February 16th, 2019 - An Elixir Of The Gods For A Nightmare Beyond The Within

God kveld and hails craft brew lovers and headbangers!  Your pal the Meista here getting a little dark with the amazing "Mardraum - Beyond The Within" by Enslaved and a Elixir Of The Gods Belgian Style Quad Aged in Port Barrels from the fine folks at Barbarian Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!  This pairing goes out to my cousin Joe and his wife Jessica... they brought me this wonderful brew!  Cheers and thanks guys!

Album Info:

• Artist: Enslaved
• Title: "Mardraum - Beyond The Within"
• Recorded: February 2000 at Abyss Studios in Ludvika, Sweden
• Release date: October 2nd, 2000 (5th studio album by Enslaved)
• Record company: Osmose Records
• Production: Enslaved
• Album cover art: Silje Wergeland (typography) and Kristoffer Oustad (photography)  
• Personnel: Ivar Bjørnson (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, and backing vocals), Dirge Rep (aka Per Husebø) (drums and percussion), Grutle Kjellson (bass guitar, electronics, and lead and backing vocals), and Richard Kronheim (guitars)
• Musical style: Viking metal, progressive black metal
• Sound: Replacing their "white-noise" sonics with more 1970s progressive rock influence, "Mardraum - Beyond The Within" still is a powerhouse of the extreme Viking metal!  Those black metal tremolos are still there, but there's a fresh, progressive vibe that really adds a lot of depth and intrigue to their already huge sound!
• Major themes: Viking lore and history, mythology, darkness, evil, nightmares, war, bravery, power, winter, Norse culture, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Større enn tid – tyngre enn natt" (Greater than Time – Heavier than Night)
2. "Daudningekvida" (Deadhymn)
3. "Inngang-Flukt (Entrance-Escape)
4. "Ormgard" (The Hive)
5. "Æges draum" (Aege's Dream)
6. "Mardraum" (Nightmare)
7. "Det endelege riket" (The Finite Empire)
8. "Ormgard II: Kvalt i kysk høgsong" (The Hive II: Strangled by Purity)
9. "Krigaren eg ikkje kjende" (Warrior Unknown)
10. "Stjerneheimen" (Starhome)
11. "Frøyas smykke" (Freya's Necklace)

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Barbarian Brewing Company (Garden City, Idaho)
• Website: https://barbarianbrewing.com/
• Brew: Elixir Of The Gods Belgian Style Quad Aged in Port Barrels 
• Style: Belgian Quad / American Wild Ale / Farmhouse 
• Serving: 16 ounce bottle
• ABV: 12.0%
• Ingredients: Quad yeast and grains, plums, pomegranates, and multiple strains of lactobacillus and Brettanomyces
• Pour: The Elixir Of The Gods pours a very murky cola brown with a thin and bubbly, off-white head that dissipates quickly with virtually no lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very fruity, tart, tangy, and funky.  There are aromas of port wine, dark fruits (plum, black cherry, red grapes), lemon juice and zest, wet leather, oak, and light cereal grain.
• Taste: The taste is very complex, sweet, fruity, citrusy, funky, and sour.  There are notes of black cherry, ripe plum, pomegranate, lemon, red wine vinegar, port wine, Belgian yeast, a hint of booze, and hints of graham cracker.
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Elixir Of The Gods is very crisp, very refreshing, and very tart with a dry, clean, lip-puckering finish. 

Overall pairing: Intense and complex extreme Viking metal deserves a brew of equal intensity and flavor... thus the Elixir Of The Gods Belgian Style Quad Aged in Port Barrels from Barbarian Brewing Company!  Those bold and complex sour flavors are great for the fiery guitar work and pounding rhythm section while the dark fruit flavors go great with Grutle's infernal vocals!

Skål!!  Hails!!