April 2nd, 2023 - Sgt. Proper's Lonely Hearts Club Porter

 

Hello friends!  Happy Sunday!  The Meista here today pairing a tasty Sgt. Proper's Porter from Proper Brewing Company and the groundbreaking and brilliant "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles!  

Album Info:

• Artist: The Beatles
• Title: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
• Recorded: December 1966 through April 1967 at EMI Studios and Regent Sound in London, England
• Release date: May 26th, 1967 (8th studio album by The Beatles)
• Record company: Capitol Records
• Production: Sir George Martin
• Album cover art: Peter Blake and Jann Haworth (design), Robert Fraser (art direction), and Michael Cooper (photography)
• Personnel: George Harrison (harmony and backing vocals, lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, sitar, tambura, swarmandal, harmonica, comb and tissue paper, handclaps, tambourine, maracas, and lead vocals on "Within You Without You"), John Lennon (lead, harmony and backing vocals, rhythm, acoustic and lead guitars, Hammond organ, final piano E chord, harmonica, tape loops, sound effects, comb and tissue paper, handclaps, tambourine, and maracas), Paul McCartney (lead, harmony and backing vocals, bass and lead guitars, piano, grand piano, Lowrey and Hammond organs, handclaps, vocalizations, sound effects, comb and tissue paper), and Ringo Starr (drums, congas, tambourine, maracas, handclaps, tubular bells, lead vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends", harmonica, comb and tissue paper, and final piano E chord)
• Additional musicians: Neil Aspinall (tambura and harmonica), Geoff Emerick (tape loops and sound effects), Mal Evans (counting, harmonica, alarm clock, and final piano E chord), George Martin (tape loops, sound effects; harpsichord on "Fixing a Hole", harmonium, Lowrey organ, glockenspiel and Mellotron on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", Hammond organ on "With a Little Help from My Friends", piano on "Getting Better", piano solo on "Lovely Rita", and final harmonium chord) and Sounds, Inc. (saxophones, trombones, and French horn on "Good Morning Good Morning")
• Session musicians: four French horns on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band": Neill Sanders, James W. Buck, John Burden, Tony Randall, arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; harp, performed by Sheila Bromberg, and string section on "She's Leaving Home", arranged by Mike Leander and conducted by Martin; tabla by Natwar Soni, dilrubas by Anna Joshi and Amrit Gajjar, and tambura by Buddhadev Kansara on "Within You Without You", with eight violins and four cellos arranged and conducted by Harrison and Martin; clarinet trio on "When I'm Sixty-Four": Robert Burns, Henry MacKenzie, Frank Reidy, arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; saxophones on "Good Morning Good Morning", arranged and conducted by Martin and Lennon; and forty-piece orchestra, including strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion on "A Day in the Life", arranged by Martin, Lennon and McCartney, and conducted by Martin and McCartney
• Musical style: Rock and roll, pop, folk rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, avant-garde rock, progressive rock
• Sound: I don't even know where to start... I think the revolutionary significance of this album is hard to understand in this day and age.  It quite literally completely changed the musical landscape of the 1960s.  For me, it is an album of unequivocally musical joy; simply wonderful from beginning to end and is very much a definitive album of my childhood and adulthood!  In a word, BRILLIANT!
• Major themes: A concept album of sorts, themes on the album include adventure, friendship, love, music, life, joy, loss, desire, mind expansion, introspection, knowledge, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
2. "With A Little Help From My Friends"
3. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"
4. "Getting Better"
5. "Fixing A Hole"
6. "She's Leaving Home"
7. "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!"
8. "Within You Without You"
9. "When I'm Sixty-Four"
10. "Lovely Rita"
11. "Good Morning Good Morning"
12. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)"
13. "A Day In The Life"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Proper Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.properbrewingco.com/ 
• Brew: Sgt. Proper's Porter
• Style: English-style Porter
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• IBUs: 22
• Ingredients: Chocolate malt, Malted Oats, Maris Otter Pale Malt, English Ale Yeast, and Galena and Mt. Hood Hops 
• Pour: The Sgt. Proper's Porter pours a deep, dark brown (almost ink black) with a creamy and billowy, 2-finger, light mocha head with great retention and lots of sudsy, sticky lacing.
• Nose: The nose of the Sgt. Proper's Porter is characterized by rich and hearty roasty, toasty, and malty notes.  There are aromas of roasted and bready malts, toasted bread, dark roasted coffee, espresso, dark chocolate, a hint of liquid smoke, oak, and soft caramel/toffee. 
• Taste: Like the nose, the taste of the Sgt. Proper's Porter is roasty, toasty, malty, and slightly smoky.  There are notes of dark roasted malt, dark roasted coffee, hearty multi-grain, toasted bread, hints of dark chocolate, and hints of sweet biscuit and toffee. 
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Sgt. Proper's Porter is velvety smooth with a dry, slightly smoky and bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The Sgt. Proper's Porter is a classic English-style porter.  It is very hearty and bold, yet a very drinkable and delicious brew... perfect for kicking back on a Sunday afternoon with the truly brilliant "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles!

Cheers!!