Tag: Premier League

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Sports & A Beer – Premier League 25/26

I just could not find a way to shoehorn Murderbot into my monthly sports rant, but the Premier League kicking off in the middle of August is a big deal.  And here are some storylines that I will be on the look out for after a couple weeks worth of matchdays….

  1. Injuries – Club World Cup knock on effects. The game calendar is packed and that could mean clubs dealing with injured stars. Which side can survive?
  2. Relgation – all three Championship clubs going down for third straight year might not happen this year as the new teams have had good starts compared to last year.
  3. Surprise Club – Nottingham Forest last year, who is next? I think Fulham might be in store for a good year and that Newcastle United might slip.

For beers, see if you can find a beer that represents each of those above questions. For the injuries, look for a brewery that lost a head brewer, how will that brewery bounce back? For relegation, look for a brewery that could use some business and go visit and for a surprise, go check out a brewery that you have never had a beer from.

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In the Tap Lines for August 2025

California is now entering the 3rd of three months of hot weather, sure, there have been some June Gloom mornings and it hasn’t be triple digits hot but it does wear on you and it does challenge one to find beers that don’t lead directly to naps. BSP will endeavor to help you chart a fun course through the sunny days to just the right beer(s).

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Riverside, California

~ special featured reviews of a bevy of beer styles

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Murderbot Diaries

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to All Systems Read

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the Premier League Kick Off

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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Sports & A Beer – Managerial Changes

For every sport, every season brings the coaching carousel.  A coach gets fired and then by the next year is coaching somewhere else.  In the National Football League both the Jets of New York and the Saints of New Orleans have parted way with head coaches and surprisingly the Premier League in England has only seen one high profile departure ( so far ), that being Erik Ten Hag being booted by Manchester United.  It is too early for NBA firings but there are plenty of coaches whose hot seats are warm.

After the changes, the team may win a few games and the word leaks out that the coach had “lost” the locker room as if a character in The Importance of Being Earnest.  It is more likely that any given sports team is a fragile state of being.  It is why dynasties are so intriguing because they are not the natural state of affairs.  United can rule Manchester and then can be usurped by City.  Red replaced by light blue.

Coaches are integral but so is a dominant player or healthy players and luck.  Lots of luck.  A football in America can bounce so many ways and a football in Britain can ping just under or just over a crossbar.  Which makes coaching changes such an object of discussion because the avid fan cannot really pinpoint why a coach will succeed or fail. If indeed they did either.  A true bad coach is rare and may just be someone who is better as an assistant in truth.

Tying this into craft beer.  Is there a brewery that you think could use a change in brewer.  Not because one is bad per se, but just as a means of refreshing the current beers and dreaming up new ones?  Maybe a brewery that has added a beer(s) to their line-up that are not in their wheelhouse while discontinuing others that were legend?  Next time you are beer shopping, check out the beers that you think could use a new direction.

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Sports & A Beer – Beer Prices

In July, I went to Providence Park in Portland to see the Thorns V Wrexham in a friendly. I would have enjoyed having a beer at the game but even a vending machine 12oz can of Pub Beer from 10 Barrel was $8.00 and draft options were around $12.00.

Fast forward and I see the average beer prices for Premier League clubs and I nearly fell out of my chair.

Even at a $1.31 exchange rate, the high end is about $8.00. The high end. $8.00 ain’t getting me a half a soda at the new Intuit Dome here in Los Angeles. Everything about attending professional sports in the U.S. is expensive and I get that overcharging beer leads to less drunken and rowdy behavior during the game but it also leads to fans drinking it all before the game at tailgates.

If the Premier League can do it, so to other leagues.

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After the Game

Yes, your favorite team getting W’s is important but if you follow this link to Give Me Sport HERE, you will see what is even more important.

How many pubs are in walking distance from the stadium.

Chelsea FC land in 6th way behind league leaders Newcastle with a tremendous 131!

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Sports & A Beer – January Transfer Window

For a few years now, I have had a monthly post which pairs books with beer and a second one matching podcasts with beer. 2023 seemed the right time to add a new brand to the family, Sports & A Beer.

Each month, I will cover a topic from the sports world, that I find fun or thought provoking or what is making me crazy about my favorite teams. And what better way to start than with the crazy rumor mongering and optimism that is the January Transfer Window in football (aka soccer).

This is the month about halfway through most professional leagues season, where underperforming teams get desperate, where teams with injuries are shopping and teams who think they have a chance to win now – pay for it dearly.

Liverpool have been OK but nowhere near their form as their attack has been reduced by injury but they have brought in reinforcements like Cody Gakpo. Arsenal were circling players but might get a gem from Brighton Hove Albion in Leandro Trossard.

My team, Chelsea has changed managers and have three teams worth of players in my opinion and have splurged more American money on a quintet of players. David Datro Fofana. The second Fofana on the squad. French defender Benoit Badiashile. Midfielder Andrey Santos from Vacso de Gama. And big signings Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk. And then wrote a super big check for Argentinean Enzo Fernandez.

Lot of names to Google there but the breathless spectacle and media attention and leaks and rumors are part of what makes Premier League football fun.

To pair with this crazy month, I suggest going one of two fun routes. One if you have a favorite team and one if you do not. If you do, each signing can be assigned as either expensive, a good deal or a steal. Then buy a beer in one of those three categories. If your team splashes cash then go grab a barrel-aged $20 bottle.

If you do not have a team then find a smattering of beers from football playing countries and enjoy while watching Sky Sports coverage.

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Premier Beer

English Football is moving from pre-season to regular season and, as opposed to American stadiums and arenas, the beer prices ain’t bad.

12. Manchester United – £5.10

= West Ham – £5

= Tottenham – £5

11. Brighton – £4.95

10. Leicester – £4.75

9. Aston Villa – £4.60

8. Chelsea – £4.40

7. Arsenal – £4.30

6. Crystal Palace – £4.20

5. Liverpool – £4

= Everton – £4

= Southampton – £4

= Fulham – £4

4. Nottingham Forest – £3.70

= Wolves – £3.70

3. Newcastle – £3.60

= Leeds United – £3.60

2. Brentford – £3.50

1. Manchester City – £3.40

Of course, there are more restrictions to when and where you can drink but a session beer is grand.

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Premier League Brewery # 3 – Chalk Hill Brewing in Norwich

Norwich has has a rough go this year, it seems that the green and gold brings goals for the opposing side but you can head to Chalk Hill to have a pint and plot how to escape relegation.

Start with…

CHB Bitter – “A copper-coloured beer with a malty aroma, fruity sweetness and bittersweet hoppiness towards the finish.”

Gold – “A straw-coloured and malty golden ale with gentle sweetness.”

Flintknappers Mild – “A mild that’s black and malty, full of flavour. Available in Autumn and Winter.”

Pump Action – “Pumpkin spiced ale”

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Premier League Brewery # 2 – Love Lane Brewery

Our next featured Premier League club is Everton, who have a new manager in former Chelsea midfielder and manager, Frank Lampard as well as two new high profile signings in Donny Van de Beek and Delle Alli.

We head to Love Lane Brewery for this e-tour. The brewery (and distillery) is based in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle.

They took an old rubber factory and turned it into a 18,000 Hectolitre brewery where they also create Gin.

My taster tray would start with the Baltic Haze, then move on to the Oatmeal Cookie Brown before the third beer which would be the Pale Ale followed by their take on a West Coast IPA and finishing with their big Sgt. Peppermint at 12% abv.

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Past Season

I am a Chelsea supporter but even I have to admit that Liverpool were a beast this year and truly deserve the title despite the season not being completed in the Premier League. Carlsberg might not be a fantastic choice but it is a cool label.