Tag: NBA Playoffs

Posted on

NBA Playoff Brewery # 3 – Federation Brewing in Oakland

Last up are the mighty Golden State Warriors, who have reached the final four after a couple seasons absence. So we travel to Oakland and Federation Brewing.

Let’s pick a taster tray…

Cerveza de Primarvera IPA – “This lower-alcohol, easygoing IPA is perfect for a spring day, and was brewed with the specially-selected Pink Boots hop blend as part of the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day®. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this beer goes to the Pink Boots Society.”

Purple Midnight – “A lovely dark sour ale with notes of dark chocolate and a rich plummy tartness. (Contains lactose.)”

Oakland Gold – “Light, crisp & refreshing golden Ale”

Gingerator – “Gingerator 5000 5.1% ABV Tart, lightly sweet, and made with real ginger, this gose is the perfect beer for the porch, patio, or an apocalyptic future in which ginger-powered robots…look, don’t worry about that for now, just enjoy the beer while you can.”

Posted on

NBA Playoff Brewery # 2 – Distraction Brewing

Well, the Celtics outlasted the champion Bucks in a seven game series so let’s head to Boston, specifically Roslindale for Distraction Brewing.

Stieffelboogie Hefeweizen would be the starter for the taster tray before heading to Target on Maibock, an amber lager perfect for this month. Then time for hops with an NE IPA, Intensely Distracted before finishing with Hello Lover a Belgian Chocolate Quad.

Posted on

NBA Playoff Brewery # 1 – Component Brewing in Milwaukee

Gotta start with the defending champion Bucks, so let’s head to Component Brewing and find a starting five…

Chase Avenue Chaser – pilsner

Three Steeples – pale lager

Mosaic Theory – Flagship IPA brewed with local honey.

Haze the Lord – “We add lactose to this hazy IPA to give it a smooth mouthfeel and pronounced hop aroma/flavor. Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.”

Junk Drawer #002– “New England IPA 6.3% ABV. Double Dry Hopped with Idaho 7, Azaca Cryo and Citra. We used a thiol producing strain of yeast the brings out even more fruit aroma. Think passion fruit and grapefruit!”

Posted on

NBA Playoffs Brewery Tour # 3 – Simple Machine Brewing from Phoenix

Basketball is easy when all five players operate as a unit. See what I did there? Booker, Paul, Ayton and coach Monty Williams have been playing great basketball since the bubble last season and maybe if I don’t jinx them like I did the Jazz could hoist a trophy.

But on to the brewery.. Simple Machine Brewing Company is known for Helical Haze IPA but let’s fill our e-taster tray with ..

Coffee Crusher Blonde Ale – “We’ve collaborated again with our friends at Roastery of Cave Creek (ROC2), infusing our Day Crusher Blonde with their cold brew coffee to give it just the right amount of coffee roast while still being a light & refreshing blonde ale.”

Camper Red Ale – “Roasty malt aroma with a deep caramel malty flavor that finishes in a smooth, medium body.”

Dark Side of the Mash Black IPA – “Dark Side of The Mash is a Black IPA coming in at 6.3% ABV and 85 IBU. It starts off with a delicious bitter taste up front and then finished with an incredibly smooth chocolate and toasty flavor.”

Rye Around the Corner – “Rye Pale Ale brewed in collaboration with The AZ Brewers Guild, Kitsune Brewing, Furious Beer & BBQ, Coriega Beer Co and Ember Brewing.”

Posted on

NBA Playoffs Brewery Tour # 1 – Circa Brewing Co. of Brooklyn

Don’t count me a fan of two thirds of the Brooklyn Nets superteam. Durant I like though so let’s talk Brooklyn beer for him…

Below are some beers that I would like to sample at Circa Brewing Co.

Desperate Pleasures – “Get a taste of summer with this red(ish) ale with a hint of strawberries.”

Spacelab Weisse – “We straddle the European continent with this brew. Combining the grist bill of a Belgian Wit with the yeast and fermentation of a Bavarian Weiibier, this beer bursts with orange peel, banana, nastercium, and vanilla.”

In Defense of the Genre – “Believe it or not, there was a galaxy long ago where double IPA’s were bitter. Like tongue coating, face puckering, eye watering IBU levels that dared you to have another. This beer is the modern mutation of that bygone era. Aggressively triple dry hopped with Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Columbus, this brew bursts with pine, citrus rind, and juicy fruit flavors and aromas. Hints of toasted sugar and honey smooth out the high octane ABV.”

Posted on

Rip City

I want to congratulate the Portland Trailblazers on making the Western Conference Finals!! That is a huge accomplishment. You can say that they were in the “easy” bracket but neither the Thunder or Nuggets were “easy”. Yeah, the Thunder and Paul George have no idea what a good shot is and the Nugs were a little too sassy but having to win on a last shot and survive four overtimes is tough.

You may ask what this has to beer. Well, I have a few pieces of glassware that is bedecked with Blazers past and logos past and it is playoff time when I dust it off and start pouring beer into them again. Last year, I had to put them away all too quickly but this year, they will be out for a nice long spell. And though they are not beer glasses, the beer tastes real good after a win nonetheless.

Posted on

3rd Seed


The NBA Playoffs tip-off today and my Portland Trailblazers are sitting as the NW Division winners and the # 3 seed in the Western Conference. A much higher seed than I expected and in good position to make a run.

Instead of recommending specific beers to drink (because I am in Los Angeles and not Portland or New Orleans (our very worthy 1st round opponent), I cannot stroll down to any old beer shoppe and find city appropriate beers.

Instead here are some rules to follow for watching the playoffs, if you are not streaming on a device from your couch.

1. Wear your colors proudly – L.A. is a city of transplants and is very accustomed to rooting for a non-home team.

2. Don’t be an ass – Don’t bring up that the Clippers and Lakers missed the playoffs this year. Remember that next year, they might both be in and might win.

3. Tip generously and don’t nurse one drink – You don’t have to order beer after beer. You can switch to soda or water but remember that the seat you are in might be a better moneymaker without your butt in it.

4. Root your team on – But remember that you don’t want to be that guy who screams at every single positive play. If Nurk hammers down a dunk or Lillard drains a three at a key moment, then cool, otherwise be decibel respectful.

Posted on

Blazer Playoffs 2017

A few games into the 2016-17 NBA season and things started turning south for my beloved Blazers. The crew that had clicked last year was losing very frequently. It looked dire. I had started my “Who to draft” process. But then the arrival of the Bosnian Beast, Jusuf Nurkic from our nearest playoff competitor sparked a revival. And despite Nurk going down, the rest of the team stepped up and got us into a 1st round match-up with Golden State. (also thank to Russell Westbrook for downing the Nuggets)

So, considering we have a first round date with the Curry-Durant Warriors. What should I drink? I welcome your suggestions but here are some that just might be in my ‘fridge for the series….

You can find some Ex Novo Brewing beers around LA and since they are Portland based and have a beer named Damon Stout-amire after a former point guard for the Blazers, it would be a good start.

I will need something strong for when the Warriors start scoring at will, so I pulled up a barley wine from Oakshire Brewing from 2014! It will certainly relax me as the torrid pace of scoring ensues.

I also will try to channel the 1977 Blazers by opening Brewyard’s Smoked Red Ale. Maybe the spirit of the original Big Red Head will swing some karma.

Congratulations though to the team for persevering when it could have been just as easy to tank for draft picks.