Pairing Beer & Music: Like A Villain

This weekend’s Malt Ball is going to be awesome. Organized by Portland Mercury, Oregon brewers are invited to create beer inspired by rockin’ bands and musicians. The event is this Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Wonder Ballroom, and features 12 bands paired with 12 exclusive beers for 12 hours of music. Read below for more info about the Hopworks beer and music pairing. Get your tickets here.

We were paired with Like A Villain, an ambient and orchestral solo act by artist Holland Andrews. Our brewer Matt Speckenbach, he likes to be called “Speck,” dug into the Like A Villain catalog. Holland plays clarinets, drums, sings, loops, and much more while slowly building layers of sound that grow and swell and become haunting, magical, and wild. Speck after being reminded of the sirens in Homer’s Odyssey, decided to make a braggot. Odysseus being warned by Circe about the sirens, put beeswax in his crew’s ears so that they could pass by safely.

As the Mercury points out, Speck “decided to use honey to mirror the beeswax Odysseus’ sailors stopped their ears with, and made a braggot—an ancient Welsh style with connotations of druidism and early fermentation styles. Sounds perfectly paired to an album like Bast, named for an ancient Egyptian goddess.”

We just taste-tested the braggot, named “Circe’s Warning,” and it is delicious! The beer turned out bright and is easily approachable. The flavors and textures begin to pile on top of each other and and send you in different directions. The braggot was brewed with Fuggle, Chinook, and Amarillo hops, NW wildflower honey, caramel malts, and dry hopped with German Hall Melon hops. The beer is 6.3% abv and 26 IBU.

Speck’s final thoughts on the beer: “Be like Odysseus and brave the bold sonic waves of Like A Villain!”

Like A Villain plays during the second showcase, this Saturday between 8pm – 1am. Cheers!

Get your tickets to Malt Ball here.