January 26th, 2024 - All The World's A Stage for the Rush Canadian Golden Ale

 

Hello and happy Friday rockers, rollers, and craft brew fans!  The Meista here today getting the weekend off to the right start with a pairing of the brilliant "All The World's A Stage", the 1st live album by the mighty Rush and a tasty, spicy, citrusy, and very crushable Rush Canadian Golden Ale from the fine folks at Henderson Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!  And this pairing is dedicated to my friend John Springer... thanks so very much for the beer and great conversation brother!!  Cheers!

Album Info:

• Artist: Rush
• Title: "All The World's A Stage"
• Recorded: June 11th through 13th, 1976 at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada
• Release date: September 29th, 1976 (1st live album by Rush)
• Record company: Anthem Records 
• Production: Terry Brown and Rush
• Album cover art: Hugh Syme
• Personnel: Geddy Lee (bass and lead vocals), Alex Lifeson (electric and acoustic guitars), and Neil Peart (drums and percussion)
• Musical style: Progressive metal, progressive rock, hard rock
• Sound: Complex, inventive, imaginative, and totally rocking, "All The Worlds A Stage" is an amazing live performance that captures not only the brilliance of Rush's songwriting, but the vigor and intensity of these musicians in their early years as a band!  I really cannot convey in words how incredibly important this album was to me as a teenager and still is to this very day!  "Impressionable" is most definitely an understatement! 
• Major themes: Life, death, independence, knowledge, truth, honesty, fantasy, sci-fi, good vs. evil, music, self-reliance, freedom, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Bastille Day"
2. "Anthem"
3. "Fly By Night / In The Mood"
4. "Something For Nothing"
5. "Lakeside Park"
6. "2112"
• "I. Overture"
• "II. The Temples Of Syrinx"
• "III. Discovery"
• "IV. Presentation"
• "V. Oracle: The Dream"
• "VI. Soliloquy"
• "VII. Grand Finale"
7. "By-Tor And the Snow Dog"
8. "In The End"
9. "Working Man / Finding My Way"
10. "What You're Doing"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Henderson Brewing Company (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
• Website: https://shophendersonbrewing.com/collections/rush
• Brew: Rush Canadian Golden Ale
• Style: Rye Golden Ale
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.5% 
• Pour: The Rush Canadian Golden Ale pours a slightly hazy, golden yellow hue with a billowy, bright white, 1+ finger head with great retention and loads of intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a wonderfully aromatic blend of earthy, spicy, and citrusy notes with more subtle floral and grassy characteristics.  There are aromas of black tea, orange peel, pine resin, freshly baked rye bread, crackery grain, and light caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Rush Golden Ale follows the nose with lots of tasty rye, piney, floral, malty, and citrusy flavors.  There are notes of orange pith and peel, lemon zest, black tea, pine, rye bread and bread crust, black and white pepper, and light caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied and well carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Rush Golden Ale is very crisp, refreshing, and smooth with a dry, peppery, and somewhat bitter finish.

Overall pairing: Along with the very obvious reason for this pairing, the delicious, bright, spicy, earthy and invitingly crushable aromas and flavors of Henderson's Rush Canadian Golden Ale are perfect for the complex, yet heavy-duty rockin' hard rock/metal of Rush's phenomenal "All The World's A Stage"!  Those bright, crisp flavors go so very well with Lifeson's crunchy and soaring guitars, Peart's intricate drum patterns, complex, yet swinging bass lines, and Geddy's unique and soaring vocal performance!

Cheers!!