February 17th, 2021 - A Hoppy Mystik In Grid City

 

God kväll and happy Wednesday rockers and craft beer fiends!  The Meista here with another kick-ass pairing for ya today: the self-titled debut album by Swedish metallers Mystik and a crisp and hoppy Grid City Hoppy Pilsner, another tasty offering from the fine folks at Grid City Beer Works!  Hell yeah!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Mystik
• Title: "Mystik"
• Recorded: 2019 at Studio Endarker in Norrköping, Sweden 
• Release date: May 17th, 2019 (1st full-length album by Mystik)
• Record company: I Hate Records
• Production: Dan Everth Magnus Andersson (aka Devo) 
• Album cover art: Velio Josto 
• Personnel: Beatrice Karlsson (guitars), Sven Nilsson (drums), Julia von Krusenstjerna (bass and vocals), and Lo Wickman (guitars) 
• Musical style: Heavy metal, speed metal, power metal
• Sound: With heavy influence from old school German metal bands like Blind Guardian, Helloween, and Warlock, Mystik is a powerhouse of a band!  The guitar tones are reminiscent oto those of Kai Hansen and André Olbrich, while von Krusenstjerna's stellar vocals pay homage to the mighty Doro, and yet they sound fresh and modern! 
• Major themes: Darkness, nightmares, insanity, death, evil, the occult, fantasy, mythology, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "Into Oblivion"
2. "Nightmares"
3. "Ancient Majesty"
4. "Gallows Hill"
5. "Lake Of Necrosis"
6. "Hellish Force"
7. "Bleed For The Night'
8. "Mystik"
9. "Ritual"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Grid City Beer Works (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://gridcitybeerworks.com/
• Brew: Grid City Hoppy Pilsner
• Style: German Pilsner
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.8%
• IBUs: 40 
• Ingredients: Weyerman Floor Malted Bavarian Pils malts with Tettnang and Lemon Drop hops 
• Pour: The Grid City Hoppy Pilsner pours a clear, golden yellow hue with a frothy, 1-finger, bright white head with good retention and sticky, soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is grassy, citrusy, and malty.  There are aromas of crackery biscuit, pale malt, light cereal grains, June grass, lemons, very light pine resin, very light cedar, a hint of apple, and a hint of honey.
• Taste: The taste of the Grid City Hoppy Pilsner follows the nose with lots of crackery and hoppy flavors.  There are notes of cracked wheat, pale malt, crackery biscuit, fresh green hops, lemon zest, tangerine, light pine, and a hint of soft caramel. 
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp, with a finish.

Overall pairing: Both the Grid City Hoppy Pilsner and "Mystik" combine old school and new school techniques and approach.  They also both seem to be one thing, but are actually something else.  Mystik is a newer metal band that sounds like old German metal and the Grid City Hoppy Pilsner is a pilsner that tastes almost like an IPA.  That said, they wonderfully tasty flavors of the Hoppy Pilsner lend themselves well to the straightforward metal attack of Mystik!  'Nuff said!

Skál!!  Rock on!!