June 22nd, 2017 - The Velocihoptor's Cosmic Egg

Good evening rockers and hop lovers!  The Meista here tonight rocking out with Wolfmother's "Cosmic Egg" and a Velocihoptor Double IPA from Ninkasi Brewing Company!


Album Info:

• Artist: Wolfmother
• Title: "Cosmic Egg"
• Recorded: April through May 2009 at Sound City Studios and Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, California
• Release date: October 23rd, 2009 (2nd studio album by Wolfmother)
• Record company: Modular Records
• Production: Alan Moulder
• Album cover art: Ryan Clark 
• Personnel: Dave Atkins (drums and strings on "10,000 Feet"), Aidan Nemeth (rhythm guitar), Ian Peres (bass and keyboards), and Andrew Stockdale (lead vocals, lead guitar, and mixing)
• Additional musicians: Kenny Segal (strings on "10,000 Feet") and Ben Tolliday (additional bass and engineering assistance on "Back Round")
• Musical style: Hard rock, psychedelic rock, stoner rock/metal
• Sound: Heavy, heavy, heavy... and totally rocking, the sound on "Cosmic Egg" is characterized by meaty, bass-driven melodies coupled with psychedelic and spacy guitar grooves and hooks!  Of the album, Stockdale stated: "We do have a lot of jams, like incoherent pieces of music, that at least could get the ball rolling.  And I have a few ideas I've been working on in hotels and stuff, which is kind of the way half of the record was written last time. Sometimes it can be a long process and sometimes it happens really quickly, so you just have to keep the fishing net open for ideas and hope that you catch a few."
• Major themes: Partying, pot, mysticism, life, love, passion, fantasy, reality, power, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "California Queen"
2. "New Moon Rising"
3. "White Feather"
4. "Sundial"
5. "In The Morning"
6. "10,000 Feet"
7. "Cosmic Egg"
8. "Far Away"
9. "Pilgrim"
10. "In the Castle"
11. "Phoenix"
12. "Violence Of The Sun"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ninkasi Brewing Company (Eugene, Oregon) 
• Website: http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/ 
• Brew: Velocihoptor Double IPA                
• Style: Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) / Imperial IPA (IIPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8.4%
• IBUs: 88
• Ingredients: 2-Row Pale, Crystal, and White Wheat malts and Meridian, Centennial, Simcoe, Columbus, Bravo, and Sterling hops
• Pour: The Velocihoptor Double IPA pours a hazy, deep copper-red with a creamy, light tan 1-finger head with good sustain and lots of sticky and chunky lacing.
• Nose: The nose is dank, earthy, citrusy, and sweet.  There are aromas of bold pine resin, grapefruit rind, tangerine, black tea, bready malts, and sweet caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Velocihoptor is characterized by bitter pine, hop oil, citrus, and a big malt backbone.  There are notes of pine, black tea, bitter herbs, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, hearty bread, and sweet toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is sticky and slick with a bitter, dry finish.

Overall pairing: The big, bold aromas and flavors of Ninkasi' wonderful Velocihoptor Double IPA  is perfect for the heavy-duty rockin' grooves of the bad-assery that is Wolfmother's "Cosmic Egg"!  Those sweet and malty notes are great for the thunderous bass and drums while the punchy hop bitterness is great for the vocals and fiery guitars!

Cheers and hails!!  Rock on!!