Beer with your Thanksgiving dinner? You bet!
There are several staples of the Thanksgiving meal: turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and cranberry jelly pretty much cover all the bases. But there’s one important element you may be forgetting. The beer! Why simply fall back on your standard beverage selection when there are several beers that accent the Thanksgiving meal? Here’s a list of them, courtesy of Imbibe Magazine.
The key, says Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver, is to focus on caramelization. Says Oliver: “It’s the caramelized flavors of the turkey skin, the gravy and many other elements of the meal that tie the whole thing together.”
So what to buy? Oliver suggests citrusy white ales to go with holiday spices; creamy and chocolaty stouts for brown-sugar ham and pecan pie; or a nice brown ale to accent your turkey.
And the Beer Championship Series winnner is…
After 12 days of competition, 64 beers and nearly 10,000 votes from more than a dozen countries, we have a winner in the second annual Beer Championship Series. Congratulations go out to Marshall McNellie’s Pub Ale, which claimed the title in a landslide over New Belgium’s Fat Tire. McNellie’s Pub Ale won Tuesday’s final match-up by garnering 89 percent of the vote.
Take a look at the final bracket.
As the chairman, president, CEO, COO, vice president and janitor of the BCS, I offer congratulations to Marshall for its win. And I congratulate beer fans here in Oklahoma and around the country and world who took part in the contest. This little Beer Championship Series certainly has come a long way since last year, when the entire competition resulted in a whopping total of about 300 or 400 votes. Hopefully this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship between The Thirsty Beagle blog and beer fans everywhere. But enough about me, let’s talk more about our winning beer. I gave the news of the win to Marshall brewmaster Eric Marshall, and this is what he had to say:
“We are very excited and incredibly honored to have our McNellie’s Pub Ale voted Oklahoma’s favorite beer! This is tremendous validation in our vision at Marshall Brewing Company. Bringing local craft beer to Oklahoma is our passion and the support we have been shown is truly overwhelming. We would like to thank everyone who voted for us, especially loyal local beer drinkers. We would also like to thank our fellow Oklahoma brewing brethren for all their efforts in helping the Oklahoma brewing scene grow and prosper. Cheers and thanks for supporting your local breweries!”
Well said, Eric. I’m certain Marshall McNellie’s Pub Ale will be back next year to try and defend its title. And speaking of next year, I do plan to bring the BCS back for the third annual version. But like Mike Gundy once said, we may have an interesting twist at the quarterback position. If I mentioned the phrases “beer conferences” and “beer regular season,” would that pique your interest?
Stay tuned. Cheers!
Beer Championship Series final: Your vote decides the winner
It all comes down to this, folks. Two beers going head to head for the title of Oklahoma’s favorite beer. Your votes have sent 62 beers packing. So who are our competitors? Here’s how Monday’s Final Four voting went:
-Marshall McNellie’s Pub Ale- 88 percent vs. Modelo Negra – 12 percent
-Fat Tire – 57 percent vs. Guinness – 43 percent
Modelo Negra’s improbable George Mason-like run finally comes to an end at the hands of Tulsa’s own McNellie’s Pub Ale, while the upstart Fat Tire knocks off the traditional power Guinness.
And now we’re down to two: Oklahoma Region champion McNellie’s Pub Ale vs. the USA Region’s champ, New Belgium’s Fat Tire. Who will win the title? That’s up to you. To spice things up a little bit, I’ll hide the voting results today. The winner will be revealed Wednesday morning. Good luck to both beers!
[polldaddy poll=2264377]
Big 12 (Lack of) Power Poll: Week 11
This week in the Big 12: Don’t fire Dan Hawkins, keep it loose Texas Tech — whoa, not that loose! – and Basement Bowl 2009!
(Note: If you’re looking for the Beer Championship Series, see the post below this one.)
1. Colorado (3-7, 2-4, lost to Iowa State 17-10; next, at Oklahoma State) Can someone please bring the Dan Hawkins era to an end! Wait, what am I talking about? I love it when Big 12 teams other than Oklahoma State suck. Save Dan Hawkins, save Dan Hawkins!
2. Kansas (5-5, 1-5, lost to Nebraska 31-17; next, at Texas) Who among us saw this one coming? Kansas returns its leading quarterback, two leading wide receivers and starting running back, and the offense completely falls apart? A bounce-back year will be tough next season with all those guys gone. Or maybe they’ll actually be better off.
3. Baylor (4-6, 1-5, lost to Texas 47-17; next, at Texas A&M) Baylor has seen a lot of demoralization this year, but I think being down 40-0 in the first half, at home, on senior day, has to be about the lowest point.
4. Texas A&M (5-5, 2-4, lost to Oklahoma 65-10; next, vs. Baylor) It’s fitting that Texas A&M and Baylor square off this Saturday. Battle for the Big 12 South Basement 2009! Be there!
5. Iowa State (6-5, 3-4, beat Colorado 17-10; next, at Missouri) Not much to say about Iowa State, so I’ll say this: Has the Big 12 North ever been this bad? You pretty much have to go undefeated in conference to win the south; in the north, three losses and you still got a chance. Are you kidding me?
6. Kansas State (6-5, 4-3, lost to Missouri 38-12; next, at Nebraska) So much for Bill Snyder as coach of the year. Although by some stroke of magic — or by some stroke of everyone in the Big 12 North being awful this year — KSU can still put itself into the title game with a win Saturday.
7. Missouri (6-4, 2-4, beat Kansas State 38-12; next, vs. Iowa State) How unremarkable is Missouri’s football team this year? The video playlist on the Missouri football homepage on ESPN.com has two videos: Highlights from the season opener against Illinois and a college basketball preview.
8. Texas Tech (6-4, 3-3, lost to Oklahoma State 24-17; next, vs. Oklahoma) Isn’t it great how Texas Tech players were so loose on Saturday against Oklahoma State? Jumping around on the sideline, jumping around on the field. They sure looked like they didn’t have a care in the world. Especially not stopping the run.
9. Oklahoma (6-4, 4-2, beat Texas A&M 65-10; next, at Texas Tech) Heading into Saturday’s game, OU played the part of the mountain climber trapped in the Swiss Alps; Texas A&M played the part of the St. Bernard with the mini-keg strapped around its neck. The Sooners seemed to like that medicine.
10. Nebraska (7-3, 4-2, beat Kansas 31-17; next, vs. Kansas State) Your uninspiring 7-3 team of the week, ladies and gentlemen! Is it possible that of Nebraska’s seven wins, only one can really even be considered a good win? Why yes. Yes it is.
11. Oklahoma State (8-2, 5-1, beat Texas Tech 24-17; next, vs. Colorado) The Cowboys keep doing enough to win conference games, mainly thanks to their defense, which is now ranked 32nd in total defense, 25th in scoring defense and No. 7 against the rush. Whatever the award for assistant coach of the year is, if Bill Young doesn’t get it, it’s a total traveshamockery.
12. Texas (10-0, 6-0, beat Baylor 47-14; next, vs. Kansas) Texas reminded Baylor it is still a minor league Big 12 affiliate, throwing down a 40-spot in the first half. Now the Longhorns have three simple steps before claiming a spot in the national title game: Beat an imploding Kansas at home, beat a terrible Texas A&M on the road and beat (insert below-average Big 12 North team here) in the conference title game.
Vote today in the BCS Final Four!
To get yourself in the mood for some Final Four action, listen to this clip. Sixty beers down, only four remain. This is the Beer Championship Series Final Four! Your vote will determine who will win the crown of Oklahoma’s favorite beer. How did we get to this point?
And without further delay, let’s get on to the voting:
[polldaddy poll=2261323] [polldaddy poll=2261324]
BCS Final Four is set: Voting will be Monday
We have crowned our regional champions in the Beer Championship Series! Your Final Four participants are:
-Oklahoma Region: Marshall McNellie’s Pub Ale – 73 percent vs. Mustang Golden Ale – 27 percent
-International Region: Modelo Negra – 57 percent vs. Red Stripe – 43 percent
-USA Region: Fat Tire – 60 percent vs. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – 40 percent
-Europe Region: Guinness – 55 percent vs. Newcastle Brown Ale – 45 percent
So our Final Four match-ups are McNellie’s Pub Ale vs. Modelo Negra and Fat Tire vs. Guinness. Come back Monday for voting to see who will make the finals.
