25. Can and Allagash Curieux (Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel)

I have been slacking on this project, apologies. As an attempt to move forward this kicks off a countdown of sorts. The next 25 posts will be my 25 favorite bands paired with 25 of my favorite beers. The order will be based on the bands vice the beer, but all quality guaranteed regardless.

To kick this whole project off at #25 is CAN. This may seem odd to take their catalog as a whole as you can definitely split CAN's output from the Malcolm Mooney records to the "classic" records when Damo came on board. However, I am of the opinion that though both front men deserve credit for being two of the best of their time, the backbone of the band with Shmidt, Czukay and Liebezit were what made CAN truly great. As such, it doesn't matter if you throw on Monster Movie or Ege Bamyasi, you are still going to have your mind blown.

Chances are if you are reading this I probably don't need to really convince you of CAN's brilliance. It is generally accepted (and deserved). However, if for some unknown reason you need convincing take a listen to "Yoo Doo Right" and "Oh Yeah". A listen to each of those will do way more for you than any amount of praise I can levy here on this page.

So, jumping ahead to the pairing explanation here.  CAN is so often hit with the "krautrock" tag which I just don't buy into honestly. The influence of Terry Riley and LaMonte Young and Velvet Underground and just smoky hazy New York underground of the time is so prevalent, but they took it a step further and blended it with that extremely technical sort of exploration that was happening in Germany at the time and the result is unlike anything that had occurred before or since. It's strange, difficult music, but oddly accessible. Those rhythms are just so sweet and propel things along with a sort of sensibility that still allow a 22 minute side to feel like just a great song vice some sort of epic bit of exploratory wankery which is often the downfall of extended psych freak outs. I don't even like the freak out word there, as they were always in control, which again comes back to that technical ability and restraint--maybe the result of the Stockhausen teachings, I don't know. Wherever it came from it is perfect.

How does that relate to the excellent Allagash offering here? Well, it's a Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel--not something you see too often. The idea of taking that very American bourbon and blending it with the technical brewing that is so common with Belgians is a huge risk, but in this case has huge dividend. The whiskey comes through, you get that smoky American hit (the NY influence if you will) with that perfectly spice cake sweet unmistakable Tripel taste (the technical playing of the band here) and the result is unlike any other beer out there. In addition, this thing sits at a killer 11%. A bomber of this should be a task to get through, but it goes down so easy. You can just find your pace with a bottle of this and kill a couple of hours no problem, much like what CAN accomplished with their ability to move their albums/tracks along, it's all in the rhythm.

I recommend undertaking this pairing alone, maybe with a significant other. Pour the Curieux into a tulip glass, get that nice hazy straw/goldenrod color leveled out, and then let the hazy tones of CAN come through the speaker. Just fucking chill, listen, nod your head and drink.