October 12th, 2017 - Scream For Me Brews And Tunes Fans... Scream For Me!! or... The Trooper's Brew After Death

Evening rockers!  How about a double dose of Eddie?!  That's right... the Meista is here tonight with Iron Maiden's "Live After Death" (release this week 32 years ago!) and a Trooper Premium British Beer, an ale created by Iron Maiden and brewed by Robinson Brewery!!  Hell yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Iron Maiden
• Title: "Live After Death"
• Recorded: Live at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California on  March 14th through 17th, 1985 and at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England on October 8th through 12th, 1984
• Release date: October 14th, 1985 (1st live album released by Iron Maiden)
• Record company: EMI / Capitol Records
• Production: Martin Birch
• Album cover art: Derek Riggs
• Personnel: Bruce Dickinson (lead vocals), Steve Harris (bass guitar), Nicko McBrain (drums), Dave Murray (guitars), and Adrian Smith (guitars)
• Musical style: Power metal, heavy metal
• Sound: In a word, revolutionary!  This is probably one of the most important live heavy metal albums in the history of metal in my opinion.  It is the definitive Iron Maiden sound and just so wonderfully written, performed, and produced; truly astonishing! "Live After Death" is monster of live album!  This is high-octane, in-your-face, heavy fucking metal!!  With perfect renditions of songs like "Aces High," "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner," "Powerslave," "The Number Of The Beast," "Hallowed By Thy Name," "Run To The Hills," "Wrathchild," "Die With Your Boots On," and "Phantom Opera" (among others), this is the ultimate live Maiden album and a wonderfully rich and captivating album in general... quite possibly my all-time favorite live album by any band!
• Major themes: Evil, war, life and death, power, perseverance, pride, mythology, the occult, the ancient world, torture, fear, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Intro: Churchill's Speech"
2. "Aces High"
3. "2 Minutes To Midnight"
4. "The Trooper"
5. "Revelations"
6. "Flight Of Icarus"
7. "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner"
8. "Powerslave"
9. "The Number Of The Beast"
10. "Hallowed By Thy Name"
11. "Iron Maiden"
12. "Run To The Hills"
13. "Running Free"
14. "Wrathchild"
15. "22 Acacia Avenue"
16. "Children Of The Damned"
17. "Die With Your Boots On"
18. "Phantom Of The Opera"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Robinson Brewery (Stockport, England)
• Website: robinsonsbrewery.com    
• Brew: Trooper Premium British Beer
• Style: Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)  
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.7%
• Ingredients:  Brewed with roasted malts along with Bobec, Goldings, and Cascade hops
• Pour: Trooper pours a clear, deep copper hue with a 1-finger white head.
• Nose: The nose is both malty and hoppy and slightly fruity with notes of freshly baked bread, roasted nuts, apple and a slight hint of lemon zest. 
• Taste: The Trooper is definitely a true English ale with a good balance of hops and malts and true "depth of character."  
• Mouthfeel: It is medium-bodied and moderately carbonated.  It is very smooth and easy drinking with a nice, clean and hoppy finish.
• Notes: Trooper Premium British Beer was not only inspired by Iron Maiden's song "The Trooper," but vocalist Bruce Dickinson played a major role in the development of this classic English ale.  "I'm a lifelong fan of traditional English ale; I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when we were asked to create our own beer. I have to say that I was very nervous: Robinsons are the only people I have had to audition for in 30 years. Their magic has been to create the alchemical wedding of flavour and texture that is TROOPER. I love it."

Overall pairing: Visually and theoretically speaking, this pairing is pretty obvious.  And coming in at only 4.7% ABV, you can through back a few of these easy drinking Troopers whilst pumping your fist and banging your head to the might and brilliance that is Iron Maiden's "Live After Death"!!

UP THE IRONS!!!