Reignwolf’s “Are You Satisfied?” cover art – Credit: Reignwolf via Facebook

Jordan Cook’s musical alias Reignwolf has been upgraded from a solo project to a full-fledged touring band as his music spreads like wildfire throughout the digital world via blogs, Spotify playlists, and various social media outlets.

The gritty blues styling of Reignwolf is awe-inspiring, the live shows are hypnotizing, and their new single “Are You Satisfied?” has a gravitational pull on your eardrums. The song starts out slow, lethargic like a man trying to spit out his last words and within a minute you get hit with the drums and crescendo. The bridge and chorus in this single offer variants in tempo which easily keeps the listener intrigued, not to mention Cook’s rugged vocals that invoke the mustiness of a broken-in leather jacket and a pack of Marlboros.

The bad boy image certainly can be seen on various Iron Horse Brewing’s labels, like Decision Maker Pale Ale or their Quilter’s Irish Death. The typography Iron Horse uses is just as gritty and unpolished as Cook’s facial hair, which begs the question; Would you view either Reignwolf or Iron Horse in the same light if they were in fact polished? Or is the fact that they are both slightly rebellious what makes us root for them even more?

Reignwolf is still currently on tour, check out their website for shows near you.

Iron Horse Brewery’s Decision Maker Pale Ale – Photo credit: Lindsey Scully

Beer: Decision Maker

Brewery: Iron Horse Brewery

Style: Pale Ale

ABV: 5.2%

Iron Horse Brewing created their Decision Maker Pale Ale for The Beer Shoppe’s anniversary, a local bottle shop in Ellensburg, WA. It is a very hop-forward pale ale with a sweet, malty forefront. It pours a dark honey color similar to sap with eggshell foamy head, it was extremely carbonated and overflowed on both pours. The head clung to the glass the entire time we sampled it and was thick like the foam on a dry cappuccino. The aroma was very floral and hoppy with a slight citrus to it. Decision Maker is an unfiltered beer which led to a very hazy pour, no floating yeasts were in our glass though.

The initial sip was quite sweet, almost like honey but immediately followed up with the velvety malt. The ending had a ever-so-slight hoppy bitterness that made you instinctively reach for the glass to take another drink.

The name ‘Decision Maker’ seems to go quite well with the story in Reignwolf’s “Are You Satisfied?” lyrics, a one-sided relationship where one partner is tiring of being the one who provides and gives their all just to not get anything reciprocated. We envision Reignwolf throwing back a couple Decision Makers while penning out their thoughts in the song and coming to the realization that a change is indeed needed. After all, the bottle even states “A beer that knows what you want.”

Afterthought: If you are on the East Coast and can not find Iron Horse Brewing we highly recommend seeking out Flying Dog’s Doggie Style Pale Ale.We no longer get Flying Dog in Washington, so enjoy one for us!