July 27th, 2023 - An Original Ritterguts Portrait Of Gose Madness

 

Greetings metal maniacs and craft beer fans!  Your drinking buddy the Meista here pairing "A Portrait Of Madness", the killer sophomore album by metal outfit Absolon and a tasty, salty, and tart Original Ritterguts Gose from Ritterguts in partnership with Brauerei Reichenbrand!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Absolon
• Title: "A Portrait Of Madness" 
• Recorded: 2022 in Chicago, Illinois and Bad Nauheim, Germany
• Release date: October 25th, 2022 (2nd full-length studio album by Absolon)
• Record company: No Life 'til Metal Records / Roxx Records
• Production: Ken Pike 
• Album cover art: Ryo Pike 
• Personnel: Ken Pike (lead vocals), Ryo Pike, (synthesizers, piano, and orchestration), and Marc Vanderberg (guitars and bass)
• Musical style: Heavy metal, progressive metal, symphonic power metal
• Sound: In the tradition of Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Queensryche, the sound on "A Portrait Of Madness" is thoughtful, dynamic, and complex, yet totally rocking! It is characterized by soaring and fiery guitars, ethereal keys and orchestration, and Pike's amazing vocal acrobatics!
• Major themes: A concept album about a World War I English vet who is "possessed by a dark entity" he has brought back from the war, themes on the album include insanity, war, trauma, possession, manipulation, evil, darkness, terror, death, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Into The Darkness"
2. "This Is My Dream"
3. "Breathe Again"
4. "1916"
5. "The Demon Waltz"
6. "Let Me Be"
7. "We Drive You Out"
8. "The Men In Black Robes"
9. "Blinded By Lies"
10. "It Is Done"
11. "Into My Hell You Cast"
12. "Forever One"
13. "Out Of The Darkness"
14. "Randolph's Story"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ritterguts in partnership with Brauerei Reichenbrand (Chemnitz, Germany)
• Website: https://www.leipziger-gose.com/en/
• Brew: Original Ritterguts Gose 
• Style: German Gose
• Serving:  ounce bottle
• ABV: 4.7% 
• IBUs: 10
• Ingredients: Gose yeast, wheat malts, coriander, and salt 
• Pour: The Original Ritterguts Gose pours a slightly hazy, light golden orange hue with a billowy and frothy, 2+ finger, bright white head with great retention and lots of sticky intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by fruity, tart, salty, slightly sweet, spicy, and light grain elements.  There are aromas of lemon juice and zest, orange zest, coriander, brine, and light cracked wheat.
• Taste: The taste of the Original Ritterguts Gose follows the nose with lots of fruity, tart, and lightly salty and spicy flavors.  There are notes of lemon juice and zest, orange zest, pear, light peach, coriander, and salt.
• Mouthfeel: Light-bodied with good carbonation, the mouthfeel of the Original Ritterguts Gose is very crisp, juicy, tart, and a little salty with a dry, lip-puckering finish.

Overall pairing: The Original Ritterguts Gose is a tart and crisp brew with lots of salt, spice, and fruit flavor, which makes it a great beer to throw back to the intensity of the riffs, dynamic and emotive vocals, soaring keys and orchestration, and thunderous rhythm section of Absolon's wonderful and complex "A Portrait Of Madness" album!  'Nuff said! 

Cheers and hails!

And make sure to check out my interview with Ken Pike here: https://youtu.be/m6dIWs5gD20