August 10th, 2023 - A Grand Bavarian In The Court Of The Crimson King

 

Guten abend!  Your drinking pal the Meista here pairing "In The Court Of The Crimson King", the debut album by seminal progressive rock band King Crimson with a spicy and tasty Grand Bavaria Grand Bavaria Bavarian Style Hefeweizen from Red Rock Brewery!  Holle ja!

Album Info:

• Artist: King Crimson
• Title: "In The Court Of The Crimson King" (subtitled "An Observation by King Crimson")
• Recorded: June through August 1969 in Wessex, London
• Release date: October 10th, 1969 (1st studio album by King Crimson)
• Record company:  Island Records / Atlantic Records / E.G. 
• Production: King Crimson
• Album cover art: Barry Godber 
• Personnel: Robet Fripp (guitars), Michael Giles (drums, percussion, and backing vocals), Greg Lake (bass and lead vocals), Ian McDonald (saxophone, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, Mellotron, harpsichord, piano, organ, vibraphone, backing vocals, and co-lead vocals on "I Talk to the Wind"), and Peter Sinfield (lyrics and "illumination")
• Musical style: Progressive rock with elements of jazz fusion, hard rock, and classical
• Sound: "In The Court Of The Crimson King" stripped away the blues roots of the rock music popular at the time and "fused" improvisational jazz, classical symphonic music, and heavy rock.  Pete Townshend of the Who once called the album "an uncanny masterpiece".  Revolutionary at the time, this album's enduring qualities are far-reaching.  You can still hear its influence today in the music of multiple bands in multiple genres.  Musically, the sound is wonderfully complex and challenging.  Sinfield once stated, "[W]e had an Ethos in Crimson... we just refused to play anything that sounded anything like a Tin Pan Alley record. If it sounded at all popular, it was out. So it had to be complicated, it had to be more expansive chords, it had to have strange influences. If it sounded, like, too simple, we'd make it more complicated, we'd play it in 7/8 or 5/8, just to show off".
• Major themes: The future, introspection, life, death, mythology, dreams, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man (including Mirrors)"
2. "I Talk To The Wind"
3. "Epitaph (including March For No Reason and Tomorrow And Tomorrow)"
4. "Moonchild (including The Dream and The Illusion)"
5. "The Court Of The Crimson King (including The Return Of The Fire Witch and The Dance Of The Puppets)"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Red Rock Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://redrockbrewing.com/
• Brew: Grand Bavaria Bavarian Style Hefeweizen
• Style: German Hefeweizen / Bavarian Weissbier
• Serving: ounce bottle
• ABV: 5%
• Ingredients: German malted wheat, German yeast strain, and premium two row barley
• Pour: It pours a hazy, rather pale golden-yellow with a medium sized, creamy white head that dissipates quickly and displays only trace lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by aromas of hearty wheat, soft vanilla, banana esters, and citrus (orange and lemon). 
• Taste: A classic Hefeweizen flavor in the German tradition, the Grand Bavaria is full of clove, banana, citrus, bready dough, and apple/pear rind flavor.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with good carbonation, the mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, and somewhat spicy with a slightly dry finish.

Overall pairing:  The spicy, fruity, and refreshing flavor of the Grand Bavaria from Red Rock Brewing Company is an excellent beer to throw back with the mighty, rockin' progressive prowess of the indelible King Crimson! 

Prost!!