Cruisin' for a Brewsin'

Cruising With Ruben and The Jets is the latest Mothers of Invention album featured on a bottle of Lagunitas Brewing Company beer. This one is a big, rich, black beer, somewhat like a sweet stout or porter. They call it "BoppaDooAyDoo Style Ale" and rate it at 8.6% abv. Yow-za! That's some kick-ass brew. (There's a note from 26 August 2006 on the Zappa website about the first beer in the series, Freak Out! I blogged about the Lagunitas--Zappa convergence on 23 Feb and 10 Aug of this year after we discovered Lumpy Gravy in the Ashland co-op.) "Cruising" is a potent drink, but not over-the-top undrinkable. I'm not a fan of high-alcohol beers, but I do like flavorful ones, and "Cruising" has plenty of flavor. We had to play the album and listen to the Mothers sing doo-wop. Songs like "Deseri" and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" and "Anyway The Wind Blows" are as timeless as anything else in the Zappa canon. The label celebrates the 4oth anniversary of the record's release--looking forward to the whole collection!

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