Wow, we’re going to drink a lot of beer on Super Bowl Sunday

SaveOnBrew.com, which dubs itself as the “world’s only beer price-search engine,” has this crazy infographic up about how much beer Americans will consume on Super Bowl Sunday – 50 million cases. (more…)

Colorado brewery creates Tebow-inspired barley wine

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Bonfire Brewing out of Eagle, Colo., has jumped on the Tim Tebow bandwagon with its “Tebrew” barley wine. The logo features “a man crouching as if in prayer but holding up a mug of beer, with the tagline ‘The Sunday Sipper.’ ” Is there anything Tebow can’t do? No. Here’s the story via the Associated Press:

EAGLE, Colo. – A beer inspired by Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has produced big interest for a small brewery in Colorado’s mountains.
Bonfire Brewing’s “Tebrew” is a barley wine, a high-alcohol type of beer. Tebrew has a logo featuring a man crouching as if in prayer but holding up a mug of beer, with the tagline “The Sunday Sipper.“
Bonfire Brewing, in Eagle, Colo., plans to enter the barley wine for competition at the Jan. 7 Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival in Vail. The Vail Daily reports that after the brewery put the logo on its Facebook page, calls started pouring in seeking the limited brew.
“It’s been great for the brewery, great for Eagle and great for the state,” brewery co-founder Andy Jessen said.
Jessen acknowledged that he doesn’t know whether Tebow drinks beer or not. He said the brew is more about fans and football than the player.
“It’s just a good time to be in Colorado and be a football fan here,” Jessen said.
Brewery owners say they’re flattered by the attention, but the batch is only 150 gallons. “Tebrew” is available only at the festival and at the small brewery’s tasting room, in 10 ounce servings.
“In the style of 4th quarter heroics, we’re waiting until the last minute to serve it up,” according to the brewery’s Facebook description of Tebrew.
The brewery is also selling T-shirts and mugs featuring the logo.

- Matt Pritchard

Football, beer and guns

Ukrainian National Team

I used to walk around the concourse at Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium during Dynamo Kyiv soccer games thinking about how lucky I was to be doing my initial journalism internship in a country on the brink of revolution. It’s every reporter’s dream. At least it is for those reporters who got into this to be foreign correspondents. A ticket to the Ukrainian Premier League games was fairly affordable, so I’d buy a bag of blackened sunflower seeds and sit up on the wall of the stadium watching during the late summer of 2004.

After the match, I’d usually meet up with the mixture of journalists, politicians, pundits, bloggers and foreign embassy staff for a stroll through Kyiv. We’d stop at the little roadside kiosks and purchase any cold beer we could find. We’d usually get a few bottles of the Slavutych and walk two or three miles to find a small Ukrainian-style eatery. Sometimes we’d opt for Georgian food in the trendy neighborhoods popping up around the city center.

Beer, politics, football, art, social networking face to face, I cannot think of a more idyllic time in my life. The memories sustain me to this day.

Even in the midst of the chaos of the upcoming national elections, there was an optimism and a calm that ran down the heart of the city like the central metro line. The football matches were almost serene, a far cry from the boisterous English Premier League events where paddy wagons are parked outside to haul away dozens and dozens of rowdy fans at a time.

I missed out on seeing the amazing Andriy Shevchenko, the 2004 European Footballer of the Year, who was by then playing for Serie A Milan, but his legend lived on in Kyiv that summer. On a side note, he’s now back with Dynamo Kyiv, and I look forward to seeing Sheva, as the fans call him, lead Ukraine to a 2012 European Championship.

The thunderstorm that hit in late August was the most violent display I’d ever seen. The green sky reminded me of warnings I’d heard about tornadoes forming, and the thunderclaps were so loud they rattled the glass in our building. I refused to take the elevator, having been stuck in and old Soviet-style elevator for four hours a few weeks before.

We took the subway into the heart of town headed for Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, where the Ukrainian National Team was preparing to play a friendly against arch rival Turkey. There is no love lost between the country of the Cossacks and the homeland of the Tatars, or Turkic raiders.

My companions and I grabbed a couple Obolons, a lesser beer than the Slavutych, but we were parched and tired of dodging the sudden down pours that would flood intersections in seconds. By the time we reached the stadium, my clothes were absolutely soaked, and I had to stop at a restaurant to ring them out in the sink.

I was shocked to walk into the stadium and find the mood much less bright than at the Dynamo Kyiv matches, those sunny, lazy Saturdays a distant blur in the cold, hard concrete of the Olympic stadium. There were guards everywhere, steel-eyed military types with huge machine guns lined every walk way, and this caused us to keep our conversation quiet and to a minimum.

Slavutych Beer

We bought our blackened sunflower seeds and walked to our seats at midfield and about halfway up the deck from the field. We wouldn’t move again the entire match. A line of soldiers bearing heavy duty weaponry extended from the field to the top of the stadium, and at least 300 police officers lined the inside of the pitch looking back at the crowd. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so trapped in such a large stadium in my entire life.

I don’t even remember the score of the game, just that Ukraine went on to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, where they made it to the quarter finals. The difference between the attitude of the easy going Saturday games at Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium and this International Friendly was amazing. More than 100,000 people filled the stadium that day, and it took us nearly five hours to get home through the crowded streets of Kyiv.

A cold Slavutych or two definitely made the commute easier especially since enjoying your beer while walking around town or riding the subway was perfectly acceptable, but I had never realized the almost frenzied nature of football fans when they take the world stage, and my thoughts on the ride home were about football, guns and beer.

I can imagine there is some of that and more going on in South Africa right now.

Prost,

GG

The World Cup of Beer, a sideline to the games going on in South Africa

A gimmick, yes, but an interesting one at that.

The folks from ESPN are running a World Cup of Beer, pitting one malty beverage against another from all 32 nations represented.

Here’s the first tier, where France’s Kronenbourg and Mexico’s Dos Equis advance, largely on the strength of television ads. They beat out South Africa’s Castle Milk Stout and Uruguay’s Patricia. Having had Kronenbourg and Dos Equis, I’m not inclined to think they’d beat out a real milk stout and a brewery known for producing beer with a clean, sweet taste that allegedly comes from the water of an adjacent fruit company. But, I’m not a judge in this contest.

And the first round second tier -

In the group B breakdown, Argentina’s Quilmes, Mythos from Greece, Nigeria’s Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and South Korea’s OB square off, with Nigeria and Argentina advancing for potency and a potential Maradona declaration of retribution.

Group C feature Algeria’s Castel Algerie, England’s Boddingtons, Slovenia’s Lasko and Yuengling from the United States in a tale of three lagers and an ale. England and the U.S. come away clean to advance to the next round.

More soon. Go USA!

Prost,

GG

Your Super Bowl Beer- Local Edition

If you’re watching the Super Bowl in good Ol’ snowy Missoula Montana, then this post is for you. Since the downfall of my 49ers a decade ago now, I haven’t been as interested in the Big Game for more than the commercials. There have been a few good Super Bowls in the meantime, but it never has the same meaning when your favorite team is not playing for or in the Super Bowl.

This year is no exception, with the exception of the Saints, an underdog story only America could love.

For my Super Bowl party, I’ll be serving Big Sky Brewing Co.’s Powder Hound. There is no implicit meaning behind this decision other than the fact that growlers of Powder Hound are on sale for $4 at the tap room right now.

But here are my top local picks for Super Bowl beer.

1. Missoula Brewing Co.’s Highlander – Any time of year is a great time of year for Highlander, but I think it’s a fine beer to drink with hot wings. That malty sweetness inherent of Scotch-style beers is perfect for that spicy treat.

2. Bayern Brewing’s Pilsner – If you’re used to drinking Bud Light or Coors for the Big Game, you should really upgrade this year. Bayern Pilser has that same light characteristic of the American pilsners, but with the added benefit of taste and style. You’ll be in familiar territory, but it will be a whole new ball game.

3. Kettlehouse Brewing Co.’s Brick & Mortar Imperial Porter – I should’ve swung by the brewery and picked up a growler of this beauty. I can see enjoying a good close Saints victory with a glass of this big, big beer in hand.

4. Big Sky Brewing Co.’s Trout Slayer (Correction: Too many damn beers with Trout in the name) or Moose Drool in cans – Cans are downright cool on Super Bowl Sunday. So is a fine glass of barley wine, but if you’re going to drink beer and eat hot wins, you might consider grabbing a six-pack of cans of either beer. Depends on your mood of course, but you’re either going dark or light. Both beers have some great, unique characteristics that will add a little fun to your Super Bowl party.

5. Blacksmith Brewing Co.’s Black Iron IPA – This is a seasonal, and I’m not sure it’s in season right now, but this might be one of my favorite local IPAs. The black malts added give this huge beer a totally different feel than our most familiar West-Coast style IPAs. At any rate, they are open on Sundays, so stop in and ask about the Black Iron. If they don’t have it, try the Cutthroat IPA.

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday, and please remember to drive safely.

Go Saints!

Prost,

GG

Craft beer picks for tonight’s FCS national championship football game

If I had to pick just one beer for tonight’s FCS championship game between the Montana Grizzlies and the Villanova Wildcats, that would suck. Luckily, I can pick as many as I want.

So, with that in mind, my first pick for tonight’s game would be…

Well, the weather in Chattanooga is nasty with lots of rain and chilly temps. So I’m thinking maybe a good porter with lots of roasted malts and some hints of chocolate would be good. Maybe a Deschutes Brewing Co. Black Butte Porter or a Kona Brewing Co. Pipeline Porter.

But then again, most of us in Montana will be watching the game from the comfort of our homes or possibly a sports bar, and a porter might be too filling too fast. In that case, I could really go for a big IPA, maybe something classic in the style and local, like Big Sky Brewing Co.’s IPA or perhaps a few cans of Kettlehouse Double Haul IPA, one for each half.

The national championship game is a big deal though, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal for a lot of people, unless you’re a Griz fan or a Grizzly football player of course. Maybe this occasion calls for something just a little special. Maybe a decadent Noel des Geants from Des Legendes in Belgium, and which you can pick up at Worden’s Market right now. There is also the Insanely Bad Elf, which makes a nice Christmas beer to go with a sweet, sweet victory.

How will you celebrate?

Prost,

GG

Playoff Beer

Having grown up in the Pac-10, I’m used to thinking about bowl games this time of year. And my Ducks are going to going to the Rose Bowl, so all is right with the world. But I’m sitting here watching the Montana Grizzlies play Appalachian State in the semi-final game of the Football Championship Subdivision today, and I’m sipping on a Bayern Brewing Face Plant, a triple-decoction mash doppelwiezen. I’m guessing my peers in Boone, NC are enjoying a Shiva IPA from Asheville Brewing Co. At least I hope they are. It’s one of my favorite East Coast beers, and that means a lot since I’ve only ever had one. But much like love, when you know you’ve found it, you just know.

As I near the end of this bottle of Face Plant, I can’t help but be impressed by the playoff system in the FCS. I’m slowly becoming a Griz fan, though it has taken a while. I’ve always felt that you can’t be a true fan unless you’ve attended the school, but that logic doesn’t really apply when the biggest sporting event in the region happens in your backyard.

Playoff games are great for our city’s economy as well as for the newspaper I work for. Griz games make for a lot of pageviews. But more than that, playoffs let a team find out who they are after a season of learning to play together. Bowl games are glamorous, but I don’t think they’re very often an indication of all the work a team has done throughout a year.

The money factor is rediculous when you consider bowl games, but I can’t argue with money, it rules the world.

What I know is that a playoff system is so much better for those who enjoy craft beer with their college football games.

Prost,

GG

Three beers for tonight’s game

Since the last beer post was not beer related. This one will be.

Here are my three local picks for tonight’s Griz/Spider game.

The order does not represent importance, as each of these beer can hold their own against the others.

The Griz had a strong year. Their one loss to Weber State was avenged later in the year, and they put up phenomenal number against the rest of the league. And they topped it off by beating the number-one-ranked team in the country for a shot at the title game.

This calls for a strong beer.

So, I would have some Kettlehouse Brewing Co. Cold Smoke on hand tonight.

Because this is the final game of the year, and it’s on a Friday night, I’d stay with the strong beers and have a little Big Sky Brewing Co. Powder Hound around. Again, you’ve got an easy going beer that packs a bit of winter-warmer punch into the mix.

To round out the triple threat, I’d get myself a mini keg of Bayern Brewing’s Doppel Bock, the epitome of smooth.

Just like the Griz, these beers are smooth, tasteful and they pack a serious punch.

If you plan to drink the triple threat tonight, don’t plan on driving anywhere, especially not in this weather. Nothing can ruin a championship season like a DUI or worse.

Go Griz!

Prost,

GG

A breakdown of my allegiances

A warning: This post is not beer related.

Switching your allegiance in football, as in life, is not an easy thing. My father sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco as an immigrant fleeing persecution in Stalin’s Soviet Union.

Therefore, he is and always will be a San Francisco 49ers fan.

Had he sailed past Lady Liberty, we might be Jets fans today.

When I was 10, I picked the Dallas Cowboys to be my favorite team. I liked them because they beat the Redskins in a Thanksgiving game the year before.

When I turned 11, I picked the Miami Dolphins, because I was infatuated with dolphins at the time. No, I wasn’t a hippie dreamer wearing crystal dolphin necklaces. I was genuinely interested in the fact that dolphins could kill sharks with their distinctive bottle noses.

See a pattern here? I picked heroes, I picked the favorites to win, I picked the good guys.

So on Jan. 20, 1985, I sat down with my father to watch Super Bowl XIX. I would root for the Dolphins because they were favored to win, and because I couldn’t root for my father’s team. I was on the cusp of teenage life. It wouldn’t be cool to root for my father’s team.

The by-then-established quarterback Joe Montana picked the hapless Dolphins apart with his gunslinger accuracy and with the new 49er weapon  Roger Craig who could run and catch.

I had never seen such a display of skill and perseverance as I saw in the 49ers that day. And my father, to his credit, never said a word. He sat there and, if he enjoyed my anguish, he didn’t show it.

I came back to my family team shortly after that, and I’ve been a 49er fan ever since, through the good times and the bad times.

I am also a Duck. I attended the University of Oregon’s Journalism School, and I watched Joey Harrington’s senior season at Autzen Stadium. He had classes at the business school, which was right next to the J school, so I walked to class behind his entourage almost every day.

I am a Duck because I spent my formative years in Oregon, I attended the university and I have deeply established ties with the community, the players and the team.

I have lived in Missoula, Montana for two football seasons. Seasons in which the University of Montana Grizzlies dominated their league.

But it’s not an instant love affair with Griz football for me. And some of my friends just don’t understand this.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Griz play each Saturday for the past two seasons. Tonight, I will host my second Griz football party. My coworkers will come to my house, and we will eat food and drink drinks and watch the football team from the school most of them attended demolish the Richmond Spiders.

But this, in and of itself, does not make me a rabid, dyed-in-the-wool griz fan. I don’t have the deep connections many in this community have, yet.

It takes time and emotional connections besides the physical connections of living in a place or attending school there to become a super fan.

In Oregon, there is a big division between Beaver fans and Duck fans. But my brother attended OSU years before I went to U of O, and so we have always rooted for the other’s team, unless they are playing each other in Civil War. Then, he bleeds orange and I green.

It’s that way with many in that state. When it comes to sports, there are only three things to celebrate in Oregon. The Trailblazers, the Ducks and the Beavers are Oregon sports.

Most football allegiences are established at an early age. I see lil’ Griz fans bedecked in maroon and silver as tiny infants. It’s likeley they’ll be Griz fans when they grow up.

My children are Duck fans. They are more rabid about the team than I am. When they win, they whoop and hollar. When they lose, I have to console their broken hearts.

After a year-and-a-half here, I can say I’m a fan of the Griz, and I’ve supported them all the way to Chattanooga. But I’m not a Griz, and unless I attend the university or establish deep ties to the team over years of association, I won’t be for some time. For now, I’m a Duck living in Montana enjoying Griz Nation.

Does that make sense?

Prost,

GG