Hop-Heavy: Juice Dust & Korn
Image by Nick M.W.
Staying true to flavor and to sound.
Brewery: Elysian Brewing Company (Seattle, WA)
Artist: Korn
Beer: “Juice Dust” (8.2% ABV)
Song: “Ball Tongue”
Do you respect a sellout? Can you understand why someone would choose money over their artistic principles? Can you respect a move like that?
Nick, you like Metallica, right?
Fact. I do. I respect their talent, and I dig their sound, but I know they’re in it for the dough, and that’s fine. Dudes gotta eat. I know where they stand when the money is on the table, and I like plenty of other artists who make music for the masses. But, I have more respect for artists who stay true to their style even if it means they are leaving money on the table. I’m not even sure I could make that choice for myself because a chunk of money would change my life. Real G’s, like Korn, live in a space of authenticity. Sure, Korn hit late 90s MTV mainstream gold with bangers like “Got the Life” and “Freak On a Leash”, but that was already after they had established their unique sound and image. You can’t fake Bakersfield.
Many Korn songs are a perfect match for drinking, but I pulled one for this joint because of its backstory, and because it slaps. “Ball Tongue” is the second track off Korn’s self-titled debut album. This raw piece of music changed metal. Haters will tell you it was for the worse because of Korn’s far inferior nu metal offspring, but some of us like a bit of personal torment mixed in with our riffs and rhythm section.
According to guitarist Brian Welch, famously known as “Head”, “Ball Tongue” was the nickname of the owner of a practice space Korn utilized when they were coming up. “Ball Tongue” would go on to become the band’s tour manager for a minute before getting fired. Welch wrote in his autobiography Save Me From Myself, that “Ball Tongue” would get so smashed when they would all party that he could barely talk. He would just sit, frozen with his mouth agape and his unique tongue on display. Funny story. The song “Ball Tongue” opens with a crush before sliding in a motherfucker of a groove. It is heavy and smooth.
Much like this Korn banger, Elysian Brewing Company out of Seattle does nothing but make heavy beer taste smooth. I have spent many a wonderful day sipping on their hoppy “Space Dust” at Dodger Stadium, but I recently had the pleasure of tasting the next level juicy haze, “Juice Dust”. Folks, this brewskie will take you on a journey. Little bits of orange pour out with the beer as it fills your cup. That’s always a good sign for a juicy haze. The can’s label claims that the beer’s “vibrant, juicy fruit-driven flavor” will assist in illuminating “all your interstellar journeys”. I’m sure if you drink two of these you’ll clear the stratosphere, and any more after that will just propel you further into the cosmos. Who drinks beer to stay grounded anyway?
