October 15th, 2017 - The Naja Imperial Red IPA Is Ready To Strike!

Good afternoon headbangers and hop-heads!  Your pal the Meista here today pairing King Kobra's debut album "Ready To Strike" with a Naja Imperial Red IPA from Copper Kettle Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: King Kobra
• Title: "Ready To Strike"
• Recorded: 1985
• Release date: November 9th, 1985 (1st album by King Kobra)
• Record company: Capitol Records / EMI
• Production: Spencer Proffer and Carmine Appice
• Album cover art: Vigon Seireeni (art direction and design) 
• Personnel: Carmine Appice (drums and percussion), Mark Free (lead and backing vocals), David Michael-Philips (lead and rhythm guitars, synthesizers, and backing vocals), Johnny Rod (bass and backing vocals), and Mick Sweda (lead and rhythm guitars, synthesizers, and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, glam metal, hard rock
• Sound: Fiery, fast, melodic, powerful... just a few terms to describe the overall punchy sound of King Kobra's "Ready To Strike".  Mark Free's vocals are huge, the combined guitar/bass work of Michael-Philips, Rod, and Sweda is passionate, honest, and pure, and Appice is a monstorous driving drumming force!
• Major themes: Power, aggression, desire, passion, rock and roll, darkness, rebellion, lust, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Ready To Strike"
2. "Hunger"
3. "Shadow Rider"
4. "Shake Up"
5. "Attention"
6. "Breakin' Out"
7. "Tough Guys"
8. "Dancing With Desire"
9. "Second Thoughts"
10. "Piece Of The Rock"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Copper Kettle Brewing Company (Denver, Colorado)
• Website: http://www.copperkettledenver.com/
• Brew: Naja Imperial Red IPA
• Style: Imperial India Pale Ale (IIPA) / American Strong Ale
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.0%
• IBUs: 110
• Pour: The Naja pours a deep, opaque mahogany red with fiery red flecks in the light and a firm and creamy light tan head that dissipates to a thin ring and spotty, soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very sweet, very malty, and hoppy.  There are aromas of sweet caramel, honey, grapefruit rind, orange peel, black tea, light spices, bitter herbs, and a hint of booze.
• Taste: The taste of the Naja is sweet, bitter, earthy, and malty.  There are big notes of black tea, sweet bread, burnt toffee, orange peel, light pine, and bitter herbs.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Naja is very thick, oily, and sticky and smooth with a very dry and slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The bold, sweet, punchy flavors and aromas of Copper Kettle's Naja Imperial Red IPA make for a great pairing with the straight-forward hard-rockin' goodness that is King Kobra's "Ready To Strike"!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!  Rock on!!