2016 Gameday Liquor-o-the-week - UCLA Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer liquor for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beerliquor") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers liquors around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

Mid-week games are an interesting feat.  To get any amount of tailgating in before kickoff, you pretty much have to come straight from work, fighting traffic along the way while carrying your stresses with you.  To make matters worse, once you get to the lots, the party window is compressed. For example, if you leave work at 4:30 today, even given a 30 minute trip to the stadium (which is stretching things), you'll have just an hour, maybe an hour and a half, to prepare for kickoff.  With these kinds of compressed timetables, we just ain't got time for beer.  No, we need to get serious, and up the ante.  So, the pick this evening isn't a beer, it's hard alcohol.  Colorado-based hard alcohol, to be precise.  The unique style of Arvada-based Rado Distilling's Beet Spirit is this week's gameday liquor-o-the-week.

Yep, beets.  Colorado sugar beets. Rado revels in the qualities of what they call 'Colorado's richest natural resource,' and base all their spirits on the plentiful root.  Certainly, beets grow well in this state, but I'm not sure how far I want to go with the 'richest natural resource' noise ... I digress. While you may crinkle your nose at the thought, let me assure you that you eat beets every day.  Much of the country's non-corn syrup sweets are made with white sugar from beets, which tastes identical to that from sugar cane without the requirement of a lush, tropical growing environment.  At the end of the day, sugar is sugar, and you wouldn't be able to taste the difference, anyways.

For our purposes here, Rado uses the beet sugar to make a very rum-esque series of products.  Dark, Gold, and White, their beet spirits can be used as a rum substitute in any number of classic cocktails. Straight in a glass, they strike me as sweeter, smoother, and more complex than most rums that I've tried. I have a bottle of the Gold, and the taste, beyond just simple rum, also reminds me of a good tequila with a warm kick and a near-agave flavor (scent, too).  Aftertaste is earthy and woody, with maybe a little chocolate, but definitely not unpleasant.  Overall, sweet and mixable.

Seriously, these are fun, local products, and I urge you to try some.  I found mine in Superior Liquor, but they they seem to distribute all over the Front Range.  Like any other standard hard liquor, these are all 80 proof, so consume responsibly.  Believe me, the Gold will keep you warm as the temperature dips this evening.

Happy Friday Thursday!  Go Buffs, beat the Bruins!

2016 CU vs UCLA Football Teaser

Well, this is now officially serious.  With the release of the first round of rankings by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, we come to find out that Colorado is 15th in the only poll that counts.  15th.  In the country.  Teams have made the Playoff from similar positions in each of the last two years -- OU was 15th last fall when the first rankings were cut, Ohio State (the eventual national champion) was 16th the year prior.  With that in mind, it is not out of the realm of possibility that, with five wins to finish the year, the Buffs could wind their way to 4th overall.  I've seen weirder shit happen before, believe me.

Hold my beer... watch this...

But that's just just the stuff of dreams, for now.  Reality is the UCLA Bruins, who come to town for a marquee Thursday night affair to kick the month of November off.  No time for a letup now, this is a game the Buffs better win.

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Hype Music for the Week: "Tired Bones" by the Mad Caddies

Yooooooo, is this some hot fire.  From the SoCal ska punk specialists, 'Tired Bones' is one of my favorite songs.  Fast, loud, and with a trombonist that delightfully sounds like he's strangling a cat, I can't help but wonder why this has never made its way to a basketball band track... but I digress. Enjoy!

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Kick-off from a Blacked Out Folsom Field is set for 7pm this evening.  I hope you remembered to take tomorrow off from work, 'cause it's going to get weird tonight.  No worries on the weather front: clear and cool, but otherwise perfectly fine for the first week of November.  For those too soft to head up to Boulder, coverage can be found on Fox Sports 1, with the radio call on 850 KOA.

Click below for the teaser...

Tuesday Grab Bag: Surviving the Bye Week Blues

Hey, happy November!  You know, that month that marks the start of basketball season. It's been a long winding road, but we're almost there.  Two Friday's from now, the season will finally tip off against Sacramento State, and we'll get to see just what Tad and the team have in store for us.  I'll have my annual Massive Preview up for consumption early next Tuesday, but, til then, we'll just have to do with this non-basketball filler.  I apologize in advance.

Oh, and the football team has a sort of big game this week against UCLA.  I guess you can be excited about that, as well...

Today in the bag, I'm reminding you that there are always championships in the #BananaStand, how the rest of the Pac-12 fared in football with the Buffs on a bye, and a stumble on the soccer pitch.

Click below for the bag...

Tuesday Grab Bag: Hold My Beer and Watch This

With four games left to play in the regular season, the Colorado Buffaloes have dispatched with the formality of qualifying for bowl eligibility.  From here on out, the only question on the board is 'how far can they ride this beast'; or, as I'm calling it, the 'Hold my beer and watch this' run for the Roses.

He's so excited. He just can't hide it. #CUvsSTAN pic.twitter.com/73wtl293iB

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 22, 2016

At this point, there's no reason to doubt this team or their ability to achieve everything they covet. With three of the four games remaining scheduled for Folsom Field, and the other on the road against the worst team in the division (Arizona), their destiny is decidedly in their hands.  Regardless of how it plays out, it should be a fun journey.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the win over Stanford, how the rest of the Pac-12 fared, and a stunning last-second win for the Women's Soccer Team in Berkeley.

Click below for the bag...

Quick Post: Goin' Bowlin'

Today, all of BuffNation is Andy Dufresne.  After nine years of foulness, we have crawled through the river of shit and come out clean on the other side.  Yes, Colorado Football is, once again, bowl eligible. Bask in the rain of freedom, my friends.

To honor the occasion, we need music, and there is only one choice.  It's a song in the marching band's repertoire that is only played in victory.  A re-imagining of the original CU Fight Song, 'Glory Colorado,' it oozes celebration, and is one of my favorite tunes ever scored.  It is, of course, 'Rejoice Colorado.'  Enjoy:

2016 Gameday Beer-o-the-week - Stanford Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beer") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

Way back in April, I took a trip to NorCal on some family business.  Not San Francisco, mind you, but the tiny burb of Chico, some three hours northeast of The City (Northern California, if you didn't know, is essentially endless).  What I found, I kind of liked.  Chico's a cool little college town, in many ways rather like Boulder, home to Chico State and a bunch of outdoors-types.  More importantly, it's also home to one of the biggest, most important craft breweries in the county -- the iconic Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.  Their imperial stout, Narwhal, is this week's gameday beer-o-the-week.

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of some of Sierra's more famous beers.  By this point, I've had so many of their classic Pale Ale's that I've lost a taste for it, and their newer stuff, like Otra Vez and Beer Camp, are big misses, for me.  Narwhal, however, is a whole different story.  I love this beast! A big, meaty imperial stout with character and life, it's one of the best of the style on shelves today. Rich and deep with flavor, this velvety smooth brew tastes of chocolate and espresso, with a pleasant mouth feel that is far from that motor oil/syrup style that can bog down lesser IPs.  It finishes creamy and clear, and there's even a note of hops, for which the brewery is famous for.  Oh, so good!

When I was at the brewery, they were pouring a barrel-aged version spiked with vanilla and orange peel, which tasted a whole lot like a chocolate orange. It was outstandingly good, beyond anything else I tasted while I was there.  As I understand it, it was only ever going to be available at the brewery, so, barring a trip to Chico, you're SOL.

Standard Narwhal, however, often finds its way out to Colorado (when in season), and can otherwise be ordered online.  If you find it, give it a try.  Sitting at 10.2% ABV, it'll keep you warm as we dip into November, and those tailgates start to get colder.  Their standard barrel-aged version is also distributed, and is even more deserving of your time and money.  Either way, if it says Narwhal on the bottle, you won't go wrong.


Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, beat the Cardinal!

2016 CU vs Stanford Football Teaser

One to go.  One more win and, regardless of what happens the rest of the year, the Buffs will finish the season at a bowl game. Sure, the carrot of bigger things beyond this milepost is enticing, but for a program nearly a decade on the outside of the cool kids club, the pedantic steps must be observed.

That's why the game this week is so important.  I don't want the specter of bowl eligibility to linger; just get it done, and move on to the cooler stuff at the end of the rainbow.  It's all in CU's hands, they just have to execute.

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Hype Music for the Week: "Olive Tree" by Scale the Summit

So, let's talk about progressive metal. It can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but is generally characterized by three things: the extended run time of its songs, 'aggressive' guitar, and extreme musicianship. Regardless of how you define it, however, prog-metal is not for the feint of heart.  You have to be a special breed of geek to like this stuff, as I do, just as you have to be a special breed of geek to get into Stanford.

This track, by Texas group Scale the Summit, always strikes me as hopeful and inspiring; the kind of thing you should be listening to on the precipice of bowl eligibility.  It's also great fuel for putting words to paper, should you need a backbeat to come up with a 25,000 word basketball preview...

Anyways, enjoy!

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Kickoff from venerable Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto is set for 1pm on Saturday.  For those going, the weather looks a little cool and cloudy, but otherwise fine.  For those stuck in Colorado watching, coverage can be found on *sigh* Pac-12 Networks, with the radio call on 850 KOA.

Click below for the bag...