December 1st, 2017 - Breakfast Stout In America

Good morning, happy Friday, and hello December!  The Meista here helping you wake up this morning with a pairing of  "Breakfast In America" by Supertramp and a Founders Breakfast Stout from Founders Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Supertramp
• Title: "Breakfast In America"
• Recorded: May through December 1978 at The Village Recorder (Studio B) in Los Angeles, California
• Release date: March 29th, 1979 (6th studio album by Supertramp)
• Record company: A&M Records
• Production: Peter Henderson and Supertramp
• Album cover art: Mick Haggerty (art direction/cover design) and Aaron Rapoport (cover photography)
• Personnel: Rick Davies (vocals, piano, organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, synthesizers, and harmonica), John Helliwell (saxophones, clarinets, siren whistle, whistling, backing vocals), Roger Hodgson (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, harmonium, Bob Siebenberg (drums and percussion), and Dougie Thomson (bass)
• Musical style: Progressive rock, rock, power pop, art rock
• Sound: More pop-oriented and radio friendly than their previous progressive concept albums, with "Breakfast In America", Supertramp embraced a post-Beatles rock/pop sound.  Although very poppy, the album is richly textured, wonderfully written, and masterfully executed... and in many ways defines the soundtrack of my days growing up in suburban America in the 1970s! 
• Major themes: Relationships, human interaction, conflicting ideals between people, the satirizing of American culture, how Americans live, pop culture, dreaming of a better life, joy, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Gone Hollywood"
2. "The Logic Song"
3. "Goodbye Stanger"
4. "Breakfast In America"
5. "Oh Darling"
6. "Take The Long Way Home"
7. "Lord Is It Mine"
8. "Just Another Nervous Wreck"
9. "Casual Conversations"
10. "Child Of Vision"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
• Website: https://foundersbrewing.com/
• Brew: Founders Breakfast Stout 
• Style: Oatmeal Stout / Imperial Stout
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8.3%
• IBUs: 60
• Ingredients: flaked oats, bitter and sweetened imported chocolates, and Sumatra and Kona coffee
• Pour: The Breakfast Stout pours an opaque ink black with a frothy, 1-finger mocha head displaying great retention and lots of sticky, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is roasty, toasty, earthy, chocolaty, and smoky.  There are aromas of toasted multi-grain bread, fresh-brewed coffee, espresso beans, creamy oats, oak, and hints of dank pine resin and bourbon.
• Taste: The taste of the Breakfast Stout is rich, roasty, malty, chocolaty, and earthy.  There are huge notes of fresh-roasted coffee, bittersweet dark chocolate, cocoa, light fresh cream, liquid smoke, and a touch of burnt toffee.  
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with low carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Breakfast Stout is rich, thick, creamy, and velvety smooth with a dry, chocolaty finish.  It becomes a little sweeter and more boozy as it warms.

Overall pairing: The Founders Breakfast Stout is a delightfully rich brew with load of coffee and chocolaty goodness... a great beer to sip whilst grooving to the sweet and rich sounds of Supertramp's "Breakfast In America"!  I can't think of a better way to wake up on Friday morning!
    

Cheers!!