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Thirsty Thursday: Grand Teton’s Oud Bruin & Giveaway

Jed Gray — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:36:17 +0000

Warmer weather is slowly creeping into our daily lives here in the States, so I thought for this edition of Thirsty Thursday I’d offer up a refreshingly complex beer from our friends at Grand Teton Brewing Co. that will be a palate pleasing cooling force on a hot summer’s day.

“Oud Bruin” or “old brown” is a Flemish style of beer known for having a thirst-quenching sweet-and-sour character and Grand Teton originally brewed their first version of this style back in 2007. The beer was brought back to life this year, along with two other favorite styles, to celebrate the brewery’s 25^th Anniversary.

Needless to say we’re extremely happy about the decision to return the Oud Bruin to service, as it’s arguably the most unique beer I’ve sampled from Grand Teton and a little of the beaten path of those typically found in their collection. Alive with active yeasts and bacteria, the beer is constantly evolving in the bottle and when sampling you’ll discover new aspects of Oud Bruin’s subtle nuances with every sip. It hits all the marks for being another balanced and approachable creation that entices and satisfies one’s beer soul.

Here’s my complete review:

Grand Teton Brewing Co. Oud Bruin (6% alc)
Cloudy opaque amber in color the Oud Bruin pours with a thick head that slowly dissipates into a slick. Expresses notes of orange sour tartiness, apple cider, and hints of yeast on the nose. The refreshing complex palate offers up nuances of dehydrated cherries, malts, spice, and tartness wrapped in graciously soft hops. Finishes with a slight toastiness with the beer’s essence pleasantly lingering.

Retails around $9 for a 750ml

Grand Teton Brewing Giveaway

And to help keep you refreshed and looking cool this summer Grand Teton Brewing Co. has graciously provided us a few goodies to giveway: a Growler and one of the brewery’s new Trucker Hats. Sadly the growler comes libationless, but you can still be one of the cool kids on the block since Grand Teton is the brewery that invented the growler and their swag is the next big thing in fashion…at least that’s what I heard.

So here is how the Giveaway works and each of the following counts as an entry:

Subscribe to sports-glutton.com by RSS Feed or email (top right of this page).
Like this Post.
Follow Grand Teton Brewery and sports-glutton.com on Twitter.
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Follow sports-glutton.com on Pinterest and pin this post.

Please leave a comment below for EACH entry into the Giveaway

The Giveaway is open until May 29th. The winner will be determined by random.org and announced in next week’s Thirsty Thursday post on May 30th (eligible to US residents only…apologies to our international friends).

Many thanks again to Grand Teton for providing the growler and trucker hat. Best of luck to all our readers in the giveaway!

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Texas Rangers: Bacon Jam & Cornbread Waffles

Jed Gray — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:23:31 +0000

There have been some rumblings that the MLB Recipe Series hasn’t been serving up the extreme forms of gluttony that some people have grown accustom to sports-glutton.com providing. Never fear though, because we’ve answered the call and created a dish holds true to one of the great principles in the gluttonous world of food: bacon makes everything better or in this case bacon jam.

So representing the Texas Rangers we give you our recipe for homemade cornbread waffles and bacon jam topped with a runny egg and chives.

Of course the bacon jam is the star of the show here with the a few unique ingredients like dates and juniper berries that provide subtle nuances to the jam. But it’s the use of spring onions that steals the show as these young onions imparts a milder flavor and creates an absolutely divine smell in your kitchen when combined with the bacon and remain ingredients.

Bacony, sweet, and lighten by cider vinegar this jam is “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” on it’s own and not half bad when enhancing the goodness of cornbread waffles and an egg.

Enjoy!

Bacon Jam Necessities:

1lb bacon
3 medium sized spring onions
3 gloves garlic
2 tbsp bacon fat
½ cider vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup
¾ cup dark coffee
¼ cup dates (chopped)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 juniper berries (crushed)

Cornbread Waffle Necessities:

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp chives (chopped) plus extra for garnish
1 ½ cup buttermilk
½ cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp honey

Directions:

Hack up your stripes bacon into medium sized pieces and toss into a large pot or pan over medium heat.

Cook bacon until well-done, but not crisp. Remove from the pan and leave only 2 tbsp of bacon fat.

Prepare your onions and garlic to join the party.

Add to the pot, cook over medium heat, and enjoy the divine smells.

Onions and garlic are ready when caramelized.

Stir the remaining ingredients into the pot…

…and don’t forget the bacon.
Reduced heat to simmer, cooking for 45-60 minutes or until the bacon jam has thickened.

mmmm…a taste test might be in order.

Toss the bacon jam into a food processor and hit the pulse button.

Jam should look something like this.
Transfer to a sealable container and store in the refrigerator.
Now for the waffles…

Toss the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.

Stir in the chives.

Whisk the wet ingredients together and stir in with the dry ingredients. Allow the doughy cornbread to sit for 10 minutes.

Fire up the waffle iron and make yourself some cornbread waffles.

Golden brown goodness just waiting for some bacon jam.

ah…there ya go.

Top with an egg over easy some more bacon jam and chives.*

*Note: it is recommended that you enjoy with only one waffle piece for a balanced gluttonous experience.

Being Built like the Golden Girls Not Helping the New York Knicks

Joseph Nardone — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:54:33 +0000

The New York Knicks have had to deal with a lot of criticism this year despite having a pretty good season. Coming into the year I am not sure how many people predicted that the Knickerbockers would be the two-seed in the East and perceived as the biggest threat to the Miami Heat. Then, after a very strong regular season, experts stated that if the Knicks were not to make the Eastern Conference Finals their season would be a bust. Unfortunately for New York, they relied heavily on jumpers hurled from the hands of Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. Jumpers, mind you, that started to fall flat in their series against the Indiana Pacers.

This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone, though. New York started the season with an aging team, unproven mid-twenty-something rookies and a star player who was shook over a cereal reference from the mouth of Kevin Garnett. The disappointing part of the Knicks’ season is not their playoff woes, it’s a fanbase who was once again tricked into thinking their team would be anything more than regular season fodder before the playoffs began.

In reality the Knicks’ front-office should be commended for the job they did building this year’s team. Granted they are as old as dirt, but they were trying to compete with a Miami team who has All-Stars draping from ceiling fans — building their team to win now meant they had to get players who might only have a season or two left in their otherwise decomposing bodies. New York went with the Golden Girls method of building a basketball contender. Wait…..what?!

Depending on your age demographic, you may be unaware of the Golden Girls or their exploits. If you are too lazy to put on Lifetime, Hallmark or any other women-friendly networks let me drop some knowledge on your cranium. The show was based around four women who were in the later parts of their lives. Each of them had distinctly different characteristics that helped thrust the show as a fan favorite as well as a critical success. Thanks to all of that and some luck the show lasted seven seasons — even generating several ill-fated spin-offs.

The Knicks do not have seven seasons remaining from the players on their roster. Even with that, however, everything else about their team can be compared to that of the Golden Girls. From their age (duh) all the way to each of their players having a distinct personality that helped them have such great regular season success, but fail in the playoffs. Without recurring characters, here is a look at how the Knicks are similar to the Golden Girls:

J.R. Smith is Blanche Devereaux
Blanche — to be put in the politest way possible — was a man-chasing, snobby, debutante. The only thing that exceeded her love of expensive things was her need to have a man fill her more primal desires. If we had an abundance of time to figure out how much sex she had on the show through the references she made of making sweet whoopee, well, I don’t know of college people who experimented who had more sexual-relations than Mrs. Devereaux. She is a combination of flash, style and occasional glimpses of brilliance.

Photo By: Mark Ruyon

J.R. Smith classlessly asked a female on Twitter this year if she “was trying to get the pipe.” That was a real thing that Smith said when a girl made a ho-hum tweet toward Smith’s direction. Smith is a streaky, volume-shooter who can either score 28 points in a flurry of long-range bombs or go 1-16 from the field — helping his team play their way out of games. Like Blanche, Smith’s sexual exploitations (or at least suggestions of them) are far exceeding his actual merit as a player. He did win sixth-man of the year, although, he has played a horrible brand of basketball since his game 4 suspension against the Boston Celtics.

The two of them are comparable for their flash over substance characteristics. Both of them do show glimpses of their brilliance in their aspects of life, but to be honest neither of them have what we would think of being winning personality traits — still, they are humorously entertaining personality traits.

Photo By: Mark Runyan

Jason Kidd is Sophia Petrillo
Jason Kidd may be the oldest human being in the history of the world. Okay, that is factually incorrect. Still, he is really, really old — like Sophia Petrillo old. Similar to Kidd, Sophia was the elder statesmen of her group of friends and family. She was the mother of the main character who was well past her prime, just like Kidd. She did show an occasional spark in her aging brain that helped her friends get through a tough situation here and there — just like Kidd.

Unlike like Kidd, though, Petrillo actually scored.

Tyson Chandler is Dorothy Zbornak
If you don’t love yourself some Bea Arthur I’m not sure we can be friends anymore. Later in her real life, Arthur was best known as a punchline for comics on anything Comedy Central Roast related. Whether it was her strange resemblance of being a man, using her iconic status as a joke to women in their later stages of life or her ability to stay relevant without doing anything of substance in a long time all made her an easy mark for a show based off of trolling each other.

Photo By: Scott Mecum

Her character on the Golden Girls did not belong with the rest of the group. While everyone else was funny, quirky or having a strange background Dorothy was a substitute teacher whose presence was as stoic as her personality. She was clearly the leader of her inner-circle and whatever advice or leadership she provided usually backfired against her.

Tyson Chandler is like Mrs. Zbornak in so many ways. He too, does not fit with the rest of his group. While everyone else on their roster has some strange personality traits, an interesting background story or whatever Chandler is pretty mundane in comparison. Also — like Dorothy — his attempts and leadership always seems to backfire. Latest example being when he called out an unnamed teammate (Carmelo Anonthy) and stated that unless you are a really, really great player that the ball should move around a little bit more and less one-on-one hoops should be played — Melo shot 23 times after that backhanded leadership attempt, only making 9 of them.

Carmelo Anthony is Rose Nylund
We should cut to the chase right now. Rose was dumb, funny, and Betty White (who played Rose) stole every scene she was ever in. While the show might have been built around Bea Arthur and her talents, White did more for the Golden Girls than a condiment does making a hamburger tasty.

Photo By: Keith Allison

Unlike Rose (White), the New York Knicks were built around Anthony. He was supposed to be the Bea Arthur of this group, but his leadership skills seemed to align himself more with the wacky Nylund. Still, he is definitely the pillar of the Knicks as well as the heart and soul of the team. While experts will have an easy time placing blame for the Knicks’ woes on Melo, if it were not from him they would be the Empty Nest (Golden Girls spin-off) of the NBA.

While no one ever accuses Anthony as being as naive or dumb as Rose he has done some things that make one question the man’s sanity. The prime example would be when — the already aforementioned — Garnett, cereal and Melo’s wife fiasco happened when KG made a few derogatory comments toward Melo about his wife and some Cheerios. Anthony then decided it would be wise to hang out by the opposing team’s bus and go after Garnett — which feels like an episode where Rose would think it would be a good idea going after Miles Webber when he was taken into the Federal Witness Protection Program.

Program Cancellation
Just like the Golden Girls the New York Knicks were just too good to be true. Age, injuries, and the inability to hit jumpers cost the team from being a real threat in the East like many hoped they would be. Unlike the Golden Girls, though, nobody is expecting any spin-offs or renewal of another season. New York’s roster is composed of many players who are older than the underwear that Blanche presumably wore on the regular. Guys like Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace (already re-retired), and some others are likely on the outs (at least one would hope so).

Unfortunately for us the Golden Girls only had four-main characters. Sure, they had some pretty important recurring characters — just like the Knicks have roleplayers — but they were not nearly as vital to the show’s success as their four main protagonists. Man, it just occurred to me. The Knicks are not even deserving of being compared to the Golden Girls. I mean, they won’t run in syndication, be renewed, or remembered fondly.

To be fair, though, Carmelo Anthony’s “Comedy Central Roasting” has already been happening his entire career. It would be unfair to expect a send-off like Arthur’s or to become beloved like Betty White.

Joseph is a contributor for sports-glutton.com. For the love of Sam Cassell, follow him on the mean streets of Twitter @JosephNardone

DC United Finds Its Footing

Jed Gray — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:36:04 +0000

When you’ve been on the type of slide DC United has been this season losing seven straight games any positive news is good news. For the Black and Red positive news came in the form of a 1-1 draw with visiting Sporting KC on Sunday night in a match that was arguably one of the team’s more complete performances of the year.

Not that head coach Ben Olsen would ever allow a draw to be characterized as a “win” for the team, but the even decision did allow United’s players to regain their composure and the self-confidence with the knowledge that the 2013 season was not lost.

The turn of events for DC’s season began last week on the road against FC Dallas with Olsen’s insertion of young forward and former University of Maryland stand out Casey Townsend into the starting line-up. Even though United would go on to lose 2-1 to Dallas, there existed a different tone to the game, one of energy and offensive assertiveness that had been lack theretofore.

This minute bit of positive momentum would carry-over into Sunday’s match against Sporting as Olsen kept Townsend in the starting line-up and continued roll the dice by placing the inexperienced young Taylor Kemp in the midfield along with Nick Deleon, a position the career forward had never played before. The shake up may not have yielded goals in the first half of play, but the energy, determination, and new found confidence of the United players was visible to all.

This injection of youthful energy brought a dynamic to the United attack, allowing for the plausibility of offensive potency which in turn seemed to relieve the defensive’s burden to keep KC’s attack in check. So effective was the Black and Red’s defensive effort that for the first time in six games the team succeeded in preventing their opponent from scoring during the first half of play.

It was the first step in the right direction for a team that has so often this season found themselves playing from behind within the first 10-20 minutes of a match and one that perhaps bred the confidence for DC to recover from a goal by Sportings’ Lawrence Olum in the 60 minute, with a dramatically time footer by Kyle Porter in the 65 minute to tie the match. The goal, Porter’s first in MLS play, provided United with the security that at the very least the team could walk away from the match with one point.

Even though Porter’s goal was badly needed, it was Bill Hamid’s tenacious defense at the goal line that ultimately kept DC in the game.

Hamid, who had showed signs of detrimental frustration in weeks past and had received last week off to recharge, responded with a solid performance that included key saves down the stretch to preserve the progress United had made in the match.

On the whole the Black and Red’s win may not seem spectacular, nor, again, would Olsen want any of us to read too much into it. Still with the team finally slowly recovering from key injuries to Lionard Pajoy, Carlos Ruiz, and Chris Pontius along with the youthful presence gelling the attack (or at least making it more dynamic), it does seem that DC is poised to make a legitimate comeback. Olsen might be tempered, but one can clearly see the confidence growing on the players’ faces and perhaps all they needed was a game to regain their footing, reset the clock, and move forward.

Should United assertively defeat visiting Portland on Saturday at RFK, the Black and Red might just become a dangerous team that has nothing to lose and everything to gain as they fight to emerge from the cellar and find their way back into the post-season.

The story of the match via images:

Monday Morning Humor

Jed Gray — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:08:56 +0000

*This edition of MMH is a joint collaboration between Jed Gray and Joseph Nardone

Remember when we were kids — assuming you are no longer — and the collection of baseball cards that we had? When we used to scour the local card shop to find the rookie card of our favorite player, you know, with our parents money. That time when you found that not-so-elusive Ken Griffey Jr. card, only later to discover that so many were produced the card would never be worth more than eleven-bucks?

Well, most of us have likely grown out of the baseball card collecting phase, focusing instead on collecting wine in bottle or boxed form. It’s just another sign that we’re all getting older — and maybe, just maybe not aging as gracefully as we wished.

However, there is something that could comfort us in the aging process. Something to remind you there are poor souls that have had it worse than you. Mainly a select few professional baseball players from the 1980′s.

Like our High School Yearbooks, a baseball card is a time capsule that everyone but the person in it wants to see. So, let us feel better about ourselves by making fun of others…specifically the unfortunate souls on the following 80′s baseball cards:

On his days off Wilson, a Texas native, moonlighted as a hit man for the Philadelphia based Scarfo crime family.

Spent his off-seasons teaching high school Biology in York, PA.

A pitcher in real life, Vuckovich ended up playing Clu Haywood in the movie Major League. Sometimes a mustache can make a dream come true.

Harold Ramis trying to parlay his Ghostbusting fame to baseball stardom.

Although the future accountant’s baseball career never amounted to much, Kittle became one of the most widely printed and discarded baseball cards of the 80′s.

During the infamous alien infestation of the mid-80′s, MLB was forced to call on certain members of the Men in Black. Brown batted .265 in his career as well as wiping out the memories of nearly a third of the people with his neuralyzer.

Slick Willie…enough said.

Not pictured is a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve, a can of chew in his back pocket and some suntan lotion.

…and if you made it this far, please give us your caption for Mr. Jim Gantner:

“Flopping” is Detrimental to Our Health

Joseph Nardone — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:33:51 +0000

Photo By: Ryan Fung

No matter what level of basketball you may be taking in a form of flopping is running rampant throughout games. Flopping is when a player decides to fake taking on a charge. As in, not really taking a charge, but making it look like they got in the correct position in time so the referee will blow his whistle and call a foul on the offensive player. Sounds great and all, although, it is putting a damper on these NBA Playoffs as well as basketball in general.

Some players have a reputation of being a flopper: a person who habitually abuses the block/charge rule and tries to garner calls in their favor that they have otherwise not actually earned. Some players like LeBron James, Blake Griffin and anyone who has ever attended the Duke Blue Devils University (even their business majors who do not play basketball) have all been accused of flopping more times than needed.

A few fans, but not all, are very sick of the outcomes of games being swayed by a player essentially tricking a referee. However, there are some who do not mind the flopping going on in basketball because they consider it a form of gamesmanship. Which it really is, though, it does cause the pace of games to be dramatically slower and for fanbases to actually expect flops to be constantly called in their favor. While it is bad enough basketball has allowed flopping into their game, now it has become such a vital aspect of the sport that people get angry when their team’s player flops and it is not called — which is like forging a check, only to become angry when a cashier will not cash it.

The latest example of “flopping to make the headlines” was in a Miami Heat game, when a player from the Chicago Bulls fouled LeBron James hard. James then jumped up to show his manliness to the other player (I suppose), only for the player to push him and James to fall back 12 feet as if he was punched by Zeus (not the Greek God, but the guy from the movie No Holds Barred). The player who pushed James, Nazr Mohammed, was ejected from the game after the ordeal was over. Meaning, a hard foul is okay as well as jumping up to puff out your chest, but please — for the love of Sam Cassell — don’t thrust your arms outwards giving an opposing player and opportunity to earn an academy award — that sir, will result in your ejection from a playoff game (click here to watch the entire ordeal).

That is not saying James was wrong in that situation. Why wouldn’t he do everything possible to trick those apparently gullible referees into tossing a Bulls’ player out of the game? James knew Chicago’s team has been completely decimated by injuries and whatnot, losing another player would force the Bulls to search the crowd for a replacement.

Photo By: Keith Allison

Flopping is an epidemic that started in college and has managed to rear its ugly head in the NBA. Originally, the rule in college was meant to balance the playing fields. Because some players — primarily at bigger schools — were so much more athletic than others that the NCAA in their infinite wisdom wanted to make sure a player from the Club State Pool Cleaners could do something to stop a guy from North Carolina from jumping over him on every single play. Ignoring the fact that the NCAA has been disguising a block/charge call in the name of an even playing field, it has led to some iffy calls in the biggest of games as well as trying to make something so subjective as objective as possible — which is simply impossible.

To be fair, the NCAA is not the NBA. They have to do something to keep smaller schools feel semi-relevant when they are taking on historical powers — how else would they profit off it otherwise? I am more confused, however, by the NBA’s original allowance of flopping into their league. It is not like they need a “level playing field” or a way to make the games more profitable. In fact flopping hurts the pace of the game and in turn makes it less profitable. Nobody, not even a die-hard fan wants a guy jumping 6 feet away from the basket to be called for a charge because a guy gets in his way while he is already in the air. People who like the NBA more than college hoops mostly like it because of the better play as well as the athletic feats players can pull-off. Flopping takes portions of those athletic feats out of the game.

It is odd, though, that no player ever wants to be labeled a flopper, but does not mind actually doing it. If a player is caught flopping he will just say that he was trying to do whatever he could to help his team win. Which is all fine and dandy, but why would you hate the label of being a flopper that much if it is you just trying to help your team win? Oh yeah, because being a flopper is being perceived as being soft, a cheater and a crybaby.

Being that most of these players are otherwise likeable it would make sense for them to distance themselves from the label. Still, it is another part of the game that goes along with players who act like they never foul, but are always fouled on every shot attempt they take, stomach-cringing. Charge/block calls are not the only thing limited to flopping. Take Tim Duncan for example. A Hall of Fame player who is widely considered as the greatest power forward who ever played the game. He does not flop on an other-worldly level, although, he does scream at the refs for a foul every time he shoots the ball and whenever a foul is called on him. In Duncan’s eyes he has never committed a foul in his entire basketball career — which makes watching him an unappealing process. Instead of enjoying the waning moments of his career we have to look at a grown man get upset that a phantom-foul was not called.

In no other walk of life would a worker do something to trick the people supervising their work into something that benefits them and get away with it so regularly. The NBA has tried to crack down on flopping by instituting a “flop rule” that fines players who get caught doing it excessively. Granted, although they would never admit it, it was the NBA’s fault for allowing the trickery into the league to begin with. Now, however, they are trying to do their best to abolish something from the game that players honestly expect to go their way every single time. Unfortunately the flopping rule has done little in the way to slow down flopping. Because a block/charge call is so subjective that it couldn’t be accurately reviewed until after the game is over — and more importantly the outcome — players don’t mind losing a few thousand from their paychecks as long as it meant their team came out the victor.

What are the solutions to the problem? Well, it is much more complex and probably still something that relies heavily on the referees that are already as gullible as the day is long. It can be something like a zero tolerance policy, but considering it is something that can be different in the eyes in each individual person who witnessed the event it could end up with having a player tossed out of a game for making a legitimate play. The NBA (college is nearly impossible to fix, well, because the NCAA is so broken that trying to fix anything within it is so daunting that folks would rather be decapitated than appeal to the NCAA’s sensibilities) could also do more to clearly define what a charge and block is — trying to leave as much subjectiveness out of the equation. Even with that, though, you can never take all the subjectiveness out of the play.

Public scorn would probably be the best way to try to eliminate flopping from the game. Players do not care about fines and a possible ejection (players are NEVER ejected for flopping) as long it helps their team win — which helps enhance their image as a “winning” player. If you were to ridicule them for flopping beyond the point of nausea, however, I think it could have much more influence on how a player goes about conducting their business on the court. Hurt their image – hurt their feelings — make them less endorseable — possible solution. I mean, no one wants to be labeled a flopper so why not call them out whenever they do it?

Sadly, none of that will actually help. A fanbase will not care if their team employs a flopper as long as it helps their favorite team earn victories. The player won’t care unless it causes their paychecks to miss a slew of zeros or for their image to take a hit in which they can only be compared to a pop-diva. Even if we were to ridicule the player to the point where he actually hears the complaints, he will still have backers in the form of his team’s fanbase, making his “flopping” feel vindicated.

Who is to blame for flopping? The same people who get hurt by it, everyone. The NCAA, NBA, players, and most importantly fans. While we are in the majority of people who complain about flopping we also are the same people who have been allowing it. Regardless if it is the NCAA or the NBA, the only way they will change the rules to make them actually stick is if it were to alter their pocketbooks. At the end of the day articles like this do not matter. You and I will still watch games because we love to watch them. Still, unfortunately, if we started to change the channel instead of “accepting” a flawed game by watching it maybe then — but only then — will people in charge of a game we love try to really fix what is broken with it. That goes for more than just flopping, although, we need not be greedy and will have to settle for one fixing of the game thing at a time.

Joseph is a contributor to sports-glutton.com. For the love of Sam Cassell, follow him on the mean streets of Twitter @JosephNardone

Thirsty Thursday: Southern Tier EuroTrash Pilz

Jed Gray — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:24:20 +0000

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The same could be said about Southern Tier’s unassuming spring seasonal Eurotrash Pilz, which blurs the lines of being a pilsner or a lager and consequently the pinky sud has won few fans in the world of Beerdom (or at least on Beer Advocate).

Still there is something incredibly unique about this brew from Lakewood, NY…something those of us who have had nectar beer from the source in Bavaria and the Czech Republic can identify with. It’s the fusion a each region’s beer predominate styles to produce a refreshing suds that some would call trashy, others brilliant, and for the few a declaration of war.

Not surprisingly this “Euro Trash” does have a confused identity. But it’s suppose to and understanding the beer gets you half way to enjoying it. However, if your remain unconvinced of this beer’s positive attributes then combine this trashy Pilz with a citrus soda to make yourself a Raedler (click here to read about this Bavarian specialty) and call it a day.

Here’s my complete review:

Southern Tier Eurotrash Pilz (5.2%alc)
Bright golden in color the beer pours with a minimal quickly dissipating head. The nose reminds one of a fusion between a Bavarian lager and Czech Pils with unmistakable soothing malts and finely tuned sharp/crisp hops. Trashier on the palate than the nose would lead you to believe the palate ebbs from grainy medium bodied malts to dulled bitter hops with a sweet citrus character lurking in the background. The confusion isn’t bad though, just not exceptional…yet still very enjoyable.

Six Pack Retails Around $10

Minor League Baseball & The Bluth Family

Tim Solis — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:38:14 +0000

The return of the Bluth family is nearly upon us. Photo by: Nick Mullis (@its_nicks)

One of my most notable “downers” of recent memory came back in 2006 when the Fox Network announced that they would be cancelling the critically-acclaimed television show Arrested Development after only three seasons on the air. For those of you who are unfamiliar with creator Mitchell Hurwitz’s sitcom, it was arguably the funniest in the history of television. The show depicted the dysfunctional antics of the Bluth family, a cast of characters whose comical presence has yet to be matched since their departure from network television. I actually remember hearing the news of the cancellation while at the grocery store, and abruptly uttered out the words “god damn it” like a crazy person. Needless to say, my animosity carried over throughout the ongoing years.

Around a year ago, news broke that Netflix would be bringing Arrested Development back for one last season. As such, my pent-up aggression over the shows untimely departure has finally found some resolution. In celebration of the Bluth family revival, I figured it would be fitting for some promotional / give away nights at some minor league baseball venues (Major League venues would be very un-Bluth like). If these teams were smart, they would take advantage of the return of America’s premier dysfunctional family.

Here’s how I could foresee these suggested promotional events playing out:

Buster Bluth Pirate Hook Giveaway Night:
A seal attack while swimming in the ocean leaves Buster without the use of his left hand. The Bardenton Maruders of the Class A Florida State League take advantage of Buster’s misfortune by holding a Pirate Hook Giveaway night. Buster is invited to partake in the festivities, but backs out at the last minute when he finds out the Maruders are scheduled to play the Brevard County Manatees.

Tobias Funke Blue Man Group Night:
What better place to honor Tobias’ aspiration to be a member of the Blue Man Group, than a minor league baseball game in Las Vegas. Fans will be given blue paint at the gate to help transform the atmosphere at the stadium. Cut off blue jean shorts are optional, as is acting socially awkward during the full length of the game.

George Bluth, Sr. Cornballer Giveaway Night:
A Bluth family tradition (well sort of), George Senior’s Cornballer was deemed a faulty product due to safety concerns with hot oil constantly spilling out on customers. The Cedar Rapids’ promotional team decides to roll the dice and give the first 1,000 fans the new and improved Cornballer. For whatever reason, only 250 fans take one.

G.O.B. (George Oscar Bluth, Jr.) Magic Night:
G.O.B. always seems to have an ace up his sleeve (or spare change) when it comes to the field of magic. The founder of the Allegiance of Magicians has always had a knack for pulling off some high profile illusions (disappearing yacht, magic coffin, free chicken). The Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast league have agreed to let G.O.B. perform during the seventh inning stretch of an upcoming game. Although the illusion itself is hush-hush, I hear he will be riding his Segway onto the field and attempting to have it disappear.

George Michael Bluth Lightsaber Giveaway Night:
The Mud Hens are no strangers to honoring the iconic Star Wars series. They recently busted out Chewbacca uniforms during their May 4^th game (Aptly named, May the Fourth be with you day.) Keeping on the Star Wars theme, lightsabers are handed out to the fans at the gate out of respect of George Michael’s remarkable Jedi skills. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself:

Lucille Bluth All You Can Drink Night:
No one likes a sloppy drunk, especially at a sporting event. Lucille Bluth epitomizes the lifestyle of a functioning alcoholic. She is rarely seen without a drink in her hand (and consequently, an opinion coming from her mouth). As such, the Hillsboro Hops of the Northwest League decide to hold an All You Can Drink Night in her honor. Although most fans are passed out by the 7^th inning, remarkably Lucille is inquiring about a nightcap following the game.

Lindsay Bluth Funke Ladies Night:
Even though she’s married to Tobias, Lindsay is persistent with her flirting ways on the show. Her flirtatious ways have been unsuccessful on multiple occasions, namely with Thomas Jane, Steve Holt, and Ice the Bounty Hunter. That Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League put together “Ladies Night” at the ballpark in her honor. Oddly enough, the promotion is never re-scheduled following a series of rain outs.

Maeby Funke Frozen Banana Night:
Although Maeby didn’t officially hold the title of “Mr. Manager” during her employment at the Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand, she did help it make money (or did she take money, I forget). Started in 1953 by George Sr., the banana stand will be onsite at Kannapolis, North Carolina for the Intimidators crowd on hand. The fans are reminded at the gates that the rumors of $250,000 hiding in the walls of the banana stand are in fact false.

Michael Bluth Family Intervention Night:
Sanity comes at a cost, especially when the rest of your family displays consistent acts of insanity. Viewed by most as the “normal” Bluth, Michael is usually given the dubious task of cleaning up the messes of those closest to him. Whether it’s the chaos created by the Bluth Company itself, or just the sheer lunacy of the family, Michael usually makes the important decisions for the family by default. Fittingly, the Modesto Nuts of the California League hold a Family Intervention Night to help Michael confront his family. The rest of the family doesn’t get the memo (expect for George Michael of course), and are no-shows for the promotion.

The ”Final Countdown“ of Arrested Development premieres on Netflix beginning May 26^th. Enjoy the ride; lord knows I will!

Editors Note: Special thanks to Nick Mullis for contributing the feature image for this article (Twitter: @its_nicks or Tumblr: Nick Mullis).

Seattle Mariners: Baked “Ivar Dog”

Jed Gray — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:36:03 +0000

The MLB Recipe Series continues this week traveling to the Pacific Northwest with a recipe for the Seattle Mariners and healthier alternative to hot dogs. The “Ivar Dog,” the creation of local restaurant Ivar’s Acres of Clams, is a simple combination of fried cod, tartar sauce, and coleslaw served on a hot dog bun. The uniqueness of this sandwich and that fact it’s available for purchase at the concession stands of Safeco Field made it the obvious food choice to represent the Mariners.

Our version of the Ivar Dog uses baked pieces of cod 1) because it’s healthier and 2) I honestly don’t feel like boiling up a ton of oil just to fry a few pieces of fish. The homemade spicy tartar sauce is a somewhat eclectic mixture of mayo, sour cream, cornichons, capers, herbs, and sriracha. It’s glutton goodness, but if you prefer to use your own tartar recipe there will be no hard feelings. Finally, we used the addictive jalapeno coleslaw found on this Fried Chicken Sandwich and featured in our NFL Recipe Series, to jazz up the flavors in the “dog” (seriously the slaw itself is so good I often sit down and eat entirely on it’s own).

The resulting sandwich is a fresh, crunchy, light, messy, satisfying sports eat with just the right amount of spice and intrigue to keep you coming back for more.

Enjoy!

The Necessities:*

1-1.5 lb fresh cod
Spicy tartar sauce (see below)
Jalapeno Coleslaw (click here for recipe)
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Non-stick spray
Hot dog buns
Lemon

Spicy tartar sauce

1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp cornichons or dill pickles finely chopped
1 tbsp capers roughly chopped
1 tbsp-ish fresh dill finely chopped
1 tsp fresh tarragon finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sriracha
Salt and pepper to taste.

*Should make enough for roughly four Ivar Dogs.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all the ingredients for the spicy tartar sauce and make your jalapeno coleslaw.
Place in refrigerator to allow the flavors to meld.

Clean and cut thick slices of cod (remember the fish will shrink in the oven). Lightly dress with salt and pepper.

In a shallow bowl whisk up the egg.

And combine the panko bread crumbs, salt, and pepper in another.

Bath each piece of cod in the egg wash and coat each side with the bread crumb mixture.

Place each piece on a baking pan covered with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick spray.
Spray the top of each piece of cod as well.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is firm and slightly splitting.

Give one side of your hot dog bun a generous lather of spicy tartar sauce.

Plop a piece of baked cod in there.

A tad of jalapeno coleslaw is good…

However, more is always better.

Dress with a splash of lemon juice and you’re good to go!

Sacramento Can Finally Celebrate and Look Ahead

William Hodges — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:36:24 +0000

Photo By: C.M. Keiner

In less than 24 hours, news coming out of the NBA Board of Governors meeting in Dallas will confirm what the City of Sacramento, its fans and Region have been desperately waiting to hear for three, long and excruciating years – that the Kings will remain the Sacramento Kings now and for at least the next 30 years.

I’m not making some bold prediction here folks. The writing is on the wall. The NBA will likely reject the sale and relocation bid of the Seattle ownership group (led by hedge fund mogul Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer), which will leave the Maloof family with very few options. It may take the Maloofs a few days to agree to sell to the Sacramento ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive, but it WILL happen because they can’t afford to run the team anymore and they will still receive a record sale price for the franchise.

Gone will be the shenanigans of the Maloof family – threatened relocations, a bottom-of-the-barrel ran franchise on and off the court, jerking around the fans and probably most egregiously, embarrassing Papa Stern, his league and fellow owners for YEARS.

But this is not about the Maloof family – not anymore. This is about Sacramento and a 28-year love story between a city, its fans and team. It’s about a former NBA All-Star point guard and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who without his leadership and tireless effort, the team would have been gone three years ago. KJ has been simply fearless in his post-NBA career just like he was as a player. Remember the vicious dunk he dropped on Hakeem Olajuwon nearly 19 years ago to the date? Fearless.

Photo By: Matt Addie & Heel Sports

It’s about Think Big Sacramento, local and statewide politicians, all the fans behind the grassroots effort HereWeStay, super fan and local radio personality @carmichaeldave and the filmmakers behind Small Market Big Heart – a full-length, award-winning documentary about the people of Sacramento and their fight to keep their team. Perhaps most of all, it’s about the generations of kids that will grow up going to Kings games the same way I did.

So what does this mean for Sacramento? Well, it means that the city and its fans can finally breathe, and celebrate all the hard work and effort that it took to retain its only major professional sports franchise. It means turning a page and getting back to enjoying basketball.

It’s also an opportunity to look forward to the NBA draft, renew season tickets, start debating off-season moves, discussing trades no matter how unrealistic and silly they are, and of course, complaining. You know, the stuff that normal fans do?

And how exciting will it be for the city to welcome a new ownership group, basketball operations team, and coach that are committed to rebuilding the franchise into a winner? How awesome will it be in the fall of 2016 when the Kings open a brand new, state-of-the-art downtown Entertainment & Sports Facility? Sacramentans, like myself, can hardly wait.

In the end, love found a way. It was never about Seattle, Virginia Beach, Anaheim, Las Vegas or anywhere else the team was rumored to relocate to – it was ALWAYS about Sacramento – a proven NBA market that just needed a fresh start.

So you see Sacramento, May 15 is just the beginning and Opening Night in October can’t come soon enough.