December 7th, 2017 - The Alphadelic Physicist

Good evening!  The Meista here tonight pairing Devin Townsend's brilliant 4th album "Physicist" with an Alphadelic IPA from Hop Valley Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: Devin Townsend
• Title: "Physicist"
• Recorded: 2000 at Hipposonic Studios in Vancouver, Canada
• Release date: June 26th, 2000 (4th solo studio album by Devin Townsend)
• Record company: HevyDevy Records
• Production: Devin Townsend
• Album cover art: Clint Nielsen
• Personnel: Devin Townsend (vocals, guitars, keyboards, production, engineering, and arrangement) with Gene Hoglan (drums), Jed Simon (guitars), and Byron Stroud (bass guitar)
• Backing vocals: Teresa Duke, Sharon Parker, Marina Reid, and Chris Valagao
• Musical style: Progressive metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, experimental metal
• Sound: Blending complex and soaring melodies with intense brutality, "Physicist" is a powerful, aggressive, and emotional album on par with much of Townsend's amazing work!
• Major themes: Life, death, reality, knowledge, anger, aggression, passion, love, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Namaste"
2. "Victim"
3. "Material"
4. "Kingdom"
5. "Death"
6. "Devoid"
7. "The Complex"
8. "Irish Maiden"
9. "Jupiter"
10. "Planet Rain"
11. "Forgotten" (hidden track)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Hop Valley Brewing Company (Eugene, Oregon)
• Website: https://www.hopvalleybrewing.com/
• Brew: Alphadelic IPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 7.2%
• IBUs: 90
• Ingredients: 2-Row and Munich malts with Northwest and Southern Hemisphere hops
• Pour: The Alphadelic IPA pours a hazy, golden-amber with a frothy, 1+ finger, off-white head with great retention and lots of intricate, layered, spider web lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, fruity, floral, and malty.  There are aromas of orange juice, tangerine, lemon zest, grapefruit, melon, bready malt, wild flowers, light honey, and caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Alphadelic is very hop-forward with bitterness, citrus, grainy malt, dank earth, and spice.  There are notes orange peel, grapefruit rind, tangerine, lime, pine, black tea, bitter herbs, pineapple, light caramel, and spicy pepper.  
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Alphadelic is crisp, sharp, and very hoppy with a dry, bitter, and peppery finish.

Overall pairing: The sharp, very hop-forward punch of Hop Valley's Alphadelic IPA is perfect for a Thursday night metal session with the aggressive grooves and soaring melodies of Devin Townsend's very underrated "Physicist"!  'Nuff said bub!
    

Cheers and hails!!