BWBB

Hey all,

We are back with another edition of the BWBB. This week's beer is the Sawtooth Ale from Left Hand Brewing Company in Longmont, CO. I mentioned this brewery before on C and my trip out to Colorado. When we were eating dinner one night, I tried this Polestar Pilsner. Honestly, it wasn't all that great. Maybe my general distaste for pilsners was clouding my judgment, but the Polestar was not my fav. On a better note, my restaurant in Mke usually has their Milk Stout on tap...which is really, really good. One of the better stouts I have ever had. So my opinion of Left Hand is somewhat split. Anyways...

I was at the liquor store a couple of days ago when I noticed Lefthand's Sawtooth Ale. It was like 90 degrees outside that day, and I figured, "hmmm, maybe that could be decent on a day like today." Needless to say, a six pack was purchased. Here are my thoughts:

A pretty average ale without much distinctive flavor. It certainly doesn't taste bad, but it lacks any "good" flavor. There is actually a pretty earthy taste which can best be described as woodsy. It finishes pretty sweet but nothing overwhelming. Also, the beer is advertised as a "bitter." But, I really had trouble discerning any bitterness above and beyond the average ale. The beer pours very dark orange. I would say that the color is not indicative of the flavor. I was expecting bigger, bolder flavors, but it left me wanting more. I also could have used a bit more carbonation. The beer was a tad flat in my opinion.

Ok, so the jury is possibly(?) still out on Lefthand. I understand that they are sorta an up and coming, cool, hip name in the brewing world...but they have to back it up. They also make a point to note that they brew their beer using a significant amount of solar energy. So they get a bit more leeway than most other breweries. No doubt, I will keep drinking the Milk Stout, but the others, probably not. Out of 10 pint glasses, Sawtooth Ale gets 5. It obviously wasn't BAD, but it also wasn't GOOD.

I am hoping to get a Michigan Football Preview up in the near future. I will be in AA for the game on Saturday...CANNOT WAIT!

Until next time, do good and be good.

Soccer Season

What's up blog-readers?

As many of you probably guessed, this work stuff is really cutting into my blogging time. BUT, I am going to push through!

The whole World Cup blog series got a pretty good response; so when a soccer season preview was offered up as a potential blog I thought, "sounds good." Now, let me begin by saying it's a bit tough to put together a soccer preview blog that really encompasses all the leagues around the world. It's pretty much like if each country had their own NFL or NBA. The teams in England for example play each other in what they call the "Premier League." However, some English teams also participate in European leagues where they face off with other squads from around Europe. So it gets a little complicated, and there are lots of matches/teams to keep track of. Don't worry though....that's where I come in, haha. I'm going to try and simplify this as much as possible.

My favorite national league is the Spanish League, also called La Liga. Like most of the soccer fans in the world, I also follow the English League pretty closely. Then, there is the UEFA Champions League. Basically, that league is a collection of the best teams from around Europe, and they play each other in midweek games. So those games generally take place on Tues/Wed, whereas the national league games mostly occur on the weekend. It's important to understand that the Champions League matches are in addition to the national league matches. Ok, that's all I will say about the Champions League right now because it doesn't really get underway until the middle/end of Sept. At that point, maybe we will revisit the rules and teams a bit.

For today, we're going to stick with the national leagues. First up, Spain. In my opinion, La Liga (remember, that's code for Spanish League) is the most exciting brand of soccer around. People might say the English League has better players, more defense etc. BUT, when it comes to exciting, attacking soccer, nothing matches Spain. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your outlook, soccer is usually ruled by two or three bigs clubs in each league. Entering every seasons, those big teams are realistically the only onces who can win the title; all the others are playing for better finishes than they had the yr before. For example, there is a 99% chance that either Real Madrid or Barcelona wins La Liga this season. Any other team, and it would be the upset of the century. Accordingly, my preview is going to focus on these teams with a few exceptions.

Basic format of the league. 20 teams. Each teams plays eachother twice, once at home and once on the road. So, they play 38 league games. Three pts for a win, 1 for a draw and zero for a loss. Most pts at the end wins. Pretty easy. Barcelona won last season, but it was a pretty close finish that could have gone either way on the last week of the season. The season starts next Saturday. (I believe ESPN is trying to show one game a week usually Sunday afternoon at 1ish. )

Many of you know that my favorite player for the past 5-6 yrs has been David Villa. Total stud....firmly rooted at permanent man-crush status. Well, for all those seasons, he played at Valencia who is sorta my underdog team. They usually finish pretty high, like last season they ended in third. But they were about 30 pts behind the two big dogs...so yeah, there is a little bit of a gap there. Like most clubs in Europe, Valencia is just awfully managed financially. So they basically had a fire sale this summer. Sold their two best players along with lots of their old-timers. So if they manage to finish third again, that would be impressive. The good news of all of this is that my man Villa is now on Barcelona! The common principle in soccer is that the rich get richer. So the best team in Spain (maybe the world) just added another dominant player to their roster.

Let's talk briefly about the two big teams:

1) Real Madrid: Have spent more money on new players the past two seasons than anyone. Last year they paid Ronaldo like $250mil. Then they paid Kaka like $100something. Then they paid this dude named Benzema around that too (he turned out to suck last season). Well they realized that buying all these studs wasn't going to be enough. So this off season, they turned about a paid the best manager in the world a huge sum of money. His name is Jose Mourinho. He actually won the Champions League last season with Inter Milan....and he has pretty much won everywhere he has gone. So far, they haven't made too many huge changes to their team. They brought in this really solid defender named Carvalho and one of the studs of the world cup, German named Ozil. There is also talk that they want to add a big name striker before the seasons starts next week. For example, I have heard possibly Drogba, who is just insanely good and currently plays for Chelsea. If they do that, then they will be seriously upgraded. There biggest problem last season was defensively. When it came to stopping Barca in their two matchups, Madrid just couldn't do it. Maybe the new coach will be able to help them out there.

2) Barca: ok, I'll admit that I am totally biased, but for good reason. Barcelona is filled with the best attacking players on the planet, most of whom played for Spain this World Cup. Their best known player is probably Messi. He draws so much attention that it opens up everything for his teammates. Then in the midfield, they also have Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro and Busquets. Their defenders are all top notch, Puyol, Pique, Alves and Abidal. Then this season they add Villa. It's pretty hard for me to imagine them being worse this yr. Villa will give them even more scoring ability than they already had...which is almost impossible to believe. Basically, Madrid will need to reach Barca's level last season and more in order to win the title.

La Liga final thoughts. Other teams that I like this year to make some noise: Villareal, which is home to America's own Jozy Altidore (maybe not for long though if he gets his wish). Sevilla. Getafe. And Espanyol. It should be a great season, and the fight for the championship should be really good.

Moving on to England. They are already two weeks into their season. It's the same basic format with 20 teams etc. Difference in England is that there are more teams that can compete at the highest level. The last few seasons, Manchester United and Chelsea have been battling for first, but Arsenal and Liverpool could always contend as well. Right behind them are probably Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa. The one team I am interested in watching this season is Man City. About two yrs ago some oil dude from the UAE bought the team and decided to just put boatloads of his own money into it. So last season they had a totally revamped team that was supposed to challenge for the title...unfortunately, they were pretty underwhelming and ended in 5th. So, what do you think they did this yr???? Yeah, spent even more cash..haha. On paper, they should be able to compete. It will be interesting to see if they actually do.

Already this season, Chelsea has won both of its first two games 6-0. That's twelve goals in two games, ha. They certainly havent shown any signs of slowing down. Manchester United made a couple of moves, but pretty much maintained the same players. If they want to win the title, they need Wayne Rooney to start playing like the Rooney of old...not the one we saw in the World Cup. Another thing to watch, remember how I mentioned Madrid might want Drogba??? Well, he is on Chelsea. If they lose him, then everything changes.

One team I think could make a big push this year is Arsenal. I think they are finally starting to have some of their young guys gain a bit of experience. Plus they brought in a few new players who could have an impact. I think Liverpool is pretty much stuck where they have been the past few seasons. They are solid but don't really have the ability to finish any higher than 3rd or 4th. I guess we will see how this season plays out, and injuries could always mess up everything I just said.

At some point, I will do a Champions League blog because the Champions League is just so good it deserves its own space. Maybe I'll preview the groups once they are finalized. Quick little bit of knowledge: Champions League is organized pretty similarly to the World Cup where teams are put in groups of 4 and the top two advance.

Look for that sometime in Sept. I'm also contemplating a Michigan Football blog...but it might be sports overkill for my readers, and you know me, always putting the readers first......

Comment if you would like some extra explanation or have some knowledge to share with the group.

Until next time.............

BWBB

Hello Everyone!

It's been about two weeks since my last BWBB, and given that its called bi-weekly, it's time for the next installment! I'm not sure if you remember, but when I was in Colorado I had the chance to sample some local beers. One of the breweries out of Boulder is called Avery. Well when I was out last night, I noticed that they had Avery's Maharaja Imperial IPA on tap...so yeah, of course I ordered it. I think I've said this before, but Imperial IPA basically means really intense. It's sort of like an IPA on steroids and with lots of alcohol. (A few weeks ago I blogged about Oskar Blues' Gubna Imperial IPA...this is a very similar beer to that.)

Quick facts:
Maharaja weighs in at 10.3% abv. And yes, you can definitely taste it. I think Mom and Christina almost vomited when they tried it...haha.

It pours a really dark orange almost copper, as you can see above.

Loads of hop at the beginning with a woodsy aftertaste. Also, some hints of citrus and floral...grapefruit(?)

The aroma was a bit disappointing. I like when my beer smells like it tastes, but this one just didn't do that. I would expect a bigger, bolder smell from an imperial IPA.

Maybe a bit expensive at $6 considering I only had 12oz, not a pint.

Overall, a good beer. However, I actually preferred Gubna from Oskar Blues. Maharaja was not bad by any stretch, but it lacked aroma and failed to delivery a great aftertaste. I am inclined to give Maharaja 6.5 pint glasses out of 10. Certainly, I would drink it again, but I would probably try some other IPAs first. I have been a bit underwhelmed by my two Avery beer experiences, so they better really impress me on their third try.

Well, that's it for this week's BWBB. I actually had a request for a soccer preview blog....ok, maybe it wasn't a request exactly, more like a suggestion. But that sounds good. I'll try to get one up in the next few days. So look forward to that, haha.

Until next time....

BWBB

Hey everyone,

I've been slacking...again. I'm sorry, but life is just getting busier and busier. I also have not had too many opportunities to try "new" beers recently. (You know, it's crazy how having a full time job cuts into the important things in life.) Regardless, I'm blogging now and back with another installment of the BWBB!

So Friday night, C and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Tess. Tess is awesome for many reasons: 1) Food 2) Fish Fry 3) Outdoor Patio 4) Flourless Choc Cake with Salted Caramel Custard, and 5) Pretty solid beer list. Their beer list tends to be full of Wisconsin (or at least) regional beers...so, yes, I am a fan. On Friday, the only IPA they had on the menu was from Tyranena, which is a brewery out of Lake Mills, WI. However, the description read, "brewed with orange peel." That immediately raised multiple red flags in my brain. So that beer was quickly out. When the waitress came over, she told me that they had Ale Asylum's Bedlam IPA on tap, but it wasn't on the menu. I thought, "Perfect." Now, I've had Bedlam before on one occasion a few months ago, but I thought I'd give it a second try and really evaluate it this time. Here are my thoughts.

First, Ale Asylum is a brewery out of Madison that seems to be gaining more and more recognition. I see their beers at most decent liquor stores around town. Actually, I think the Bedlam IPA is a relatively new addition to Ale Asylum's lineup, and it's a pretty solid addition. Anyways, about the beer. Ale Asylum describes the beer as a Belgian IPA. So it combines the classic elements of an IPA with some of the typical Belgian brewing techniques.

It is listed as 7.5% abv, and that tastes about right. It's certainly a strong brew, but nothing too outrageous (such as the last BWBB beer...Gubna) It pours sort of orangish gold...almost copper color. I would describe the taste as a mixture of citrus and woodsy flavor with a generous amount of hop. It's a nice change of pace from the standard IPA. It would actually be a good IPA for the person who isn't typically a fan of hoppier beers. I will say that Bedlam went FANTASTICALLY with my perch fish fry while sitting outside on a nice summer evening. Definitely on my list of beers to consider from here on out.

Overall, I would give Bedlam 8 pints out of 10. A very, very solid IPA that has somewhat restored my faith in Madison's ability to brew good beer. I will have to try more Ale Asylum beers in the future.

Until next time,
Jon

Sidenote: Last weekend, Mitch, Tracy, Ben, Theresa, C and I went camping in Devil's Lake. Pictures can be seen here.

Devil's Lake