New Belgian Brewing Co.: CLUTCH (Lips of Faith)

I've always thought it a bit odd for a brewery and a band to collaborate. Lagunitas named a series of beers after Frank Zappa albums, but that was done in celebration of the 40th anniversary of each album. And while I have heard of breweries naming beers after the spirit of certain genre's (and of course Decibel Magazine's inaugural edition of Brewtal Truth, in which styles of beer were compared to sub-genre's of metal), this seems new to me.

The maker's of the some of the most medicore beer in the USA has continued to surprise me with their Lips of Faith Series. How can the makers of Fat Tire simultaneous produce fine, well crafted Belgian styled beers is beyond me. Whatever it is, it's working.

While on a recent excursion to Portland, Oregon I picked up the gem at the famed Belmont Station. Lips of Faith has collaborated Maryland's Clutch on a new beer, a dark sour ale to be exact. They had me at the logo. You may be asking how does such a collaboration occur? It's not uncommon for a band to be fueled by beer, and maybe fans with a good ear for booze can detect the elixir's influence on the band. So perhaps the inverse can happen to the beer.

This beer pours a viscous black with some tan head scatters shortly after its arrival. Big notes of coffee, toffe, some caramel malts and dare I throw in chocolate, for the hell of it. There is also just a hint of wild yeast.

I haven't had many sour dark beers, not this dark, but the good ones are top notch. Allow me to add Clutch (the beer) to this exclusive group. This drinks like a stout and a sour. Dry start, nice smooth sour finish. Some subtle wood notes in the middle. Towards the end the sour notes begin to wash over what little stout flavors survive. I suppose I could describe the this beer as a battle between bass and treble, in which J.P. (the band's drummer) on the skins comes out the victor. There's some sweet notes that linger, but the wood and the sour seem to really dominate this palate. No complaints, though. The bitterness of the hops and chocolate notes seem to really help carry the sour flavors, which are dominant, but not overpowering. After letting this beer sit a bit the roasted malts make themselves known, but still cannot compete.

I don't know how they do it, but the guys at New Belgian Brewing know how to make a good sour. And not just a good sour, an accessible sour. Trying to match a beer to a band's personality is definitely challenging, if not interesting task, but most of all a fun one. I'd be interesting in seeing how the Minutemen get translated into beer.

Clutch: Pure Rock Fury

Clutch don't exactly get a bad rep in my circle, but I constantly find myself defending their honor. Let's get it straight: Clutch rules, and you know it. I got into the band right after Elephant Riders came out. It was unlike anything I'd listen to at that point. I was 14 and my untinged ears liked what they heard. Shortly after, I picked up their next album, Pure Rock Fury, which had just been released.

Let this album be a lesson to you all on how a modern day album becomes great. Clutch thrives in a live setting. This album attempts to bring their live shows into a studio setting. The combined live recordings and mixed it with studio work. It's not cheating, but collaging together the best of both worlds. What came out at the end is probably one of the rawest hardrock albums in the last 15 years. This the album where I learned what it mean when the amps peaked. (For whatever reason, I hadn't fully got into the Melvins at this point and the lesson was relearned shortly after)

I feel as if the sounds created on this album have not been recreated by anyone, not even the band. I remember reading and interview regarding this album and Niel Fallon referenced Black Flag, Bad Brains and the Cro-Mags as influences on this album. It took me a while to realize what he meant. It was the approach taken by 80s hardcore bands, the attitude, not so much the actual music. Clutch hadn't released a live album by the point, although they would shortly. This was the next best thing, possibly better.

The album captures a rare moment in the band's career. They had slowly moved away from the noise and grooved filled post metal and into a grooved filled heavy blue rock band, and then they made this album. It's heavy, but different. (Two steps forward, one step back) The songs present a more cacophonous atmosphere, and not just due to the recording process. Tim Sult's guitar work seemed slightly agressive, no matter what style he played, and the rest of the band followed.

Dare I say this was the band in their prime? In a sense, yes. The albums that followed slowly took a different direction, certainly not for the worst. This album seems to culminate their beginnings up until the release of this album. It's harsh, it's fast, it's stock full of their classic grove jams and Fallons prolific lyrics. Definite check out 'Pure Rock Fury', 'Brazenhead' and 'Drink to the Dead'. These three tracks really do the trick.