Game Live Blog: Fort Valley (Sweetwater) vs. Florida A&M (Cigar City)

So it's finally FAMU football time and we are stumbling out of the gate. We are playing against Division II Fort Valley State. For all 2 of you that read my blog that are in fact black, you may know all about Black College Football. I am a FAMU alum and a rabid FAMU football fan. My wine doesn't taste as sweet whenever FAMU loses. So here we go.

FAMU goes down early to FVSU (no homo) and after a virtual minstrel show of cacophonic buffoonery on the field by FAMU, the Rattlers manage to start pulling away at the half. FVSU 12, FAMU 21. I'm actually still polishing off my Saint Arnold Bock for U of H beating the Bruins, but I'll take one for the team and pour another beer.

OH NO, the CC Maduro is a GUSHER!!!!!!!! Beer is infected, still foaming up 5 minutes after I opened it. For those new to the beer world, that typically means we got some bacteria that got into the beer and it will taste uber-sour and terrible. Happens. Let's get Infected


Thrilling game. We took this D2 school to the wire and messed around and won a 95 yard touchdown. I'm getting a beer.

Cigar City Jose Marti
Pours very smooth with a huge tan head, brown and opaque. Taste is a bold malt, roast, and dammit if that's not cigar flavor. I may even have some bourbon and oak in there. Just blown away at the melody of flavor! The aftertaste leaves a bitter coffee bean/hop thing in there. Not bad at all. Bold, yet with a smooth flavor and moderate body. Not cloying at all. I may call this the first 5 star porter I've ever had. Ok, after one more sip, this amazing beer is right there. Just has it all for me. 5 Stars. One of the best I've had all year.

Live Blogging: Gordon Ale, Just what the doctor ordered

I'm sitting here watching FAMU on ESPN360 getting DRUGGED by South Carolina State. It's 35-13 at the half. Our conference is absolutley terrible, so we'll only get ONE (1) teeam inte playoffs. (Division 1 FCS football has playoffs baby). We lose this game, we are OUT! Black college football at it's most pitiful.

I just bought the entire set of Tequila Cazadores, but I'm holding off and sticking with the Oskar Blue's Gordon Ale. A high 4 star beer, with fantastic maltiness and balanced piney hops, straight out of the damn can. At 8.7% ABV, it will help me get through maybe some part of the third quarter. We keep losing like this game, and we're going.

And what's worse, we just finished doing our best chicken and watermelon routine while getting blasted by the Miami Hurricanes last week. Please let Georgia Tech whoop up on V-Tech. The DTSA can't handle many more losses.

I can't go too far b/c we have a beer dinner tonight at what the Houston Press feels is the best steakhouse in the city, Pappas Steakhouse. Lacing in with my Oktoberfest posts, we just stumbled upon a great coffeehouse with about 30 different craft beers on bottle. And they're big on having beer related events. NICE. Posts coming soon. Just as soon as I get my act together.

Live Blogging: Bigfoot, Gaither Gym

I'm sitting here watching the Florida A&M men's basketball game on our online tv station, FAMCast. We had the lead by 7 with 61 seconds to go and we let Delaware State come back. It's our last game for the old Gaither Gymnasium, and they are turning off the lights after the game. We're in overtime now and I'm getting some Barley Vino.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale

Gotta send the old gym off right. Lot's of memories there. It's a dark orangish color. Has a thick light orange head on it. I'm going to guess I'll smell some strong malts and cascade hops. Yup. Sierra Nevada, don't ever change. I may be getting a light alcohol smell in there somewhere. Wow. Full bodied with a strong yet balanced malt and hops. There is a lingering bitterness on my tongue that's a little icky, but that's okay. Dammit, the feed just went out. Okay, got it back. How in the hell is the online feed gonna go out DURING OVERTIME! The hops on this one are pretty citrusy. For those not from the States, this is truly an American Barleywine, if not a West Coast BV, if there is such a thing. We're up by 2, and the other team just missed two 3 pointers. It's only 7.7 seconds left and we're shooting the free throws. That's a pretty good strong beer. And I notice that Sierra Nevada resisted the temptation to go Imperial with this beer, as it is very high caramel sweet malty, but not that Nyquil taste. On second thought, they must have mixed up a more piney hop in there. Doubtful its Saaz, but maybe Kent Goldings. The aftertaste is not so strong as you get used to it, and the beer just tastes more malty, like a Barleywine should.

Oh MY GOD we just FOULED a guy shooting a 3 pointer, and they will go to the line shooting 3 points while we're up by three. I swear we're trying to GIVE the game away!!!! He misses one we win. Dammit, he made the first one. HE BLEW IT! HE BLEW IT! HE MISSED IT! FAMU WIN! FAMU WIN! FLORIDA, FLORIDA, BLESS HER NAME, ORANGE AND GREEN WE'LL PROBABLY WAVE. Wow, we did our best to dick it up.

Oh yeah. 4 Star. Excellent barleywine and another excellent beer from Sierra Nevada.

Looking forward to 1) Finding my beer book, and 2) doing some traveling. We'll be heading back to New Orleans a month from now, to gamble, drink in public and hang out with some friends. The next weekend I'm heading to Vegas for to gamble, drink in public, hang out with some friends, and do some business for the company, in that order. The Misses will not make it with me to Vegas, so I may have to hit a few of their brewpubs on the solo. Hopefully I will find the time to get to a beer store to bring back some of that WestCoast. Go Rattlers.

Screw that I'm getting a beer

I'm sitting here watching a Don Bowl game (Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns). I'm still fired up about the FAMU over BCU yesterday. Good stuff whipping those Wildcats. We have an OUTSIDE chance of getting into the playoffs, but with all the recent exposure (see below) our school as had, they could give us a 16 seed. I just had a slice of apple pie, but have about 15 WW points left for today. I'm getting a christmas beer.

Date: RIGHT NOW (11/23/2009)
State: Just had a bland slice of dutch apple pie, chillin before I do some work

Full Sail Wassail
Deep opaque brown color. Light brown head. Smells of cinnamon, citrus, and maybe light scotch, probably some plum in there as well but I don't really eat plums all that much. The nose is almost cidery. The head is strong at first but goes a little quick for me in this wine goblet. I'm drinking it ice cold, but I imagine this is meant to be enjoyed warmer. Not much going on the front of the palette. A nice malt makes its appearance in the middle of my tongue with a hop bitterness in a somewhat lingering aftertaste. I imagine this is a brown ale, yet I can taste some notes of maybe bourbon, cinnamon, and perhaps some raisin. The carbonation is about medium (a champagne would be high for me). The more I drink it, the less I'm getting the hops.

The source of all human knowledge says that wassail is actually a style of drink itself. Good stuff, nothing like falling upon new styles. But with this name, I will count it as a Christmas beer in my rankings of Christmas beer at the end of the season.

Oktoberfest and FAMU Football

Sitting here watching my alma mater Florida A&M whoop up on Howard U. We got a 41-0 lead and we just intercepted the ball and ran it back to the 4 yard line.

We found PLENTY more Oktoberfests at a different SPECS out here in the 'burbs, so I'm going to have to beer it up. Hold up. FAMU TOUCHDOWN. Fade pass.

I'm getting an Oktoberfest.

Sept 20, 2008

Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest

Nice brown color and opaque. Tan head. Light cinnamon and malt on a decent head. Nice full body and roastiness. Not much malt in first taste, kinda like a harsh feel on the back sides of my mouth, can't put my finger on it. Light nutmeg on the finish. A little gritty. Not really all that good with SOMETHING they put in there that is out of the ordinary. Nevermind, that's just metallic. I haven't tasted that one in a while out of a bottle. Very high metal feel. Not cool at all. Firmly a 2 star beer if not a 1 star with that metallicness. My glass may not be clean enough. I'll give it a go with one more later on. I have a 6 pack and it's a local beer (Fort Worth, TX), so I kinda have to give 'em another shot. This is my first R&S, and this specs has enough beer and local beer to rival Central Market. But I can't finish this beer. At least I'll have points to try another one today. The wife thinks it's okay. We both now agree that there is a lot of coriander in there. That must be it. The guys on Beeradvocate that gave it a low rating agree with me with the sour metal thing going on.

FAMU got another two scores while I was typing this, we are destroying these chumps. Mecca of Black colleges my arse.