The Spring Beer Tourey: # 1 Garde Dog vs # 10 Farmers Tan

      This is a bit unfair for the # 1 seed, cause if I hadn't got rid of the terrible Nectar Nugget this would be a cakewalk.  Instead, the # 10 seed is now the very good Southern Tier Farmers Tan.  Against this is one of the final four beers from last year, Flying Dog Garde Dog.  They are both a cloudy straw. The Dog has honey, citrus and farm, while Tan has herb, honey and caramel on the nose.  The Dog has strong flavors of honey,citrus a bit of yeast and farm.  It's pretty good.  Tan is strong with honey, caramel, citrus, herb and farm.  That is such a good beer.  These are really the same beer.  the flavors are quite similar, but the Tan is stronger in flavor and precious alcohol.  They are both good but Farmers Tan is better.  This is hardly fair.  Life is not fair.

Analysis:  Wow a 10 seed beats a 1 seed.  Might be a tourney of upsets.

ACC Beer Tourney: # 2 Duke vs # 7 Maryland

      Duke's representative is Ashville NC's Highland Gaelic Ale.  Maryland has Frederick MD's,  Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber.  Duke is a cloudy Amber with a very fruity sweet caramel nose.  Maryland is a classic amber with a citrus caramel nose.  Duke comes out strong with big flavors of caramel, grape, herb and dried fruit with tingly hop throughout.  The Terps have some big flavors too with caramel, mocha and herb.  Pretty hoppy for an amber.  Duke has got some strong body, they should be able to clean the glass on both ends. But, Maryland has got the stuff to keep in this with their shooters.  It looks like Duke's size and strength is getting to be too much for The Terps.  When it comes down to it Maryland is a little off, not as balanced as The Blue Devils.  Duke holds on against a pesky opponent, but reigns victorious.

Analysis:  The Gaelic Ale is pretty good it 's like a slightly lighter Scotch Ale, but full of flavor.  Old Scratch is a good amber, but there are better out there.

The ACC Tourney, of Beer

      Well, March is the month that brings us the amazing Spring Beer Tourney, and another lesser known basketball tournament.  But, I just realized there's still more than a week till Selection Sunday.  So what shall I do?  Well this is ACC Country so it's the ACC Tourney, of beer.  I'm taking what I think are the top 8 teams in the ACC.  Here's who I will eliminate and why.  Wake Forest is the worst team in ACC history, they would get bounced in the first round of the Women's Tourney.  NC State blows and there's to many NC teams.  Georgia Tech sucks and and their rascists.  Last man out, The U, Fuck The U.  That leaves us with the top eight and here's how I see them finishing.

1. North Carolina
2. Duke
3. Florida State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Clemson
6. Boston College
7. Maryland
8. Virginia

      Your thinking, why doesn't he wait till the seeding is final?  Because there are only so many beers you can objectively try in one day.  Sure, I can drink ten, but I can only comment on the first few.  So, here's the beers that will represent these fine institutions.

1. Duck Rabbit Amber,  NC's finest.
2. Highland Gaelic Ale, produced somewhere near Duke.
3. Landshark Lager, the only Florida Beer I could find.
4. St. George Golden Ale, a little East of Blacksburg, but VA.
5. RJ Rockers Bell Ringer, Somewhere in SC.
6. Sam Adam's, a Boston fahkin non qweeyah beeyah.
7. Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber, a little North West of campus.
8. Starr Hill Amber, right in Charlottesville.

      So it's 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc. you get the drill. Now this is of course judged strictly on the beer so Duke won't get 20 phantom calls every game to win.  So prepare for a week of the ACC Tourney, of Beer.

Flying Dog K9 Kruizer Winter Ale

      Well that's a long title.  Flying Dog is a local D.C. area brewery and I really need to try more of their stuff.  Unfortunately, they have a big black mark, see Gonzo Imperial Porter.  Although Their Spring beer did well in the Spring Tourney.  Well let's see how this tips the scales.  Kruizer, I hate this name, pours out a dark amber with caramel and a suspiciously high amount of herbal hop.  And there is a ton of hop, but you can taste the caramel and mocha, so it isn't a total disaster.  I actually think this is drinkable.  But, it does require quite a high hop  tolerance.  It also does not give me that Winter Beer vibe.   Kruizer might not make it on the nice list.

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

This is the last of the three porters we're exploring. This imperial, usually meaning higher alcohol, porter is from local brewery, Flying Dog. This sure sounds like a winner, porter with more delicious alcohol. But I've been let down before. Gonzo pours out black as pitch, and has sweet caramel, mocha, yeast and a background hop bitter. The flavor is mocha and coffee with lots of hop bitterness up front and on the finish. This is strong stuff. The flavors are a bit too strong, especially the hops which tend to drown the other flavors. The finish is all bitter, leaving that lingering bitter aftertaste. I'm really not feeling this stuff. It's a chore to drink. It's heavy has a lousy aftertaste and it's expensive. I'm really disappointed, and I can't see ever buying this again. I 'm not even going to bother finishing it, a first. Well that's three porters and I have clear favorites. The Kona is easily the best, with the vanilla porter second and the Gonzo terrible. Next I'm gonna try a few randos.

The Flavorful Four: #2 Anchor Bock vs #6 Garde Dog

The highest seed left is Anchor Bock. And Today they face the upstart Flying Dog's Garde Dog. The palate cleanser will be burgers. The Bock has great strong mocha and caramel flavors. This is a creamy, rich, medium body dark beer. Ah yes, the joy of flame caressed meat. The Dog is a nice refreshing beer with sweet caramel, and some well balanced hop bite. These beers are both showing really well today. I just love the crispy parts on the edge of the burger. Let's finish this.
The Bock really tastes great today. Well balanced, tons of flavor. The Dog is also looking good. This is a good beer for any time of year and I think it would shine with a variety of foods.The Bock is really going strong, but the Dog seems to improve a bit. This will come down to the last sip. The bock is gone, good throughout. It's up to the Dog to show me something with the last gulp.And it shows me a tinge of that off flavor it can have, disappointing. Anchor Bock weighs anchor, and sails off with the victory. Now the final match is set, and Anchor Bock will meet Spring buck for the championship.

The Flavorful Four

Wow, we're already down to the last four beers standing. From the Mid-East we have #3 seed Dominion Spring Buck and #5 seed Sam Adam's Irish Red. The North-East brings # 2 seed Anchor Bock and #6 seed Flying Dog Garde Dog. Well Irish Red, welcome to the big time and good-bye. They are by far the least deserving beer left. I'd be stunned if they advanced. Then again, I was stunned when the toppled Glissade last round. Garde Dog is a real cinderella, but very deserving, having beaten stiff competition to get here. Both one seeds are gone, so Anchor Bock and Spring Buck are the remaining powerhouses. I think Garde Dog has a shot, but we'll see. Now, let's go right to our first match, Spring Buck versus Irish Red.

Round 2: #1 Noble Pils vs #6 Garde Dog

Our third match of the second round pits Sam Adam's Noble Pils against Flying Dog, Garde Dog. The winner here goes on to face Anchor Bock in the semis. The palate cleanser is jasmine rice, by itself, with a little butter or thai oil. Let's get it on. Noble Pils comes out with all hops blazing. There's a lot of hop here, but there's some nice citrus and caramel, that balances it a little. I do like that you can clearly distinguish different hop flavors. Boy that's a bitter finish though. Some excellent rice. Garde Dog has nice hop up front and a bite in the back. There's also a touch of honey sweetness and a funky malty flavor. That slight weird flavor bothers me more somehow this time. Now for the lightning round.

The thai oil is really good on the rice. A hefty draught of Noble Pils goes down nice, boy that's a bit much on the hop, but the complexity of flavor distracts you from the bite. I take a hefty pull on the Garde Dog, thats a smooth beer with some body and nice balance. There is still an odd flavor here witch could be hit or miss with some people. Neither one of these beers overwhelms the other. It's getting late in the game and low in the glass, and there is no clear winner. This will have to go down to the last sip. The great balance of Garde Dog sways me, but Noble Pils has complexity with a purpose. In the end it's which glass I wanted to reach for just a little bit more. Garde Dog WINS. I just wanted to down that last bit, whereas the last dregs of the Pils got left. The cinderella story of the tournament knocks off the #1 seed. Garde Dog goes on to face Anchor bock in the semi-final. That should be a great match-up.

Sam Adam's

Flying Dog

#3 Gordon Biersch Maibock vs Flying Dog Garde Dog

Back to the North-East bracket we have the #3 seed versus the #6 seed. The three seed is Gordon Biersch Maibock, out of San Jose California. Maibock is surprisingly hard to find, but is one of the best styles ever. Flying Dog's Garde Dog is a French farmhouse ale brewed right up the road from me in Frederick, we usually say Fredneck, Maryland. The palate cleanser for this match-up will be plain crackers. The Maibock pours out a nice redish amber, while the Garde Dog is a very cloudy pale straw. The bock has sweet caramel and mild hop bitterness on the nose. The dog has some bitterness and a sort of not unpleasant funkiness. A sip of Garde Dog brings total balance of hop, malt, sweetness, and bitterness. Now to enjoy my delicious plain cracker. Wow, that's an amazing cracker, orgasmic. The Maibock is loaded with caramel malt, a nice light hop throughout, and a sweet finish. Oh god this cracker is so memorable and amazing.

Now let's go to the head to head match-up. Must have more cracker. The Maibock has a nice body and strong flavors, but the Garde Dog has a nice body and balanced flavors. I'm really shocked by how well the Garde Dog holds up against a strong style like this Maibock. Wait, hold on, I can't wait to enjoy another one of these incredible crackers. Wow, these crackers are better than doing rails of blow off a strippers ass. This contest is really close. I can't help but think the Maibock should be pulling away, it's very good, but I keep reaching for the Garde Dog. Seriously, Maibock is a great love of mine, but the Garde Dog finds my hand again. Oh my god, Garde Dog drains a three at the buzzer. GARDE DOG WINS, GARDE DOG WINS. A stunning upset as the # 6 seed advances. A stellar match-up, but not as great as that plain cracker.