May 31st, 2017 - Pieces Of 8 Hop For the Sunset On The Golden Age

Baton the hatches!  Ahoy, me hearties!  The Meista here tonight pairing Alestorm's rockin' and raucous "Sunset On The Golden Age" and a Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Pale Ale from New Belgium Brewing Company!


Album Info:

• Artist: Alestorm
• Title: "Sunset On The Golden Age"
• Recorded: February 4th to February 26th, 2014 at LSD Studios in Lübeck, Germany
• Release date: August 1st, 2014 (4th studio album by Alestorm)
• Record company: Napalm Records
• Production: Lasse Lammert
• Album cover art: Ingo Römling
• Personnel: Peter Alcorn (drums), Christopher Bowes (lead vocals and keytar), Dani Evans (guitars), Gareth Murdock (bass), and Elliot Vernon (keyboards and vocals)
• Additional musicians: Myk Barber (guitar solo on "Walk the Plank"), Bren Casey (backing vocals), Jonas Dieckmann (trumpet), Tobias Hain (trumpet), Gordon Krei (programming), Lasse Lammert (guitar solo and vibraslap on "Mead From Hell"), Hildegard Niebuhr (violin), and Luke Philp (lead vocals on "Hangover")
• Musical style: Pirate metal, power metal, folk metal
• Sound: Combining Scottish jigs with pirate themes, European folk music, and power metal, Alestorm has made for themselves for fun, yet masterful musicianship.  The music is fast-paced, fiery, and incredibly entertaining with hilarious lyrics!  What's not to love?!
• Major themes: Pirates! Pirates! And more pirates! As well as drinking, fighting, drinking, sex, drinking, stealing, drinking, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Walk The Plank"
2. "Drink"
3. "Magnetic North"
4. "1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)"
5. "Mead From Hell"
6. "Surf Squid Warfare"
7. "Quest For Ships"
8. "Wooden Leg!"
9. "Hangover" (Taio Cruz cover)
10. "Sunset On The Golden Age"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• Website: http://www.newbelgium.com/
• Brew: Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Pale Ale                                           
• Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 5.5%
• IBUs: 35
• Ingredients: Ale yeast, Pale and Caramel 80 malts, and Nugget, Centennial, Cascade, Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Citra hops
• Pour: The Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Pale Ale pours a clear, bright golden hue with a bubbly, white head with moderate, soapy lacing.
• Nose: With 8 hops, the nose is very hoppy with lots of tropical fruit, stone fruits, citrus, and pine and hints of a sweet malty backbone.  There are aromas of mango, pineapple, orange, lemon, guava, peach, apricot, pine resin, cedar, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste is well-balanced with lots of sweet fruit and malts notes, hoppy and bitter pine, and slight tartness.  There are notes of orange, pink grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, pine, black tea, peach, mango, guava, bitter herbs and sweet toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Pale Ale is crisp, hoppy, and slightly tart with a semi-dry and slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The punchy, piney, and tropical aromas and flavors of New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Pale Ale is a great beer to throw back whilst pillaging Caribbean villages... or just rockin' out to the kick-ass tunes of Alestorm's highly entertaining "Sunset On The Golden Age"!  So grab a sweet lass and a Voodoo Ranger and spin some Alestorm... you won't be sorry!

Aaaaarrrrgh ya scurvy dogs!!  Cheers!!