys" (demo)
15. "The Voodoo Walk" (demo)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck (Belgium)
• Website: http://www.vanhonsebrouck.be/
• Brew: Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad Belgian Ale
• Style: Belgian Quadrupel (Quad) 
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 11.0%
• Pour: It pours an opaque dark brown (almost black) with ruby red around the edges and a 2+ finger billow mocha head with great sustain and lots of intricate lacing throughout.
• Nose: The nose is rich, roasty, malty, and sweet.  There are aromas of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, coffee, caramel, cacao, and roasted malts. 
• Taste: Like the nose, the taste of the Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad Belgian Ale is an amazing balance of chocolate and coffee flavors.  There are notes of dark chocolate cocoa, roasted coffee beans, light caramel, toffee, hints of dark fruit (raisin, cherry, and plum), and light spices.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Barista is velvety, smooth, and creamy with a semi-sweet and dry finish.

Overall pairing: The complex and rich coffee and chocolate flavors of the Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad Belgian Ale from Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck blend perfectly with the rich rock and roll style of Ray Davies' wonderful "Working Man's Café"!

Cheers!!