No. 12, the Bitter End of the IPA Reviews

The Champ gets the last taste.

From BCO Pix2

Starr Hill Northern Lights

Smell: Nice front end nose, citrus, though has a slight harshness to the end
Taste: Starts pretty smooth, then the bitterness hits and finishes like the smell, harsh
Lingering Effect: As it dries, the harshness does not go away.

I am unsure how this made it to thru. I will say that each sip got worse and worse. The first drink was an A- ... gradually slipping to a B. Harsh piny, not much floral or citrus and certainly not crisp.

Grade: B


The BCO End Rankings

1. Bear Republic Racer 5
2. Stone IPA
3. Bells Two Hearted
   
4. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
5. Green Flash West Coast IPA
6. Sweetwater IPA
   
7. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
8. Tyrenana Bitter Woman
9. Dogfish Head 60 Minute
10. Starr Hill Northern Lights
    
11. Founders Centennial
12. Victory Hop Devil

Now how they finished blindly in 2oz incriments.

1. Northern Lights
2. Loose Cannon
3. Sweetwater
4. Stone
5. Sierra Nevada
6. Racer5
7. Green Flash
8. Two Hearted
9. Centennial
10. Hop Devil
11. Bitter Woman
12. 60 min

Not even remotely close to how I reviewed them. Oh well. Any way, my podium 3 are ...

From BCO Pix2

From BCO Pix2

From BCO Pix2

Beer Summit IPA ... no. 10 & 11

No coincidence my 2 favorite IPA's pre-contest as well as the IPA tournament winner finishes the 12 mini reviews.

From BCO Pix2

Today, during the beer summit is Stone IPA, the no. 10 IPA.
(Too bad the other beers weren't as good, specially the Bud Light. Bud Light really ... damn.)

Smell: Not a huge nose, but aromatic with hints of pine and citrus.
Taste: Smooth, but intense this is a hop bomb explosion, finishes very crisp.
Lingering Effect: citrus and pine backend as it dries. Beer is about hops, not the malts. The true West Coast IPA

It is right there with Racer 5, but the sweetness Racer 5 has gives it a very slight edge. Ask again next week and I could change my mind. A great Stone brew that I would drink on any occasion.

Grade: A+

From BCO Pix2

No. 11, Bells Two Hearted

Smell: Piny, some citrus, smells great
Taste: Very good mouth feel, floral more than citrus or pine. Not complex but hops assertive.
Lingering Effect: Piny before drying into a wet finish. Great aftertaste, not overly bitter, citric.

Very Drinkable, as good as Racer 5 or Stone in it's own different way. Very, very tough choice to place it 3rd. There are no ties but if so, 1, 1a and 1b. Guess the crispness of Stone barely squeaks out 2 hearted. I might have to have a mini taste off between the 3.

Grade: A+


Well my 2 favorite IPA's have done well but a surprise 3rd is every bit as good. 11 down.

Ranking So Far

1. Bear Republic Racer 5
2. Stone IPA
3. Bells Two Hearted
   
4. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
5. Green Flash West Coast IPA
6. Sweetwater IPA
   
7. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
8. Tyrenana Bitter Woman
9. Dogfish Head 60 Minute
   
10. Founders Centennial
11. Victory Hop Devil

Next Starr Hill gets the night by itself, can the champ hold on? I voted for Northern Lights 1st in all 3 rounds. How will I like it solo? The top 3 will be a hard nut to crack, but you never know.

Numbers 8 & 9 of the 12 IPA's

From BCO Pix2

Number 8 Victory HopDevil

Smell: Malty and hoppy,
Taste: Slightly hoppy, lots and lots malt. piny backend. Not a hop bomb.
Lingering Effect: As much malt as hops that dries out to bitterness

It's ok, nothing special and hard to believe this was my favorite ipa for a time being 5 years or ago or so. I've fallen in deep love with the hop bombs and this isn't one of those. Gonna take some work to not finish last.

Grade: C+

From BCO Pix2

No. 9 Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Smell: Citrus and more Citrus and the funky Simcoe Hops smell
Taste: Nice bitterness and carbonation up front, toasted malt and then dryness finish.
Lingering Effect: Nutty, dry and mild floral bitterness

A big name but an average at best IPA. The 90 min is amazing the 60 ... ehh. Best choice at Rub Tuesday's but not at a beer bar.

Grade: B-


Ranking So Far

1. Bear Republic Racer 5
   
2. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
3. Green Flash West Coast IPA
4. Sweetwater IPA
   
5. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
6. Tyrenana Bitter Woman
7. Dogfish Head 60 Minute
   
8. Founders Centennial
9. Victory Hop Devil
   

ACC Media Days

or any other conferences is mostly just a circus for golf and drinks. Sounds like a great time if I were invited.

Lots of good info from all the blogs to the right about it. Less than 6 weeks out, getting that lovin' feelin'.

IPA no. 7 .... Really a 5

From BCO Pix2

Racer 5 by Bear Republic a five tool, five star IPA.

Smell: A solid but not overpowering citrus and floral scent
Taste: Hops are upfront but balanced and sweeter than most west coast IPA's.
Lingering Effect: Drinkable, smooth citrus and floral hops, bitterness lingers but for too long ... just enough to want another drink.

Very balanced, want hops, it's got it. Want sweetness and malt, got that too. Mostly citrus and floral hops but some pine flavors as well. The new leader in the clubhouse.

Grade: A+


Ranking So Far

1. Bear Republic Racer 5
   
2. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
3. Green Flash West Coast IPA
4. Sweetwater IPA
   
5. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
6. Tyrenana Bitter Woman
   
7. Founders Centennial

IPA Reviews No. 5 & 6!

First up in the 12 IPA review for today is ...

From BCO Pix2

Tyranena Bitter Woman

Before the review a lil story explaining the name.

Lest we forget Aunt Cal, an early resident of Lake Mills. Local history remembers her for blindly running into a hitching post and saying, "Excuse me, Dr. Dodge!" It was said that she was an old sweetheart of the famous American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. And she still had the love letters to prove it! Sadly, Aunt Cal never wed. We brewed our Bitter Woman IPA the way we imagine Aunt Cal may have been, very fruity and intensely bitter. So lift up a pint of Bitter Woman IPA and toast Aunt Cal and the bitter woman you know. Cheers!

Smell: Bitter hoppy with a strong malt touch as well. Piny but something is a bit off.
Taste: Bitter, piny, carbonated and bready taste
Lingering Effect: a lil dry, lots of carbonation hanging in the mouth. Piny bitter. Crisp.

A good IPA, but something, I think smell is a lil bit off. It doesn't doom it, but keeps it outta a top IPA category.

Grade: B+


I drank some water waited a hour .... ok, 45 mins and the 2nd tasting today was ...

From BCO Pix2

Sweetwater IPA

Smell: GRAPEFRUIT! Lots & lots of Grapefruit.
Taste: Sweet (duh, it is sweetwater brewing) grapefruit a lil pine taste, not a hop bomb or overly bitter.
Lingering Effect: Grapefruit fades a bit, the pine doesn't but it isn't over powering, slightly thin.

If into sweet, citrusy ipas, this is right up your alley. Drinkable fo' sho'. For me, it's ok, I wish it were a bit more piny and crisp and a lil less citrusy.

Grade: B+


Ranking So Far

1. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
2. Green Flash West Coast IPA
3. Sweetwater IPA
   
4. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
5. Tyrenana Bitter Woman
   
6. Founders Centennial

No. 4

Today's IPA Sierra Nevada's Torpedo. A new IPA offering from SN. Lots of people are liking it ... how will I?

From BCO pix

Smell: Not much smell, but what was there was of the piny variety
Taste: Lots of spicy piny hops up front, some sweetness in the middle, bitter
Lingering Effect: Starts hoppy, finishes hoppier. Drying.

A good IPA but not my favorite. Would like to give it a shot on draft.

Grade: B+

Ranking

1. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
2. Green Flash West Coast IPA
3. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
   
4. Founders Centennial

A Quarter thru the 12

Today its Balmer's Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3.

From BCO Pix2

smell: very low hop smell, some hints of pine and citrus
taste: stronger hop taste than smell, nice balance of piny bitter, floral and citrus. smooth.
lingering effect: very drinkable, crisp with a good dry hop back end and did I say smooth, already?

Highly recommended any chance you can get it, I can see why it made it the finals. Not an over the top hop bomb but certainly hoppy enough. huh? Just drink it.

Grade: A

Current Rankings

1. Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
2. Green Flash West Coast IPA
3. Founders Centennial

Wanna Nerd Out about the Hokie D?

From BCO Pix2

Read this. Dr. Saturday is a great columnist/blogger for college football and he breaks down Bud and his D.

You could successfully argue that the spread offense, both in its run-first and pass-first incarnations, was invented to counter the aggressive, eight-man front defense Virginia Tech made famous. In the nineties, many teams tried to emulate Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster's scheme, with its premium on defenders stacking the line to either stop the run or scare the offense into abandoning it and apologizing for having considered such a silly idea. Yet the spread has effectively run the eight-man front out of college football -- at least as a base defense -- with its reliance on quick, easy throws, quarterback runs and "speed in space" philosophy.

But here's the rub: While the defense Virginia Tech made en vogue was effectively countered, the actual schemes Beamer and Foster have put into practice in Blacksburg have evolved, year-in and year-out, to maintain the most dominant defensive legacy in the country: Since joining the ACC in 2004, the Hokie D has rebounded from subpar years in 2002 and 2003 to finish in the top-10 nationally in both yards and points allowed five years in a row -- despite overhauling their base defensive scheme, to zero fanfare. To understand what the Hokies do now, it helps to first understand what they used to do.

Raleigh Hokie of the TSL subscriber articles and message boards gives his blessing on this article. Don't know who Raleigh is, well he is an extremely knowledgeable football fan. He studies schemes and knows them so well, Bud Foster seeks him out to talk. I've learned a whole lot reading him, worth TSL subscription alone.

No. 2 of the 12 IPA's

Yesterday a lukewarm review of Founders Centennial, today Green Flash's West Coast IPA.

From BCO Pix2

smell: sweetish, grapefruity and some pine
taste: bitter, floral, piny and a bit oily
lingering effect: lots of spice pine flavors that are mouth drying

An excellent IPA, no damn clue how it bombed the first round. Would seek this out on draft.

Grade: A

Ranking

1. Green Flash
2. Founders

Some College Football

Part 2 of my Southernpigskin Ultimate ACC Roadtrip got dropped on the site on Wednesday.

From BCO Pix2

Link here.

Enjoy.

I want to tailgate, sample the local cuisine, the local craft beer and of course the football, each team, stadium and atmosphere in the Atlantic Coast Conference. So far no one has stepped up to finance my dream trip, that’s probably a good thing as I would like to stay married. For those in your early 20’s and between jobs, look at this as a guideline to how you should spend your fall.
.....
Week Nine
Thursday, October 29th
Virginia Tech vs North Carolina, Blacksburg, Va
*Tailgate food: Stadium Smoked Turkey Legs
*Tailgate craft brew: Blue Mountain Evil 8 Dubbel

Saturday, October 31st
Vanderbilt vs Georgia Tech, Nashville, Tn
*Tailgate food: Jack’s Texas Sweet Heat BBQ
*Tailgate craft brew: Yazoo Sly Rye Porter

Want big plays, excitement and ratings on ESPN Thursday nights, head to Blacksburg. Go light on the tailgate food and save your appetite for Stadium Smoked Turkey legs. They are amazing. This game is going to be great one. The ACC schedule makers did Carolina no favors in their quest to top VT by giving them the Thursday night special. Leaving Blacksburg two days before Halloween wouldn’t be an easy decision to make, unless it was for my first ever trip to Music City.

Leg one of this week’s trip is 581 miles, through four states, leg two in two days through two states isn’t much better at 419. One thousand miles and quite a few energy drinks, especially on Friday.

Making the Mountain West Baddass

From BCO Pix2

Was thinking bout the folks out west for some reason today. How can they be a part of the fun, year in, year out?

First, they need more than 9 teams, just like the Big East needs more than 8. 10 min to be a BCS level conference. They want inclusion, they want the money and I don't blame them. Can be argued both ways whether they deserve. I'll let you do that, I am playing hypothetical ... what can be done to knock that door open and make the BCS let them in.

The 9 members currently are Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, Texas Christian, Wyoming, BYU, San Diego State, UNLV and Utah.

The good: Utah, TCU, BYU
The avgerge: Air Force, CSU, UNLV
The bad: New Mexico, Wyoming, San Diego St

That's a bottom level BCS conference, most years and the others ... almost worthy of inclusion.

Let's get ballsy and have them go Super Mountain West, add Fresno State, Boise State and Nevada. That's 3 more good teams and better than the Big East every year and more than a couple years better than the Big1+10, ACC and Pac-10.

My Super Mountain West Divisions

East
Air Force
Colorado State
Wyoming
New Mexico
Texas Christian
Utah

West
Fresno State
Boise State
BYU
San Diego State
UNLV
Nevada

The west would be balls tough and may have to move Nevada or BYU for New Mexico or Wyoming for balance, even it throws off the east/west things.

As a college football, I want to see that. I also would like to see ECU and Central Florida to the Big East to give them 10, though 18 basketball teams would be stupid, even for them.

12 IPA's ... 1 at a Time

So last week I had my IPA Blind Taste Test Matchplay. After some Inventory I had at least 1 of every beer left over. So why not grade them, 1 beer at a time, 1 night at a time.

Competing flavors do not affect other beers ... for good or bad. I will not try to get too geeky, just what I think of it quickly and give the beer a letter grade.

The 12 to be reviewed:
Stone IPA
Greenflash IPA
Sweetwater IPA
Bells Two Hearted
Bear Republic Racer 5
Sierra Nevada Torpedo
Dogfish Head 60
Victory Hop Devil
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3
Tyranena Bitter Woman
Founders Centennial
Starr Hill Northern Lights

From BCO Pix2

Tonight, the beer randomly chosen is Founders Centennial.
An ok smell, a bit bitter. A bitter, piny, oily not a sweet, citrusy IPA. Good drink ability but better savored. Would not make a can't miss IPA at a bar for me, but would drink it gladly if the selection were not good.

Grade: B

Another IPA tomorrow.


Hop Rod Rye in 12oz!!

From BCO Pix2

Hell yeah, my favorite beer I can now get in the small version, cause some nights I just want a lil taste not a deuce deuce bomber. This will lead me to drink more. $51 a case though. This beer rates as an A+++++.

Sweet 2010!

From BCO Pix2

According to Richmond's WTVR, BCO and friends will be rocking Fedex Field the first college football weekend in 2010 vs the Broncos of Boise State. The Broncos ass kicking O vs the Hokie ass kicking D. Great matchup. Not an easy game with VT playing the favorites, not the way the Hokies usually play their best. Interesting.

From BCO Pix2

Heard this yesterday, also heard they were coming to Lane in 2011, apparently not so. Still an opening in the 2011 schedule.

We rocked it hard in a loss vs USC in 2004. I hope, hope, hope it's another night game so I can get my drinks on in that hot as parking lot! D gonna hook us up with Gold circle seats again?

The Spread

Some ESPN articles on their front page concerning the spread got me a lil excited (not Erin Andrews peep hole excited mind you,) so I thought I'd link and comment a bit.

From BCO Pix2

46 teams outta 120 in D1 run a version of the spread. ESPN link here.

Here are the 24 BCS conferences teams that are:

ACC
Clemson: Spread
Georgia Tech: Triple-option spread

Big 12
Baylor: Spread passing offense
Iowa State: Spread passing offense
Kansas: Spread passing offense
Missouri: Spread passing offense
Oklahoma State: Spread passing offense
Texas: Spread passing offense
Texas Tech: Air Raid passing offense

Big East
Cincinnati: Spread
South Florida: Spread
West Virginia: Spread option

Big Ten
Illinois: Multiple spread
Indiana: Multiple spread
Michigan: Spread option
Northwestern: Multiple spread
Penn State: Spread HD
Purdue: Shotgun spread

Pac-10
Arizona: Air Raid passing offense
Oregon: Spread option

SEC
Auburn: Multiple spread
Florida: Spread option
Mississippi State: Spread option
Vanderbilt: Multiple spread

Actually it's 47 and 25 teams, uva runs the spread now as well.

From BCO Pix2

ESPN's Mark Schlabach's article about it, with quotes from Bud Foster here.

"I think it's here to stay," Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "I don't think it's a fad. It's just part of the evolution of offense." .... "I think defenses will catch up with them," Foster said. "We're going to always try to devise ways to attack it. The spread just makes you defend the whole field, sideline to sideline and end zone to end zone."

************

Well if you can teach 1 really old dog, JoePaPa a new trick, why not Frank Beamer? Ida know if that's what I truly want but I don't believe it will happen as long as he is coach. The OL is now sorta getting close to spread like athletic ability. Well ... maybe.

I do enjoy watching the power spread option that Florida, w Fn vu and Oregon run. The Ducks are probably my favorite team to watch. Maybe one day Missagain will look good running it too. Outside of Florida they should get more talent for the scheme than anyone.

Interesting watching it morph from just pass, then a whole lotta pass, then some option then a lot of power option and now a mix and match of each.

What is really interesting to me is seeing where it may go in the NFL. If a bunch of the best teams are getting the best qb talent and they running the spread, qb, ol and wr preparation are not being done for the next level. Sure some guys will make the transition quickly but you gotta think quite a few will take lots of time playing traditional and playing under center.

About 7 weeks ... now starting to get that football feeling. Will start blogging more and more as the season ramps up. My southernpigskin article should be posted anytime, been done for a week now.

Potential big football scheduling news to come out soon ... replacing xCuse. I am sworn to secrecy.

The Results are Shockingly IN!

Well my first ever blind taste has come and gone, other than a missing cornhole bag, eventually found some 15 feet under my deck the next day, it came off without a hitch.

First I would like to thank the wiminz who ran the show for 2 hours for us.

8 blind tasters and not all were hop heads like myself.
4 groups of 3, 1 winner out of each group heads to the semi's then those four become two in the finals.

I had Stone as my favorite and Bell's, Bear Republic and Greenflash right behind them. Starr Hill was my last beer chosen, thought I'd have a Virginia beer to give a local flavor.

Remember we had no clue which beers these were, we even tried to guess and well ... to a man we all sucked balls at these prognostications. Shameful. A point scoring system, 3 beside your favorite, a 1 beside your second favorite. I did this in case of ties, but I did not need to, each group had a clear winner in the first place voting. The number behind each is their points in the first round.

Group 1
Starr Hill Northern Lights - 18
Victory Hop Devil - 6
Greenflash West Coast IPA - 8

Group 2
Bell's 2 Hearted - 8
Founders Centennial - 8
Sweetwater IPA - 17

Group 3
Bear Republic Racer 5 - 9
Tyranena Bitter Woman - 5
Loose Cannon - 17

Group 4
Stone IPA - 16
Sierra Nevada Torpedo - 10
Dogfish Head 60 - 5

Dogfish Head, Tyranena, Hop Devil were not well thought of at all.
Northern Lights and Loose Canon coming out of nowhere to beat Greenflash and Bear Republic. Wow. Sweetwater and Stone had the hardest draws in the first grouping, guess that makes them the favorites.

Notice that 3 of the 4 are east coast beers.

Semis
1&2
Northern Lights - 5
Sweetwater - 3

3&4
Loose Canon - 5
Stone - 3

Damn, the underdogs from the Mid-Atlantic just took out the favorites. Northern Lights in a George Mason like run ... would they keep it up vs Balmer's finest?

Finals
Northern Lights -5
Loose Canon - 3

From BCO Pix2

Wow, a Rocky like shocker. My jaw dropped when they held up the Starr Hill beer, the last one chosen as a nod to a Virginia beer.

What does it mean? Not much, when drinking these beers in 2 oz tastings, back 2 back 2 back (clearing with water) is hard and not a true taste of the beer when taken 12oz a pop. It is sorta cool, as almost all the beers had a unique taste while similar it was very, very different too. Given my choice, I still want a Stone even though I voted for NL first every round. With a case and half of extras, I will drink them over the next few weeks and then decide how I rank them that way, but for a night NL was the best.

From BCO Pix2

Best thing outta Charlottesville since Thomas Jefferson. If only the Al Groh could produce a winner like this, haha.

More thoughts on this tomorrow night as I get a chance to think more clearly on it.


Cornhole followed and the night belonged to bobble, though it helped that the rest of us got blistered and he stopped drinking. Even still his bags owned the hole and the board all night. Bobble and Will da Thrill won the mini tourney and took home $20 each.

Not one picture was taken, misstep on my part.

Next year will be easier and shorter ... 8 Double Ipa taste test. Can Hop Rod Rye slide into this group?

12 National Championships or Just 3?

Stolen from the Techsideline message boards, posted by a LSU Tiger fan here.

Kiker, you are not going to like this one bit ... not one. Is it the truth, probably, I'd say 90% accurate. It is the $EC, so you know bama lied at least some and likely a whole damn lot.

From BCO Pix2

12 National Championships? … The Real Story

I just wanted to clear up a few misconceptions about Alabama’s claim to 12 national championships based on fact rather than bias. Credit is given where credit is due.

To clear up confusion, the word retroactive means they went back in time to award the championship.

‘TWELVE’ national championships is fraudulent, nothing but pure bunk ginned up by the SID Department. Here’s a rundown:

1925 National Championship- Alabama claims they share this one with Dartmouth. Who awarded the NC? Houlgate and Helms. Houlgate started his system in 1927. So Bama won their 1925 NC using a formula that didn’t exist until 1927? Helms Athletic Foundation started in 1941. Another incredible retroactive NC.

The Associated Press Poll has been active since 1936. The AP took their final poll prior to bowl games from 1936 – 1964 and in 1966 and 1967. They took their final poll after the bowl games in 1965 and from 1968 – Current.

1926 National Championship- Alabama claims they share this one with 3 other teams with equal or better records! Once again it is the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1941 that awards it!

1930 National Championship- The Davis poll says that Bama tied Notre Dame for NC this year. This was the only one to award it to Bama. Notre Dame was named NC in 6 polls! Parke Davis is another retroactive system! He (an individual, not an organization) did his in 1933!

1934 National Championship- Alabama says they share this with two other teams. The awarders are Dunkel, Williamson, and Football Thesaurus. Dunkel was an individual who came up with his own system. Williamson was a geologist who came up with his own system. Football Thesaurus first appeared in 1946!

1941 National Championship- This is a complete joke. The AP ranked Alabama 20th in the nation with 14 teams with better records in the top 20. Once again it is the Football Thesaurus that retroactively awards it. Alabama finished 3rd in the SEC that year. Mississippi State won the SEC title..yet Bama claims a National title!

1961 National Championship- Finally a legitimate NC. .

1964 National Championship- While the AP did award the NC to Bama (10-1-0), Arkansas had the better record, 11-0. Alabama played Texas in their bowl and LOST. The AP final poll was before the bowl.

1965 National Championship- The AP gave this to Bama. That year there were three teams with better records than Bama. Bama 9-1-1, Michigan St 10-1-0, Arkansas 10-1-0, Nebraska 10-1-0.

1973 National Championship- AP puts Bama 4th after their bowl game loss. Bama claims a NC from the UPI poll that was taken before they met Notre Dame in the bowl game and lost. There were 3 teams with better records than Bama that year. The embarrassment of naming Alabama number one caused the UPI to name champions after bowl games.
Yet Bammer has no shame in claiming it of course.

1978 National Championship- AP gives this to Alabama(11-1-0) even though USC (12-1-0) had the better record Guess who Alabama lost to that year? USC!!!!!!!!!. UPI gave the NC to USC.

1979 National Championship- Their second legitimate NC. Their first Unanimous NC.

1992 National Championship- Their third legitimate NC. Their second Unanimous NC.

You can see why people ridicule Bama fans when they talk about 12 NCs. The early ones were awarded by individuals years after the games were played. These weren’t consensus polls but NCs awarded by people that had their own formula for determining champions. Some NCs were given before bowl games that Bama lost. The NCAA recognizes 6 NCs for Bama and there are only two NCs that Bama has unanimously.

******
I'd like to thank TigerSport for giving me something for the deadzone. I am starting to pull out my blogging funk ... just in time for college football.

I will give em credit for 1 more winner ... below.

From BCO Pix2

DAMN!

From BCO Pix2

If Bama can claim 9 false and very MYTHICAL National Championships ... I am claiming one for VT. According to my memory and DVD the score in Nawlins at the National Championship Sugar Bowl on Jan 4th 2000 was VT 29 FSU 28.

Hell yes, we got 1 by Bamer standards.


Other
Very cool Gobbler Country article about tit for tat, Bud Foster vs Paul Johnson ... here.

SouthernPigskin article should be posted very soon. Part 2 of my ultimate roadtrip, I will post link when it is up.

IPA's, Pork and Cornhole on Saturday at my place, results to be posted when I sober up next week.

Michigan Beer Quickie

At home with a sick kid and a princess movie ... time to beer blog, Michigan News day.

Ok, so my IPA matchplay 12 beers is coming and the favorite is Stone IPA, but a celebrity has another in the contest as his go to beer ...

Founders Centennial, please Mr. Belding.

Toward the end of the episode "Hair Apparent" Gosselaar's character orders "the usual" at a bar and gets a bottle of Founders Centennial IPA. Another episode shows a Founders tap. Gosselaar's wife is from the Grand Rapids area, and he's been known to patronize the taproom when they visit.

Link

From BCO Pix2

Should I invite him? Will he bring Kelly Kapowski?

From BCO Pix2

"American Badass Beer" is not 'fancy shmancy' .... or good

Kid Rock has a beer coming out ... I am quite sure it sucks, like his music.

From BCO Pix2

Link

In an interview with the Detroit News, Kid Rock said the following about "ABB," which is described as an American lager: "People that like premium beers and Guinness is their of choice, they will not like this. I want this to be like the beer I drink (see right). You grab it, you share it with your friends, it's refreshing, it's cold, it gives you a good buzz. Done."

It's Go Week for IPA Match Play

Next week this time I will be still hungover after my first ever Ale Matchplay Taste Test (IPA variety.) Next year will either be Double IPA or Pale, but will worry about that next year.

From BCO Pix2

I have 7 of the 12 6 packs in competition in my possesion along with the judges beer and the after taste test beer.

To Do List

• Get the rest of the beer!!
• plan & cook the bbq
• clean the Frog for my passed out guests
• set up the scoring and blind taste for the ladies running the show
• weed n cut the yard to make my pad look respectable
• make 6 more cornhole bags for the borrowed boards
• get more tasting glasses

Since this is all about me post, here is something for everyone to consider.
Link

From BCO Pix2

How do you fit in?

Celebratin' Our Independence With Beer

3 Beers Wishlist

From BCO Pix2

Sweetwater Donkey Punch Barleywine
Can't wait to try this beer, may have 1 coming up from Ga soon.

From BCO Pix2

Bell's Oracle DIPA
From the makers of the best DIPA, Hopslam that I ever had their year round DIPA? Must taste.

From BCO Pix2

Dogfish Head Squall IPA
Similar to 90min but better or worse depending on the guy. haha. Definitely worth a try. Love DIPA's.


Beer Names

From BCO Pix2

Sweetwater Donkey Punch made me laugh hearing the name. So I decided a what if name of beers, if I had a brewery and wanted to get a bit dur-tay. Look up at own risk, most are really awful.

Russian Snow Ball Stout
Punching Possums Porter
Indian Cock Burn IPA
Pearl Necklace Pale Ale
Brown (Ale) Hatter
Little Man in the Boat Lager
Mississippi Hot Pocket Pilsner
Tea Baggin' Blonde
Wake Up Call Wheat
Mississippi Steam Roller Rye
Dirty Sanchez Strong Dark
Cleveland Steamer Strong Ale


IPA Match Play in 10 Days

From BCO Pix2

Max is 12 participants and getting close to full up. the 12 beers are set and I will need to go shopping for them soon.

Stone IPA
Greenflash IPA
Sweetwater IPA
Bells Two Hearted
Bear Republic Racer 5
Sierra Nevada Torpedo
Dogfish Head 60
Victory Hop Devil
Loose Cannon
Tyranena Bitter Woman
Founders Centennial
Starr Hill Northern Lights


Amateur Nights

From BCO Pix2

Ranking my top 8 amateur drunk nights.

1. New Years - stone cold lock. the Jordan of drunk nights.
   
2. 4th of July - a close runner up, the following day is often a work day holding it back, sorta.
   
3. St. Patty's Day - Winter is almost done, time to drink.
   
4. Halloween - who doesn't love dressing up and drinking the night away?
5. Labor Day Weekend - end of summer blow out.
   
6. Memorial Day Weekend- beginning of summer blowout
7. Cinco De Mayo - too high, maybe but the U.S. is becoming very Hispanic, so why not celebrate?
   
8. Wednesday before Thanksgiving - a long day with your relatives coming up, DRINK HEAVILY.
   

Everyone be safe this weekend, if you think it might be an issue. Do not drive, crash and burn wherever.