The next pick is a double act from the very talented Counting Crows. The album pick is the deluxe edition of their debut studio album “August and Everything After”, which includes the band's penultimate performance during the August tour, recorded at the Élysée Montmartre in Paris, France, on December 9, 1994.
 
This album is full of both dominant pop harmonies and rich, hearty ballads, all thanks to lead singer Adam Duritz. I knew of the band because the track “Mr Jones” from the album; which is a song that most people in the world would recognise; but I didn’t get a sense of how good they were until I heard the album in full, starting with the stark and beautiful, yet lonely sounding "Round Here" which captured the band's honest yet subtle talent for singing ballads.
 
The opening track “Round Here”; immediately stops you with the brilliance of this track, a track that gives goosebumps to those who hear it. The track “Raining in Baltimore” really showcases how well a song can convey mood when tempo is removed. The vocal delivery from Adam Duritz is really something to behold, and puts this album right up there with the best albums of the 90’s.
 
Now for the beers, and the studio album brew is the Milk Stout from Exit Brewing. The lactose added to this beer leaves a slightly residual sweet balance to the beer, with really tasty milk chocolate and vanilla bean aromas;  with brilliant layers of cocoa, vanilla and toffee. The use of Ale, Chocolate, Melanoidin, Dark Crystal, Rolled Oat and  Roasted Barley malts together with Simcoe and Chinook hops gives all the good things a dark beer needs.
 
The live album needs something on another level, so the brew for this is the “iStout Affogato” from 8 Wired Brewing. This brew is all in with the good things, and like the live album takes you into something powerful, melodic and very good. The beer is full of roasted coffee and chocolate malt flavours. The beer also has a really good balance of bitterness and bold hoppy freshness, with perfect additions of lactose, coffee, and vanilla in the brew.

Image Courtesy of @trooper.beers.tunes

@trooper.beers.tunes

Two guys from Melbourne
° Review Music New, classic or nostalgic
° Pair it with local or Indy Craft Beer
° Live & real experiences in the Craft World