Sports Review: Strikeforce Houston and Sam Adam Harvest Pumpkin

One of the only two advantages of being black in America is that I can openly admit in writing that I root for the black guy in sporting competitions and no one will call me out. (The other is that people selling newspapers and doing promotional stuff at grocery stores exits leave you alone.) So I showed up to Strikeforce Houston last night pretty fired up to see King Mo and Bobby Lashley. And both of them consequently got f7cked up. Lashely just out-and-out gassed and gave up after some serious hammerfists by a guy that looked like a Confederate General. They did screw Lashley by standing him up while he had the full mount, but Lashley was fading to black very quickly anyway and probably would have keeled over and died if they made him go for a third round.

King Mo was doing ok the first couple rounds, but he pretty much tossed out any boxing skill at all and went in to brawl with a Muay Thai guy (bad idea). King Mo fell in love with the body shots, and although they had some stank on it, close range Balrog body shots open you up for the knee to the dome, everytime. Ask Rich Franklin (against Silva) and Rampage Jackson (the first two times against Wanderlei). Mo flattened, then got a single leg, then got elbowed down hard. Fight OVER! And the Texas crowd lustily cheered when the Dallas product was knocked out.

I'm just glad we hit the Saucer before the event for some Blonde Bock and some Stone 14. The Blonde Bock by Gordon Biersch is one of those other beers that is kinda like a combo beer in the style, but not quite. It had a real syrupy malt to it and very drinkable, but the mesh of the "blonde" and the "bock" actually throw it off for me. I'd rather be slamming some Hofbrau maibocks like I have been these days. The Stone 14 Emperial IPA I picked up b/c we were eating some hot wings. The last time I had wings at the saucer, they put some fire on it, but this time the hot sauce seemed to be a little heavier on the butter, which my bloated gut 24 hours later can atest to. But the EIPA was f'n AWESOME! I knew that I could count on Stone to provide a very balanced perfect finishing Imperial IPA. One sec.

Beer Log: Right now
State: Chilling out, eating lunch

Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale
Pours brown and smooth with a tan head. Nose is pumpkin and cinnamon with some caramel. Tastes like a light bitter bread with some pumpkin. Not my cup of tea. 2 Stars.

Moving on, the Dynamo finally won a game last night. Taking big shots from Ching to beat the Chicago Fire. The Flaming Footballers of Chicago tried to come back, but Ching would not be denied despite our goaltender's best efforts. Also, the Texans got mollywhoped by the Saints in preseason, which nobody cares about. Holla.

Next Divine Reserve coming out soon

Seems like Saint Arnold has decided to put out another Divine Reserve beer some time this November or December. It will be an Imperial Stout Pumpkin Ale. I've had my share of Pumpkin Ales with mixed reviews. But never an Imperial Stout. Looking forward to Divine Reserve getting back to its 5 Star status with this Imperial Stout. Hopefully I'll be onshore to pick it up.

So if you here looking for some good beering this winter, we'll have some great choices in the city.

Punkin Ale

First off, the Houston Texans suck. Matt Schaub needs to be sat down. The picture on the left is fitting for the Texans Quarterback. Moving on.

September 21, 2008
State: Wishing I could sell my season tickets

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
Strong tan head sitting pretty on top of a brown beer. Smells of pumpkin, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Put in my dimpled glass. Oh yeah. Brown ale fullness. Can taste the pumpkin, as it has that pumpkin character. I get the cinnamon and brown sugar. Maybe the nutmeg in the aftertaste. Lightly hop but a little high on the carbonation. Tastes a little roasty as well on the next draught, with a little bitterness at the back of the palate. A high three star and would be 4 if not for that bitterness. I like it b/c it does not taste like a pumpkin pie. But this is a great beer with more body than your normal Fall beer. Just ate an orange, and the roasted breadiness comes out now. You know what, this one is a 4 starer. Definitely the best Fall Beer I've had so far, and it blows away the other Pumpkin ales. Not too hard core, just right.

Oktober in August

Maybe it's cooling down where you guys live, but it still was way over 100 degrees on the heat index here in Houston. We still have Hurricanes shooting the gap every week or so. But things like St. Arnolds Oktoberfest and Harvest Moon are appearing on the shelves. Those negros at St. Arn even tapped their Christmas Ale at the bars. And I'm seeing the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and I think a Winter warmer in the local HEB. WTF man. I'm still losing 7 pounds of water weight in 18 holes of golf.

But I am starting to go back to malty beers as I'm kinda of IPAing myself out. I think I've had enough of the hops, as I did an IPA tour at the Sauce recently and I've been trying beers like the Sierra Nevada Anniversary and the Southern Star (new shit). I would have reviewed those but they were out of a bottle/can. I'll get 'em later. You know its something serious when a 6 pack of Shiner Helles Lager was knocking me over with sweetness at our fantasy football draft last weekend. So we have tried a couple of pumpkin ales and Oktoberfests. Here's the first one I've been able to get into the blog.

Sam Adams Octoberfest

What's up with the "C", why not with a "K". I know these guys are patriots, but damn.

Copper color with a light tan head. Munich malt smell. Head has pretty good retention in this beer mug. (Eating spicy catfish and lemon ginger asparagus). Oh yeah. Kinda sweet like syrup, not caramely. Medium body, low hops (probably hallertau). Very well done again for Sammy. Kinda reminds me of the Shiner Helles Lager to be honest. Lower carbonation. 3 Stars. Maybe a touch of emptiness (wateriness) at the very end, which keeps it out of the 4 stars. Nice foil for this catfish. Granted, come late winter, I won't be talking much noise about Oktoberfests, as I'll need some warmers.

Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale (yesterday)

State: Eating pot roast with carrots and greens

A good friend of the family wanted to whip up some Sunday dinner and invited us along. Good stuff, as we had no plans. She knows we are a beering family, so she picks up some Pumpkin ale. Looks like apple cider. Low head that goes away fast. Very sweet smell, with remnants of cinnamon and pumpkin. I take a big sip and I notice its light body with lots of pumpkin and allspice. A little overwhelming for me. Low hops with a quick finish. Low carbonation. It's basically a pumpkin pie beer. Even has the light roasted malt near the back of the pallette, kinda like a browned pie crust. But I'm going to have to give this one a low 3 star. If they could dial the pumpkin pie back a little, I'd be in there. In this case, I'm looking for some subtly.

If I find my book, I'll go on and put in the St. Arn and Harvest Moon. Otherwise, I'm taking a 36 hour trip to Hotlanta and my grad school, Georgia Tech. It's a very quick turnaround but I'm going to try and squeeze in Sweetwater brewpub. We'll see. I'm a Ramblin, Gamblin hell of an Engineer, HEY!!!