Game Day Beer Review: Allagash Brewing Black Belgian Strong Dark Ale

 

(7.50% ABV) Served on tap at Fore Street in Portland, Maine. Served in a tall Collins-like glass. Allagash Black was true to its name, pitch black with a coffee-colored head that left lots of lacing behind as it disappeared.

The beer smelled of muted chocolate, nicely matching the subdued mood and dark wood ambience of the restaurant bar.

Allagash Black showed both coffee and dark chocolate notes upon tasting, although the coffee gradually prevailed.  The beer had a silky mouthfeel, which added to the sense of luxurious ease with which it went down. Highly recommended from this stellar Vacationland brewery. A

Transfer Talk

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Somewhat surprisingly, Scott manages to work an allusion to Clay Aiken into an article on, among other things, Jose Mourinho:

I am humbled by Correspondent Ed's recent rash of prolificacy.  And since his blanketing coverage of the US international team renders my planned comments superfluous, I'll shift to European transfer news.

You have to admit - the offseason player transfer and coaching carousel drama is fun. The annual shuffling of the BPL deck of cards has us reading the headlines and rumor lines scouring for how the hands will ultimately be dealt. Sure, most of the cards stick together, but enough of them are flipped to another team to make the summer just about bearable. Yes, we have World Cup Qualifying to tide us over too (not to mention Ed's pertinent, persistent posts), but a few games over the whole summer doesn't sate this addiction.

Neymar to Barcelona - many have opined on this move with the majority having yearned for a BPL test instead of another Barca chess piece. I agree. I want to see everybody ply their trade in the BPL at some point. Even Messi.

Martinez to Everton - I'm happy that the Spaniard will get to continue to have his name bastardized by BPL commentators, even as his beloved Wigan will have to claw their way back again from the Championship (is that a stupid name for the second league or what?).   My affinity for all things Spanish (outside of a certain Catalan team, of course) is well documented but I also believe that Martinez will bring an attractive form of attacking soccer to the other Liverpool team.

Well, That Was Better: USMNT 2 - Panama 0

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It's all Ed all the time around corporate HQ these days: 

My US national team assignment continues, this time from Seattle, Washington, where our heroes put in a dramatically better performance to defeat Panama 2 to 0 and move to first place in their World Cup qualifying group.  (By the way, thanks for putting me up in that slick Residence Inn, boss, really loved the gratuitous continental breakfast buffet.)  Of course, this was a home game against weak opposition, but even so the USA moved and handled the ball with much more confidence and tactical awareness.  In particular....

Michael Bradley.  Bradley played one of his better games, controlling the middle, handling the ball well, and working forward into space on breaks expertly.  He was the man of the match for the US, and was only stopped from scoring by an unfortunately positioned Clint Dempsey.  I recall much criticism of Bradley as only starting because he's the coach's son.  Well, that's not true.  Bradley is the best midfielder we have right now.  He lacks speed and isn't dazzling, but he's one of the few American's whose capable on the ball and has the vision of a coach's son.  He's also clearly a leader of that team.  At 26, he's coming into the prime of his career and in the next World Cup the USA will need him.

Jozy Altidore.  Altidore had a terrific game, but remains to me simply an old style number 9.   He uses his strength well, can finish, and is a threat in the air, but don't look for him to scare anyone when he has the ball at his feet in the way top strikers like Aguero or Van Persie do.  That said, he is also older now and is gaining confidence.

Geoff Cameron.  The press had the loss of Jermaine Jones due to a concussion as being a huge problem for the USA.  I see the value of Jones and think he's a solid player, but I've also felt that his touch is suspect in addition to his all to frequent lapses of judgment with hard fouls.  Geoff Cameron, it turns out, filled in admirably and seemed to be little different than Jones in this one, perhaps even better.

Damarcus Beasley.  Well, I've been harsh on Damarcus for some time, but he had one of his best games against Panama.  He was solid and defense and handled himself well on offense.  I'm sorry to say, though, that the lack of competition on that side seemed a huge part of his success, and I still can't believe we don't have someone better. 

Observations: USA 2 - Jamaica 1

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Tapping into some stream of consciousness from Correspondent Ed's mind.  We think this is related to the US Mens National Team's 2-1 victory in Kingston, Jamaica on Friday night:

Our left and right backs are beaten routinely.

There is absolutely no midfield when move the ball forward.

Omar Gonzalez just kicks it like a KC stopper.

Jozy Altidore is never onside.

Jermaine Jones: typical heavy touches.

Fabian Johnson is awful; he looks like a high school player.

Graham Zusi is the most creative American at this point.

The camera work for the game is awful; the stadium looks like it was made without help of an architect.

US: strong defense on corner kicks.

There's no one more disdainful then Clint Dempsey after he's been fouled.

Damarcus Beasley may be even worse going forward than he is at back.

Easy long balls in space we head forward mindlessly instead of trapping.

They just love bombing it forward to no one from the back.

Brad Evans has Beasley-level incompetence going forward.

We're unable to hold ball against Jamaica.

Edgar Castillo comes in for Fabian Johnson and, somehow, he looks even worse.  Plus he's the size of a Under-10 player.

You're So Special

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Ed is back -- twice in one week! -- to wax lyrically about the Special One, new (or is it old?) Chelsea bossman Jose Mourinho:

 

Ever since the pinching incident, I've been a little weary of the Special One and have mixed emotions regarding his return to the BPL.  Chelsea may very well benefit from him, and his certain reorganization of the team will be interesting to see.  Rumors are that Juan Mata and Fernando Torres will be sold to make room and money for new talents.  I get Torres, but Mata?  Well, hard to blame him for something he hasn't done yet.
 

Mourinho's return coincides with Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.  We can be certain that Mourinho was hopeful he would have a chance at the United job, and we can be equally certain that he's going to be very motivated to beat United in his return to Old Trafford with Chelsea.  David Moyes is no weakling, and he certainly knows how to put a team together.  That said, I expect the matchup to be a fun one, but I'd warn Jose not to try anything so ginger as a pinch with Moyes -- if I recall he was ready to deck Roberto Mancini for throwing a ball his way not that long ago.

 

 

And now we will also have the opportunity to see what Roberto Martinez can do at Everton.  The Toffees have a long proven track record of success; fighting for relegation is not something they were familiar with under Moyes.  It's been said that Martinez's defenses at Wigan have been poor -- the opposite of Moyes rigid defenses at Everton.  Will Martinez have success due to that defensive coaching residue?  Will he struggle trying to adapt the players to a new system?  Fans will not have much patience with him; it will be as tough a job as any he's had.

 

 

Manchester City also looks to be adding a new Italian coach.  I've always been a bit suspect of the Italian coaches, believing that they are caught in the defensive counter attack system that took shape years ago and is largely unentertaining to watch.  Something may have changed my mind, though, and that is Dortmund's uber-coach Jurgen Klopp stating how he learned from the Italian coaches just how talent can be outdone by good tactics.  Seeing his teams play is believing; perhaps the Italians have more to offer the modern game than I thought.

Notes and Sighs

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We always had more than a sneaking suspicion that Correspondent Ed followed Justin Bieber's every move....

 

• It was nice to see the USA A-team beat the German B-team (or maybe C-team) in last week's friendly, especially in light of what Germany did to Ecuador in their prior friendly at FAU in Boca Raton (Nice stadium, by the way). But in another way, the top tier German players missing in that game -- Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Muller, Goetze, just to name a few -- show the enormous distance in ability between these two countries. Put more simply, the USA's best player, Clint Dempsey, would likely not make the German team. Egads, that has to change. You've got your work cut out for you, USA soccer clubs.

• I'm somewhat over Spurs' fifth place finish, one point behind Arsenal, in this year's BPL. It's also looking more likely that Gareth Bale may stay another year. But don't confuse "more likely" with "likely." If AVB is able to keep him for another year and somehow build on the squad with some depth at midfield and striker, that would be all a Spurs fan could ask. Hopefully, what seems to be a close personal relationship between the manager and the player will triumph. That said, a Real Madrid team with Bale on one side and Ronaldo on the other would look similar too and potentially even more dangerous than that Bayern team with Ribery on one side and Robben on the other. What would Bale go for on the market today? Is $70MM crazy?

• I'm disappointed that Neymar is bringing his "My Little Pony"™ hairdo to Barcelona, not because he won't be fun to watch there, but rather because I'd prefer to see talent such as his play week in and week out against the tougher competition of the BPL or the Bundesliga. He will certainly prosper there, but I expect it will take him time to fit in to the system -- a system that Cesc Fabregas has repeatedly described as complex. Certainly Barca can use Neymar, but can't they use some defensemen more? And what was with the Alex Song pickup? Song is decent but I never put him at the Barca level. He clearly isn't meant to replace Xavi (who will, by the way?). Is he intended for use in those league games that matter less?

Game Day Beer Review: Abita Brewing Andygator Maibock

(8.00% ABV) Poured recently at Zatarain's Kitchen, located inside Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, Louisiana. Andygator was served in a 16 oz. plastic cup and appeared a warm caramel hold color with an ultra-fluffy white head. 

The beer smelled primarily of malt, and served as a very nice accompaniment to my meal of sausage, red beans and rice, taking the heat out of some of the liberal Tabasco usage. 

It was an easy drinker, too, with a relatively light mouthfeel and low carbonation. It was surprisingly sweet up front, with  malt flavor in the middle and tropical fruit on the finish.  We wouldn't call it a prototypical maibock, but we liked it just the same. B

Mouthing Off: Belgium 4 - USMNT 2

Just a few comments on the USA - Belgium game from Correspondent Scott...

What's the deal with Lexi Lalas sounding as if he is in a huge argument every time he comments, daring someone to disagree?  Lighten up Big Red. You're wrong sometimes just like the rest of us - like when you insisted Geoff Cameron pushed off on his goal and that the Belgians were up in arms.  Neither did he push off (it was a nudge at best in the context of a professional soccer game), nor did the Belgians complain.  Just because you don't have anything to say doesn't mean you get to make things up - and try to make us believe it by saying it with a snarl.

And while Taylor Twellman at least called out Lalas a bit on his comment, and made a few insightful observations throughout, his ability to banter and wittingly fill a conversation void falls well short of the mark yet.  Ian Darke (who needs his eyes checked if he really thought Romelu Lukaku was offside even with the yellow line on the monitor) must have felt like he was playing verbal pitch and catch with a one-armed two-year-old.  Maybe he had a bad night but it was enough to make me wonder what kind of a job Gus Johnson would have done. Yikes.

The display on the field wasn't much better.  While the final possession statistic was close to 50/50, and the US did create a few nice chances, Belgium dominated the game more or less from start to finish.  Throw in a dash of horrendous defensive lapses and you have a recipe for a 5-1 drubbing.  That the score was only 4-2 was due to the magnanimity of the referee who waived off a pretty clear handball on Damarcus Beasley in the box at one end (the hand lingered and was too far away from the body not to call it) but then punished a Belgian defender at the other end when he was struck on his arm tucked firmly into his body.

Game Day Beer Review: 21st Amendment Brewing Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Fruit Ale

(4.90% ABV) Poured from a can at a private club in northern New Jersey, in the exclusive town of North Caldwell, at a place featuring a luxurious, dark-paneled bar.  The beer was poured into a pint glass. Hell or High Watermelon appeared a murky yellow/gold color, with a blazing white head, as pictured above.

The beer smelled of wheat, yeast and some undetermined spices on the nose.

Unlike most watermelon beers, this one did not lead with its fruit -- it was all wheat on the initial tasting. The watermelon flavor is very subtle, and only comes through at the end.  We'll drink to summer with this one: B

The End of Tiki Taka

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Ed is back with some thoughts on the supposed "end" of Barcelona's reign: 

Journalists have been hitting the “Spain is Done and Germany Has Taken Over” narrative pretty hard the last few days after the all-German final which followed Bayern’s drubbing of Barca in the semis.  But is this really the end of tiki taka?  Or are these journalists just kind of hoping it’s the end?  Unfortunately, I think it’s more of the latter than the former.  Let’s face it, it’s not fun to watch your team play Barca and have the ball only about 20 minutes during a game if they’re lucky.

Here are the facts:

Barca, and not all of Spain, is pretty much the only team that plays the tiki taka.  Real Madrid doesn’t play it – and plays much more of the Bayern style with fast wingers and fast break football.  Ironically, in the second leg of the semi’s against Dortmund they reverted more to that style when they leaned on Luka Modric, and this was really the only time they had substantial success against the Germans.

As for Barca, they didn’t exactly have a bad season this year.  Their goal differential in La Liga was +80 (second only to Bayern’s) and they won the league.  Plus they came in fourth in the Champions League, after reaching the finals last year and dominating though ultimately losing against “Park The Bus” Chelsea, and after dominating Manchester United the year before at Wembley.  This with lots of injuries, a new coach, and the loss of the best player in the world for the semi-finals.  I think, therefore, it’s a bit early to pronounce them dead.