Fire Your 'Cues

In yesterday's "best bets" post, I totally forgot the really big show this weekend--the Blazers. I am a member of the unwashed masses who will be watching from outside the Rose Garden, but I'll be doing it in style--pre-functioning with friends around a pit of burning meat*, hand cradling a fine ale, bald head testing the intensity of the sun.

I will confess to being stymied on the ale business though. For old-time Blazers fans, this is a moment we've anticipated (somewhat despairingly) for well over a decade. I know we were in the playoffs more recently, but that was the Jail Blazers--and no self-respecting fan found joy in the team. Now we have a crew of fine kids we're proud of, and we finally have a team we can root for in the playoffs. Beer selection for such an event is not to be handled blithely. I think I'm going to go with the beer that captured my fancy yesterday, though--a weisse.

All right Blazers, make us proud!

Update. Oy. Now I need a beer that makes me forget everything that happened in the previous 24 hours.

_____________
*As a poor vegetarian, one who is seduced by a plump, barbecued bratwurst, today will be a test.

Cheers!

Well, it's not exactly the end of the world, but the Blazers beating LA last night, probably ensuring Cleveland the best record in the NBA, and provoking Kobe to bomb up an airball with 50 seconds left: a celebratory toast was in order. I selected La Fin du Monde from Unibroue:


Ah, what joy. Go Blazers!

Good Beer at the Rose Garden

Thanks to some holiday good luck, I had the chance to see last night's Blazer game from the sixth row of the Rose Garden. We were sitting just behind the Raptor's bench, which had the benefit of putting us on the Blazers' side of the court during the second half, when Brandon Roy put on a helluva show (14 of 19 overall, 8 of 11 in the second half). You can see the angle we had from the picture at right--and also Brandon draining a long jumper.

Of course, I had a beer. As you know, concesssions are a special kind of crazy, especially at stadiums where tickets cost you a day's pay. Eight bucks is too much to shell out for a crappy beer, so it's a fine thing we live in Beervana. Two breweries enjoy hegemony of the taps--Widmer and Pyramid/Mactarnahan's. I sidled up to the Pyramid kiosk first and was rewarded with a gander at Snow Cap, which I promptly bought. Eight bucks for a Snow Cap?--you could do worse. Incidentally, I didn't have my measuring cup on hand, but the cup seemed pretty big. Could easily have been an honest pint.

The tap selection is at left.

As a comment on culture, I can say this: in the sweet seats, Widmer Hef was king. Except for the few women drinking wine and the two guys I saw with bottles of Bud Light, everyone had Wid Hef, lemon wedge and all. I don't recall that kind of uniformity in my usual cheap seats, scraping the rafters above. This observation submitted without comment.