October 13th, 2017 - A Hopzeit For A Lonesome Crow In Autumn

Hello and happy Friday the 13th!  Your drinking buddy the Meista is here today pairing the Scorpions debut album, "Lonesome Crow" and a Hopzeit Autumn IPA from Deschutes Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Scorpions
• Title: "Lonesome Crow"
• Recorded: October 1971 at Star Studios in Hamburg, West Germany
• Release date: February 9th, 1972 (1st album by the Scorpions)
• Record company: Brain Records
• Production: Conny Plank
• Album cover art: Kerstin Davies
• Personnel: Wolfgang Dziony (drums, percussion, and backing vocals), Lothar Heimberg (bass guitar and backing vocals), Klaus Meine (lead vocals), Michael Schenker (lead guitar and backing vocals), and Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Hard rock, psychedelic rock
• Sound: A very different sounding Scorpions, with "Lonesome Crow" their sound is dark, melodic, psychedelic, yet heavy and hard-hitting!  A very young Michael Schenker tears it up with amazing guitar acrobatics heavily influenced by Hendrix, Clapton, Green, and Blackmore!Of the album, Meine once stated: "With Lonesome Crow, we were just a young band trying to find our way, trying to shape an artistic style to find the Scorpions DNA. There was a ballad with “In Search of the Peace of Mind”, and a psychedelic rocker with the title track, “I’m Goin' Mad”, [which] was a great rocker with Michael Schenker playing great solos. We were just a young band with talented guys, with no idea on where to go from here."
• Major themes: Insanity, seeking knowledge, love, desire, passion, loss, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "I'm Goin' Mad"
2. "It All Depends"
3. "Leave Me"
4. "In Search Of The Peace Of Mind"
5. "Inheritance"
6. "Action"
7. "Lonesome Crow"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Deschutes Brewing Company (Bend, Oregon)
• Website: https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/
• Brew: Hopzeit Autumn IPA
• Style: Oktoberfest / Märzenbier / India Pale Ale (IPA)  
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 7.0%
• IBUs: 60
• Ingredients: Munich, Vienna, and Pilsner malts with Herkules, Sterling, and Hull Melon hops
• Pour: The Hopzeit Autumn IPA pours a hazy red-amber with a 1+ finger, light tan, frothy head with good sustain and lots of intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is malty, bready, floral, sweet, hoppy, nutty, and herbal.  There are aromas of roasted walnuts, sweet bread, burnt toffee, caramel, orange peel, grapefruit rind, orange tea, pine resin, and spices.
• Taste: The taste of the Hopzeit Autumn IPA is a balanced blend of sweet and bitter along with more subtle fruit flavors.  There are notes of floral hops, sweet biscuit, toasted wheat bread, sweet caramel, light orange peel, light pine, and black tea.    
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp, smooth, and somewhat heavy and with a dry, bittersweet finish.

Overall pairing: The bready, malty, sweet, yet piney and bitter flavors and aromas of Deschutes' very interesting and unique Hopzeit Autumn IPA is a great brew to enjoy whilst rocking out to the psychedelic hard rock grooves, melodies, and harmonies of the Scorpions' very underrated and underplayed "Lonesome Crow" album!

Cheers!!