The Armchair Quarterback’s Guide To The NFL: Johnny Manziel

The Armchair Quarterback’s Odds And Ends Of The Week

Beer Review Of The Week:

Stone Brewing’s Matt’s Burning Rosids

I’m a big fan of trying new beers, especially ones that are unlike anything that I’ve tried before. So when I saw that this beer was an “imperial cherrywood-smoked saison”, that alone was reason enough to try this offering from Stone Brewing (the same brewery that made my favorite beer that I tried last season, their Smoked Porter w/Vanilla Bean). However, when I examined the bottle closer I found that this beer had a special story behind it. The following is from the bottle:

"Life is extraordinarily precious, joyous…and fragile. In 2013, we suffered the tragic loss of our dear friend and coworker, Matt Courtright. In the midst of our grief, we pulled together as the family we are, suggesting and exploring numerous ways to pay tribute to our dearly departed colleague. In the end, we felt there was no finer way to honor his memory than to brew one of his most recent and special beer recipes. Everyone at Stone recognized Matt’s prowess and passion for brewing. He loved to explore all beer could be, rather than limit himself or his brews to accepted parameters. To wit, he crafted the beer you hold in your hands, a Belgian-style saison he conceived with his Stone friend and compatriot, Brian Bishop. Infused with cherrywood-smoked malt, the beer was dubbed Burning Rosids, referencing the rosid plant family from which cherry trees hail."

So with a touching backstory and intriguing description I was excited to try this unique brew. Unique is probably the best word to describe it. If you are new to the world of craft beer this might be a little much to take on. There’s a definite Belgian style maltiness to it that I really like accented by a little bit of citrus and fruit sweetness. That’s offset by a nice touch of hop bitterness, a little spiciness, and then a touch of the cherrywood smoke in the background.

There’s a lot going on, but the beer still goes down surprisingly smooth, especially considering the high 10.5% alcohol content. If you’re a fan of trying new and different beers I highly recommend giving it a try, especially given it’s backstory. However, if you’re just venturing out into the craft beer world, you may want to start with something a little more basic.

My Rating (1-10): 8

A Good Way To Pass The Time This Week:

With the NFL season still months away most fans are looking for just about any way possible to pass the time. My advice for this week: Break out the BBQ grill. With spring now officially upon us (although we did get snow this week!) it is officially time to dust off the old BBQ grill.

Get it out from under the pile of tubs and boxes in your garage and put it back in it’s rightful spot on your back deck/patio/etc. For those of us that celebrate, this is a holiday weekend that is particularly special and is a great time to get the family together for a meal. While it seems a baked ham is tradition for Easter dinners, I greatly prefer a good old fashioned cook out.

The kids can run around the yard hiding and finding eggs while the smell of burgers and brats fill the air (just typing that got me hungry). I’m not sure there’s a better smell in the world than that of the first grill of the season. So this weekend get the family or some good friends together, celebrate the holiday, fire up the grill, and maybe even try a Matt’s Burning Rosid. Trust me, it’s better than overanalyzing Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft for the 17th time.

Rant Of The Week:

Traffic Jams

I don’t live in a major city like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. I live in a suburb of Wichita, KS. It’s a big city by Kansas standards, but that’s not saying much. I’ve been to L.A. before and frankly I don’t know how you people that live there can do it. I can’t stand to be stuck in traffic. It drives me absolutely INSANE. If I’m in stop and go traffic for 10 minutes I lose my mind and I’m normally a pretty patient person. So props to those of you that have an hour commute to work that only covers five miles because I couldn’t do it.

Here’s my particular traffic jam issue. I don’t understand some traffic back ups. I get that when there’s traffic merging together or lots of people getting on or off the highway that there will likely be back ups. What I can’t wrap my mind around is when it’s just a straight shot, no merging, and we start and stop constantly. JUST DRIVE PEOPLE!!!! Don’t get so close that you have to hit your breaks, which causes the person behind you to break, and so on until people have to come to a complete stop. Can’t we all just drive together at a steady rate? Wouldn’t that be better than speed up, break, stop, speed up, break, stop.

JUST DRIVE!!!! If there is anyone smarter than I am that can explain this to me, I’d appreciate it. Maybe if I could justify it I could keep my road rage in check.

That will do it for this week’s Armchair Quarterback. I’d love to hear your thoughts on “Johnny Football” in the comments below. Until next week, break out the grill, try a Burning Rosids, and stay out of stop and go traffic.

Thanks for reading.

Follow me on Twitter: @LyleGraversen