Taking stock of my World Cup picks
This didn't happen quite enough for team Greece at this year's World Cup.
Back in December, when the draw was announced for the 32 teams in the World Cup, The Thirsty Beagle made his fearless predictions for how the tournament would play out. Now that we’re down to the final eight teams, I thought it would be interesting to look back at how I did.
In the Group of 16, I had Uruguay (good pick), France (bad), Argentina (good), Greece (bad), USA (good), England (good), Germany (good), Ghana (good), Netherlands (good), Cameroon (bad), Italy (bad), Slovakia (good), Brazil (good), Portugal (good), Spain (good) and Switzerland (bad). I missed on Korea, Chile, Mexico, Japan and Paraguay.
If you’re counting, that’s 11 out of 16 right to advance out of group play. Not too shabby considering I made my picks more than six months before the tournament started.
My quarterfinalists were France, Argentina, Ghana, Germany, Netherlands, Cameroon, Brazil and Spain. So six out of eight there, with misses on Uruguay and Paraguay. Again, not too shabby. In fact, that’s a lot better than not too shabby. I would say that’s not shabby at all.
How about the semis? I had France, Germany, Brazil and Spain. I’m still in line to get three out of four. Although considering what happened to France, which not only will not make the semis but in fact was eliminated from group play after nearly rioting in the locker room and quitting the tournament, I probably shouldn’t be feeling too proud.
Either way, my finalists were Brazil and Spain, with Spain taking the title. After Brazil breezed past Chile and Spain shut down the potent Portuguese side in the Round of 16, I’m thinking I may be in line for soccer prediction greatness.
Brewers take on summer beer: Part 2
Yesterday I brought you Marshall Brewing brewmaster Eric Marshall’s take on his favorite summer beers, today we move down to Krebs to hear from Choc Beer brewmaster Michael Lalli. What are his favorite summer beers?
Michael Lalli
“1. Choc Seasonal summer blond. I really like this beer, simple, interesting and maybe because it’s our most current release… and maybe because my list has to include something Belgian. 2. Wildbrew, this is a great pick not only because of the beer but because it was great working with the Marshall guys, wish we would have brewed more and I hope we have the opportunity to collaborate again. 3. Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues. Dale and his crew are good friends of ours and they are making outstanding beers, this of course is their flagship and it’s really outstanding if you’re a fan of beers with hops… plus I had to put something on the list that I have to work to get my hands on. So those are my pics. Really, really hard to narrow it down.”
Brewers take on summer beer: Part 1
Eric Marshall
You may have noticed that it’s summer time. And that it’s been hot out. What does this mean? It means that it’s a great time for beer. But not just any beer. It’s time for some summer beer. The heat brings with it a need for beer to be refreshing and even thirst quenching. Not just any beer will do the trick. So I decided to go to the experts and polled a pair of Oklahoma’s most prominent beermen about their favorite summer beers. We’ll start today with Marshall Brewing brewmaster Eric Marshall and continue tomorrow with Choc Beer brewmaster Michael Lalli.
First, let’s hear from Eric:
“As far as summer seasonals that we end up getting around here, I think Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest is always really good, as well as Boulevard’s Zon. I think Full Sail’s Session lager, even though it is not summer specific, is excellent in the summertime. As well as Left Hand’s Jackman Pale Ale. As far as Marshall Brewing beers go, I think the Sundown Wheat is the perfect beer for summer; we changed the recipe up just slightly and it is tasting really really good right now.”
Vote now in the Choc Conference!
It’s time for the third of four Oklahoma-based conferences in the Beer Championship Series. Today we start voting in the Choc Conference! So many good beers, but only two will be garaunteed a spot in the field of 64. Which two will it be? Your votes will decide.
BCS Mountain Conference results
Voting is closed in the Beer Championship Series Mountain Conference, and the winner is New Belgium Fat Tire. Here are the final results:
1. Fat Tire: 38 percent
2. Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale: 29 percent
3. Odell Brewing IPA: 18 percent
4. Boulder Brewing Hazed and Infused Dry-Hopped Ale: 12 percent
5. Breckenridge Trademark Pale Ale: 3 percent
Voting will start Monday morning in our third of four Oklahoma-based conferences, the Choc Conference.
Voting begins in BCS Mountain Conference
Greetings beer fans! Voting is now underway in the Mountain Conference of the Beer Championship Series. Now before everyone goes all crazy and tries to re-live the Great Fat Tire Controversy of 2009, let me point out that I am aware you cannot necessarily get all these beers at your local liquor store. That doesn’t mean that nobody has ever had them. Plus, this is a contest to pick Oklahoma’s favorite beer; not the favorite beer that’s available at every liquor store in the state. OK? Enough disclaiming, let’s get on with the voting:
Germany conference results
Voting has ended in the Germany Conference of the Beer Championship Series. Here are the final results:
1. Spaten Optimator: 31.5 percent
2. Warsteiner Dunkel: 30 percent
3. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier: 12 percent
4. Franziskaner Hefeweizen: 10.5 percent
5. Beck’s: 7 percent
6. St. Pauli Girl: 5 percent
7. Erdinger Hefe-Dunkel: 2 percent
7. Lowenbrau Lager: 2 percent
So Spaten and Warsteiner advance to the 64-beer bracket. The Beer Championship Series will continue next week when voting starts in the Mountain Conference. See you Monday!
Voting ends today in Germany Conference
First off, just wanted to give a big shout-out to my home boys from Greece on the big win today over Nigeria. The Greek’s money might not be worth anything, but they can’t devalue today’s 2-1 win!
Now, on to the business at hand: The Germany Conference of the Beer Championship Series. Today is the last day to vote to see which beers will earn a spot in the coveted 64-beer bracket. As I type, Warsteiner Dunkel has a slim lead over Spaten Optimator. You can cast your vote right here.
Beer at center of World Cup flap
There are any number of things you can do in the stands at this year’s World Cup. Want to paint your face and act like an idiot? Go for it. Feel like blowing an annoying horn to re-create the sound a horde of locusts would make for two straight hours? You got it. Want to wear a shirt that features the name of a brand of beer that is not Budweiser? Hold on there you twisted deviant. World Cup officials have cracked down on a group of Dutch soccer fans who showed up for the Netherlands-Denmark game wearing ads for the beer company Bavaria. FIFA has a Bud-only policy inside its stadiums for this year’s World Cup, and authorities arrested the fans after deciding there were part of an “ambush marketing” campaign. There are a lot of terrible crimes you can commit out there, but certainly ambush marketing is about the lowest of the low. Give me a break. If authorities hadn’t arrested the fans in the name of protecting the Budweiser brand, maybe a couple hundred — a couple thousand tops — would have even noticed the walking Bavaria ads. Now, thanks to the magic of news gathering + Internet, hundreds of thousands of people — maybe even millions — will have the word Bavaria on the brain. Good job on the crackdown, boys. You can read the full news report on the incident here.
Marshall Brewing offers Father’s Day sale
Looking for a little Marshall Brewing Co. gear for a neat Father’s Day present? Who isn’t, right? Well you are in luck, because Marshall is holding a Father’s Day sale at its Tulsa brewery on Thursday and Friday. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and will feature ball caps for $15, bottle openers for $5 and an assortment of T-shirts and glassware for sale as well. The brewery is located at 618 S Wheeling.
