Saturday: College Football and Beer

Woohoo! Finally got a Saturday off from work. Going to work tomorrow, but going to enjoy a day full of college football (my favorite), good beer, and playing with the dog (dog sitting). My wife is photographing a wedding and making that money, so the roles have changed for once. At 10:30 this morning, I drove to the mecca of beer, Spec's, and grabbed a couple of beers I haven't had the privilege of trying yet. I have been drinking a lot of beer lately instead of wine to change up the pace a little bit and keep things interesting. I like dark beers mostly, dark ales, and porters. To this day, Rahr & Sons Ugly Pug from Ft. Worth is my favorite beer in the world followed by Hoegaarden. I drink the Hoegaarden during the hotter months and warm up with some Ugly Pug when it gets cold out. Since football and wine should never be within 10 miles of each other, I will get my beer on today.

First Game: Arkansas vs. Texas A&M


Had Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale from the Samuel Smith Old Brewery in England. A dark amber colored beer with heavy scent of nuttiness from rich malts. Tastes of nuts too (who would have guessed?), walnuts, pecans, and smoky caramel. Extremely dry but also tastes sweet from the maltiness. Hard to explain the sweetness; it's like having a bone dry wine that has good fruit flavors. Beer is super smooth from start to finish. Definitely will remember this beer. The brewery claims: "Made from well water in Northern England with barley malt, roasted barley, yeast, and special aromatic hops."
Rating: B+
Final Score- Arkansas over A&M 24-17. Very close game.

Second Game: LSU vs. Florida


Drinking St. Bernardus Abt 12 Dubbel style abbey ale from Belgium. I believe Belgium makes the best beer in the world, since they have hundreds of years of experience to perfect it. They claim: "Brewed using only the finest malts, local grain hops, yeast, and artesian water." Beer was matured in tanks for 3 months and they claim this beer is much like wine with aging potential of 15 years or more. Has scents of coriander, clove, and roasted sugar maltiness. Full bodied dark ale with huge amounts of maltiness with tail end citrus flavors. Alcohol confined perfectly. Deliciousn and smooth. A foodies beer, pairing nicely with smoked Elgin sausage and potato salad. Full bodied but doesn't sit like a brick in your stomach.
Rating: A
Score: LSU on top of Florida 10-7. Will have indigestion if Florida wins.

Lil' Jefe's prediction for Stanford vs. USC game: Stanford 34 vs. USC 23

(Lil' Jefe)