NFL Draft Beer List: Day 3

 

(I'll probably drink one or two of these tonight)

Beer List Day 2 Update: Drank two beers on the list last night. Steal My Sunshine and CBS. Just wasn't in the mood for anything else to be honest. Draft was disappointing and I wasn't in the mood for beer.

   I don't plan to watch the draft today. I'm not expecting anything exciting from Washington today, just mostly back ups and rotational players who may start in a year or two. That seems to be their trend. I don't fully understand the methodology of this for a team that has gone 7-9 and 7-10 in the past two season and has been looking at depth (which is important) but not possible starting upgrades.

Anyway, here's 2 beers to help you get up this morning for the draft and one beer to enjoy in the waning hours of the day. This will be quite brief compared to the previous lists I've done.

Breakfast Stout, Founders

ABV: 8.3%

Beer Advocate Grade: 100, World  Class

   It's hard to believe that Breakfast Stout is a all around year beer. An oatmeal stout combined with chocolate and two types of coffee to create one of the best beers in the world. This is the base beer for Founders KBS and CBS. Honestly, you're solid by just sticking to Breakfast Stout.

Rise Up Coffee Stout, Evolution Craft Brewing Company 

ABV: 6.7%

Beer Advocate Grade: 92 Outstanding

   I honestly think this is one of the better beers to drink if you're going to be outside for an event (say a tailgate), you're not going to have to drive for a while and it's a little chilly. Rise Up provides the alcohol and caffeine kick you need to get you going. A caribbean style stout infused with Rise-Up Coffee that provides a nice hefty beer to go with your breakfast. There is also a Russian Imperial version and a Oak-aged RIS version as well. I highly recommend the RIS if you can find it (I think I own about 10 bottles).

Barrel Roll No.3, Pugachev's Cobra, Hangar 24

ABV: 15%

Beer Advocate Grade: 97, World Class

   Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Maple syrup and aged in Bourbon barrels. I'm generally not a fan of  Russian Imperials aged in Bourbon barrels. Old Rasputin BA is a perfect example. I really don't like it and the Bourbon makes it almost a sickening sugary sweet, that takes away the espresso and roasted malt notes. Now I personally expect from a RIS the flavors of dried fruits mingling with the darker, bitter malts/hops and some coffee notes and I'm hoping the maple sugar and Bourbon barrel aging doesn't over take those flavors. That said, I have heard nothing but high praise for Pugachev's Cobra so I picked one up to try it. We'll see how this goes.

Draft update coming Sunday (probably) if Washington hasn't pissed me off or makes me scratch my head with confusion even more.

2022 NFL Draft Beer List: Day 2

 

(No, Guinness is actually not on the list tonight.)

Some quick updates and housekeeping items:

- I will do a breakdown of all the draft stuff eventually after the draft concludes. I'll probably start working on it Saturday night maybe with a general take on all the picks, trades and how it addressed the teams needs. After that I think I'll do a breakdown of each player and what to expect from them in 2022. This is a little different than what I normally do (see my 2020 Draft Evaluations as a classic example), but I think it'll be easier for me to get everything done and easier for you, the reader, to not feel like you're reading a book.

- Beer List Day 1 update:  Got through 2.5 beers. Turtle Dreams, Black Butte Porter and 1/2 of a bottle St. Klippenstein. I hope to do a bit better today.

- Quick Thoughts on Jahan Dotson: I think Washington really needed to trade back at some point and the best time to do so and get a pick in the 3rd was by trading back in the 1st. At the time of the trade, the team had quite a few options at WR and S Kyle Hamilton. By the time Washington got to 16, they were all mostly gone. Dotson was a surprise to me b/c most analysts and draftniks had him as a late 1st round (starting in the 20s) to a very early 2nd round pick if he fell a bit.

   But not everybody felt that way. Some had Dotson graded above Jameson Williams, while others had him in the top 6 of 1st round caliber WRs (Wilson, London, Burks, Olave, Dotson, Williams). He landed in the 1st, I'm fine with it. It makes the Washington O more dangerous and the team picked up 2 more players that could be future starters or at worst early contributors. The only downside to Dotson appears to be his size but Washington has had some good success with smaller skill players over the years (Santana Moss and Darrell Green come to mind). 

Ok, so onto the thing you're here for, the beer list.

Steal My Sunshine, Burgundy Ghost Brewing*

Description: Steal My Sunshine is a light bodied ale that is crisp with hints of honey and lemon (made with actual honey and lemon) that is perfect for a hot summer day or even a cold winter evening.

ABV: 5%

Dumb me, I never wrote the recipe down as it was mostly an experimental beer that I cooked up one day because I wanted to attempt to try an summer shandy for my wife. It's kind of a pale ale/mead monster. I found one bottle left and figured either this thing will be skunky as hell or it could still be a decent opener.

Endeavour, Burgundy Ghost Brewing*

Description: Named after Inspector Endeavour Morse from the British TV Series Endeavour and Inspector Morse, this Dark Mild ale would be the perfect beer to find in a British Pub or in a great pot of chili. With a notes of toasted grains, nuts and some mild malty sweetness, this is not an ideal beer for a hop head but a nice beer to drink while watching a game.

ABV: 3.2%

Grains Used: Maris Otter, Crystal Malt, Caramel Malt, English Black Malt, Pale Chocolate Malt

Hops Used: East Kent Goldings

I felt like going very light early and working my way up as we're going through two rounds tonight. I also felt this would go well with the Buffalo Wings we're having tonight.

Siracusa Nera, Dogfish Head

Description: Combining a roasty Imperial Stout with a jammy Syrah wine, this beer is bold and complex. Notes of coffee, dark chocolate and anise from a blend of roasted malts meld with flavors of plums, cherries and stewed fruits from Syrah grape must in this jet black stout. Aged on American oak to add some light toasty vanilla to the mix.

ABV: 10%

Beer Advocate Grade: 90 (out of 100) - Outstanding

Didn't realize that I had any of this left in my stash and found a bottle while looking for my box of World Wide Stout. This is an amazing Imperial Stout that is somewhat boozy but has many dried fruit and grape flavors. Boozy and fruity.

CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout), Founders

Description:  Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) is the epitome of why we launched the Backstage Series: to bring some of our most sought-after beers, which have been available primarily at the taproom or at a few select events, to a much larger audience.

Canadian Breakfast Stout is an Imperial Stout brewed with a blend of coffees and imported chocolates, then aged in spent bourbon barrels that have most recently been aging pure Michigan maple syrup.

ABV: 11.3%

Beer Advocate Grade: 100 (out of 100) - World Class

Founders no longer makes CBS as it takes a pretty long time to age this beer, even more so than their KBS (which is highly popular). I have had multiple 12 oz and 750ml bottles stored away and I figured now would be as good a time than ever to crack one open.

Bourbon County Stout (2019), Goose Island

Description: The Original Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Stout. Our primary focus every year is to make this beer the best that it’s ever been, with the best ingredients, which includes the finest of bourbon whiskey barrels. This year’s Bourbon County Stout is aged in a mix of bourbon barrels from a variety of whiskey distilleries. Barrel-aged for a year to develop the complexity that only time can provide, Bourbon County Stout boasts a unique blend of flavors such as fudge, vanilla and caramel — topped off with a rich, complex mouthfeel.

ABV: 14.7%

Beer Advocate Grade: 100 (out of 100) - World Class

And I'll finish off tonight with a little Bourbon..... County that is. We'll see if I can get this far.

* Picture will be posted on Twitter when I pour said beers.

2022 NFL Draft Beer List: Day 1

 

(What beverage goes better with the NFL Draft than beer?)

   So, I had thought about doing a 1st round mock draft and mentioned it on Twitter. The response was interesting as many were more curious about the beers I plan on drinking than reading another mock draft that is more than likely not going to happen, especially since there will be 2-4 trades most likely to happen and most mocks don't account for those trades.  I figured I would oblige and drop a 3 part beer list. One list for each day of the draft.

   Day one is going to be rather simple. I'm just cleaning some beers out of the fridge with the exception of a bottle that I have had for a few years. It's not a huge selection but I figured I would start with these beers and go from there.

St. Klippenstein, Allagash (2016 bottle)

Description: At the brewery, we celebrate a holiday full of free ham, potlucks, and strong stouts; it’s called St. Klippenstein Day. In honor of this joyous event, we brew a bourbon barrel-aged, Belgian-style strong stout of the same name. Delivering on its satiny black hue, St. Klippenstein offers up a complex, roasty aroma laden with dark chocolate. Vanilla and coconut notes form the flavor’s backbone, while oak from the barrel lingers in its smooth, warm finish.

This full-bodied beer is brewed with chocolate malt, dark chocolate malt, roasted barley, and brown malt. To round out its robust flavor, St. Klippenstein is hopped with Chinook and Northern Brewer, fermented with a trappist-style yeast for a month, then aged three more in bourbon barrels. Happy St. Klippenstein Day!

ABV: 11.0%

Beer Advocate Grade: 93 (out of 100) - Outstanding

   This will probably be my beer to open around the Washington draft pick at #11. Hopefully, it will be a celebratory beer. I have never had this one before.

Turtle Dreams, First State Brewing Company

Description: Tropical Sour - Peach, Passion Fruit, Guava notes. Made with Pilsen malt, Wheat and Oats with Cashmere and Idaho Gem hops. Also made with peaches, passion fruit and lactose. IBU: 20

ABV: 6.0%

Beer Advocate Grade: N/A (not enough votes)

  This is an interesting beer. It is listed by the brewer as a sour, while Beer Advocate lists it as a Sour-Gose. I personally find it to be neither. It tastes more like a wheat beer or fruit flavored ale to me. I'm not sure if the lactose added anything to it but if you like peach or passionfruit ales, this isn't a bad one. You will be disappointed if you're expecting a true sour however. There is very little sour to it and no funky aromas you would expect from a sour.

Black Butte Porter, Deschutes

Description: Bold reputation. Soft disposition. Surprising balance. Behold an iconic and unexpectedly complex porter that's more than meets the eye. Rise through dark forests dense with notes of chocolate and coffee to reveal a rich landscape of roasted terrain and soft-lit, creamy skies. 

Grains used: 2 Row, Wheat, Chocolate Malt, Crystal and Carapils. 

Hops used: Cascade, Tettnang. 

IBU: 30

ABV: 5.5%

Beer Advocate Grade:  93 (out of 100) - Outstanding

   A very solid Porter. And yes, I am one of those that separates Ale from Porter from Stout despite similarity of brewing techniques and ingredients.  Black Butte has the very nice notes of coffee and chocolate but doesn't give the heft that you expect from a stout. I consider this one of the more gold standards of a classic American Porter along with Founders Porter.

Nocturna, Allagash

Description: Out of the deepest night shines a sliver of light. In making Nocturna we age a silky stout in bourbon barrels with vanilla beans. In the darkness of the barrel a transformation occurs, the beer fills with a galaxy of roasty and sweet aromatics: toffee, chocolate, oak. Experience for yourself this momentous meeting of darkness and light.

Grains used: Allagash 2-Row Malted Barley Blend, Local Pale Malt, Local Oats, Torrified Wheat, Chocolate Malt, Roasted Barley, Midnight Wheat

Hops used: Northern Brewer, Cascade

Other Notes: Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Vanilla Beans.

ABV: 9.5%

Beer Advocate Grade: 88 (out of 100) - Very Good

   What can I say, I like Allagash beers. To be honest, I think my favorite beers are of their Sour and Coolship (aka: wild ale) varieties. You really must try their Farm to Face if you ever have an opportunity. It is an amazing sour. I picked up a 4 pack of Nocturna a few months ago and still have a couple of bottles left. The Bourbon isn't subtle but it still have some nice oaky and vanilla notes.

   Friday should be an even more interesting selection. A little longer draft day two maybe a few more and a few more powerful stouts. We have some family coming over so more of a Draft Day Party atmosphere. Maybe some Dogfish Head, Fremont, Founders, Burgundy Ghost Brewing (aka: my homebrew stuff). We shall see..... stay tuned.