December 27th, 2018 - When Jason The Dragon Met The Hemperor

Hey there hemp, hop, and metal heads!  Today I'm pairing The Hemperor HPA from New Belgium Brewing Company and Weedeater's "Jason... The Dragon" album!  This pairing goes out to my metal brother Jeff who gave me this lovely brew with me!  Cheers and hails my man!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Weedeater
• Title: "Jason... The Dragon"
• Recorded: September 15th through September 19th, 2010 at Electric Audio Studios in Chicago, Illinois and Seagator Recordings and Garage Mahal Studios
• Release date: March 15th, 2011 (4th studio album by Weedeater)
• Record company: Southern Lord Recordings
• Production: Steve Albini and Weedeater
• Album cover art: Arik Roper
• Personnel: Dave "Dixie" Collins (bass, cello, lap steel guitar, organ, piano, and vocals), Keith "Keko" Kirkum (drums and timpani), and Dave "Shep" Shepherd (guitars and banjo)
• Additional musicians: Eric "E2D2" Thomas (spoken word) 
• Musical style: Stone rock / metal, doom metal, sludge metal
• Sound: Slow, sludgy, heavy, and aggressive, Weedeater's sound on "Jason... The Dragon" is a powerful crunching monster of an album!  The guitars and vocals are aggressive while the rhythm section hammers down a thunders beat!
• Major themes: Ganja, drugs, life and death, fantasy, mythology, reality, humor, etc. 
• Tracks:   

1. "The Great Unfurling"
2. "Hammerhandle"
3. "Mancoon"
4. "Turkey Warlock"
5. "Jason... The Dragon"
6. "Palms And Opium"
7. "Long Gone"
8. "March Of The Bipolar Bear"
9. "Homecoming"
10. "Whiskey Creek"

    Brew Info:

• Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• Website: https://www.newbelgium.com/Brewery
• Brew: The Hemperor HPA
• Style: American India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 7.0% 
• IBUs: 55
• Ingredients: Ale yeast; Nugget, Cascade, HBC 522, and Simcoe hops; Pale, White Wheat, and Midnight Wheat malts
• Pour: The Hemperor pours a hazy, deep bronze hue with a 1-finger, off-white head that dissipates fairly quickly and leaves trace lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very dank, earthy, floral, citrusy, skunky, and vegetal.  There are huge aromas of cannabis once you pop off the top followed by lots of grapefruit rind, pine resin, cedar, fresh herbs, light bready grains, and a hint of toffee.
• Taste: The taste of The Hemperor follows the nose with lots of citrus, floral, vegetal, and bitter flavors.  There are notes of cannabis, pine, grapefruit juice, orange pith, herbal tea, and soft toasted caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium in body and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of The Hemperor is crisp, oily, and mildly bitter with a dry, peppery finish.

Overall pairing: The Hemperor HPA from New Belgium is a hop-forward very "herbal" brew... perfect for the pot heavy themes and sludgy grind of Weedeater's heavy-duty rockin' "Jason... The Dragon"!

Cheers and hails!!