HEAVY HANGOVER

Horns Up for Mad Callista

With the ever expanding world of craft beer walking hand in hand with the constantly morphing likes and dislikes of the metal community, I expend my horizon to introduce not only the band related beers and genre woven breweries, I also dive into the world of all referring to our style and (sub) culture.

As metal heads we are proud of our history and proud of who we are and what we stand for. The legacy of iconic bands and performers is deeply embedded in our guts and emotional we guard everything ‘metal’. It’s not only a lifestyle it is a way of life beyond comparison. We cling to our symbols as proven by the uproar caused by KISS’ Gene Simmons who wanted to trademark Ronnie James’ devils horns sign. The sign that became benchmark for metal heads around the globe, crossing all musical boundaries without prejudice falling onto users. Dio made it famous during his career as a sign to connect with his audience. It supposedly was an answer to his popular predecessor’s (Ozzy) use of the peace sign during his Black Sabbath era. Later Dio explained it was the sign his Italian grandmother used to ward off the evil eye (malocchio) and bad luck. One thing is certain: RJD however made it famous and embedded it deeply in the metal culture. With Gene Simmons’ claim to have it trademarked we all surpassed the fact that he, unlike Dio, always uses the thumb on the side. Both are closely connected and randomly used worldwide, but the turmoil created instantly proved the emotional connection of metal heads with their sign and the legacy of Dio. Funny enough nobody ever gets disgruntled when the sign turns up on merchandise or advertising, band –or brand related. This common acceptance conflicts with the above, but we all hail the products bearing our devil’s horns. Thus it is rather safe to embark onto the craft beer terrain and the usage of the horns on labels:



CRAFTWERK BREWING GERMANY
MAD CALLISTA
Session Lager
3.9 % ABV
Craftwerk Brewing uses the DIO variant of the famous horns gesture in cobalt-ish blue on charcoal black/grey background. Simple, yet subtle. “That’s Hop ‘n Roll!” proclaims the brewer on its label. Mad Callista is a session lager, and I have to admit it bearing the sign is an addition to the spirit of what it stands for. Rest assured…
It enthuses me to see the German classic beer market also hopping onto the craft beer wagon towards the future. Their long lasting Pilsener culture ‘withheld’ innovation due to the strict appliance of the Reinheitsgebot, limiting brewers to explore usage of new ingredients and brewing methods of enriching flavours. I know that’s pretty abstract put and the truth isn’t black nor white, the grey area of craft beer brewers however needed acceptance of the stubborn market and regulations to thrive. I’m very happy to see the expansion of their market and already have been introduced to numerous jaw dropping new craft beers from the German brewers.

This Mad Callista was one I picked up on my hunt for beers to present on our Beers and Beverages section and it’s proven to be a wonderful choice indeed. With only 3.9 percent it has low alcohol percentage, but the explosion of taste compensates that graciously. The beer pours a thick and solid white head that remains. Beauty is in the eye of the eye of the beholder, but the white topping the golden, slightly hazy, body it is a pleasant sight for the eyes. The high carbonation of the beer immediately unleashes a rich tickling perfume with fruity notes and citrus. Both are also present in taste, which enrols exquisitely. The fruity nose turns tropical with passion fruit / maracuja and pineapple in the front and hops remotely colouring the exquisite palette. Lemon grass and citrus balance out nicely, IPA pretentious. A light bitter finish turns the tropical character into a grapefruit-like ending that is moderately lasting. The beer is very refreshing and although very fruity, the embedded malts and hops give it a nice round body.

Overall this Mad Callista is an IPA rather than a lager, and it’s round body and fruity flavours perhaps don’t add to the dark character of the label, but there’s more to metal than just darkness and evil. This beer is very exquisite and recommended, perfectly matching metal’s more epic melodic outings. Leatherwolf was playing with my first bottle tasting and perfectly matched my mood. The second and third bottle also poured and by then I switched to Burning Witches as their Euro tour is drawing near. At the stroke of midnight, the devil’s horns became more present while the Witches chanted their pagan spells and Netflix playing.

Nights can be very dark and beautiful once enjoyed with a sweet and refreshing beer.
—