Minnesota, Beer, Chicago, Beer, Wisconsin, Beer

I managed to sneak away into the comforts of the Midwest United States for a few weeks recently and - with my interests shaping my route - many sites related to beer came through the truck window.

Unfortunately, i could not get into Surly for a tour. As always, they have about a 3 month waiting list but I think I can weasel in for my next trip as promised by a sympathetic ear in the head office. So my beer exploits in Minnesota remained fixed at my fathers homebrewery, the vastly expansive free market liquor stores, and as always the usual haunts that have great happy hours. A beer I have to draw attention to that I picked up on my way south from Moorehead Minnesota is called Rooster. It is brewed by a not-for-profit brewery in Hendricks, Minnesota. When you buy a 24 they donate 3x the cost to fund conservation and land management initiatives for critical habits in Minnesota. God I love that state. The majority of my time was spent bulking up my beeradvocate cred and waiting out the rain.

(Misato refusing to recognize my existence, dad in the brewery gettin his bottling on, and obvs.)
My trip down to Chicago was fantastic. Drove through snow covered rolling hills, deep into the Mississippi River Valley where the cliffs rise as abruptly as the mighty miss herself. Stayed with my sisters and hit up as many breweries/brewpubs as we could. Starting with Metropolitan Brewery which was just a few buses away from their place. Metropolitan is pretty freakin cool, particularly in the small shop of 3 employees who basically do it all (they wanted volunteers, and I wanted to be). Also each one of their fermenters had names of obscure star trek characters! Tages and I were talking next to their 4 pronged bottling machine, just top right of that was this cool keg sculpture of a long horned bull. My only qualms was with the beer itself, all German Lagers, no IPA, Ever!
Just had to add in the photo of the Chicago Fire game we took in, where they actually sold Lagunitas at the stands! Craft Brewery at a soccer game! fantastic. And yet the whole city seemed to be smattered with these trite adverts for Miller lite. The traveling fan from Houston clearly chose too much taste and vomited all over the away section, after the fight, and just before his own friends were taking photos 'around the drunk guy' for facebook.

Next was the Haymarket Brewpub. By far the best selection of micro-brews I have had, period. Haymarket famously named after the Haymarket bombing of 1886. The scene there was a bit bourgeois for a bit of proper anarchist history, but ill try and remind myself that the brewers are the ones who make the beer, the managers sell the space. This first picture below is of all their samplers we went through. Their menu of their own beers was a full page, they had 3x that of other craft beers on the back. Even had a section on their menu called "Shit Beer" with your budmillcoors. Number one for me was the Mother Jones Belgian Dubbel, Followed by the Mathias IPA and Speakerswagon Pilsner. Of course we made our way earlier in the day to the Haymarket Memorial, and came upon mutha f**kin Emma Goldman!

After a great time steeping in Chicago culture, I made my way back slowly through Wisconsin (which holds a piece of my heart) so I could hit a few of their growing craft breweries. Sadly the cooperage at left hasn't been active for over 100 years, but it was a nice stroll through an old farm with many of the original trades buildings in tact. Don't ask me where I was, i just followed the sign. New Glarus Brewing (in New Glarus Wisconsin) has an obvious path of success laid before them. Their new brewery is massive, landscaped, and full of shiny everything on the inside. I kinda liked this one more than most tours I have been on because I got to just walk around by myself with a beer in hand while workers were brewing/yeast testing/bottling etc. Very cool. Also got to buy just about every seasonal they have made in the last 2 years. The last photo is their old building, size matters there i guess.

Heading further North towards Madison I made it into Capital Brewery. Unfortunately no such luck on a tour, but I got the guy to show me around a few of their storage spaces and their kettles. I also bought several of their beers. Not a fan personally of most of what i drank, but they too almost exclusively brew the German Lagers. But it was on the map, so I had to do it. They had an awesome beer garden though in back of the place but it was raining, and i hadn't eaten and just sitting in there drinking a beer seemed not quite right. They don't need my business I have a feeling after having been brewing for almost 20 years.

On the whole, an excellent trip for personal experience and diversifying what will continue to be my beer stratum. I highly recommend a trip like this which is relatively close, and several major cities with a handful of hours between each other makes it reasonable. Go slow, take your time, and belt the radio tunes out of the window on cruise!

D.C. United Battle for Playoffs

The most successful club in the MLS... A team ratcheted with talent from the veterans: Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio and Ben Olson - to the consistent talent of Christian Gomez, Fred and Santino Quaranta - to the new talent of #7 draft pick Chris Pontius - This team should be destroying.

Instead, according to many fans, coach Tom Soehn is making a complete travesty out of what on paper should be a trophy. Currently contending with a heavy schedule in both MLS and CONCACAF Champions League, the team needs some redistribution. Unlike European Association Football clubs, which constantly play in inter-Europe competitions, North American clubs are hard pressed to field two or three squads when faced with back-to-back games. This was demonstrated in last weeks demoralizing Champions League loss to Honduran side Marathon, 3-1. Moreno looked tired, Gomez didn't feature, and Emilio had his head split open on DC's only goal of the night. Either the MLS salary cap and investment doesn't allow for expanded rosters, or the young-age of our association football hasn't developed the depth of reserve squads.

Having personal experience in playing English youth sides from West Bromich Albion, Derby County, and various London teams at the age of 15, expectedly being smeared left right and center on all occasions by players living in residency schools and being paid to play demonstrates the commitment that Europe has for this game. For my part, I would detest the lifestyle, but from it I receive a lifetime's worth of happiness every time I see the game played by these die-hards. No doubt we have the youth infrastructures already to support sponsored sides, whether the sport can attract the interest of the landed elites to pay kids to keep with the game until they mature as an investment remains to be seen.

However, major finance capital is of course alive and well in MLS. DC United perhaps one of the last teams still playing on a pitch of the Keynesian Era where sites of main attraction were named after great men of modernism, i.e. Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. The Home Depot's, Qwest's, and Red Bull's of global capitalism have seen our game into a flashy new overcoat. Without going too intensely here into the pervasively destructive/consumptive/raping that capitalism demands, it has given MLS the likes of underwear models David Beckham and Freddy Ljunberg. Ambassadors of the European game never looked more token masculine than this. Granted we are fortunate that money can buy talent to get throwball fans to take notice of soccer in North America. Thankfully our fans have also taken notice of the commitment by these players as demonstrated in the vehement rejection by Galaxy supporters to Beckham receiving a warm welcome home from his loan spell to Italian giants AC Milan one month ago.

Like capitalism, the good comes with the bad in MLS. As long as we know the questions we want answered about how to build our game and what each supporter takes solace in watching, we can at least begin to define where we want to go.

Everton off to a Blunderous start

Barclay's English Premiership top-4 contender of the 2008-2009 season, Everton Toffeeman, have started what looks to be a very long season. Losing their opening game to a cracking Arsenal squad, 6-1, overall morale looks to be diminishing. Though competing in the Europa league, and winning their first game against Czech side Sigma Olomouc 4-0 at Goodison Park, the Toffee's continued to lose on the island 1-0 to newly promoted Burnely who continue their tear through prem traditionals.
What contributing factors would lead to this blunderous start you might ask?

-For starters the football economy is completely superficial. For example big spenders Real Madrid and Manchester City have both dropped over 100 million euros on their summer signings - adding a bitter taste to those who signed contracts last year for "peanuts" by comparison. To contrast the summer spending of the world's capital interests (primarily new Emirate partners with western elites) one can only think of Chris Rock's apt comparative example of wealth versus richness: "I'm talking about wealth, not rich, Shaq is rich. The guy who signs Shaq's check is wealthy." If spending sprees like this continue the old stand-by of African-Americans 'making it' only if they rap or play basketball will become prolific for all sportsmen drawn into the fold of world football as unemployment rates continue to sky rocket the Western world over. Everton's to do, is one Jolean Lescott (pictured above), English International defenseman, currently scouted by Man City, which has "turned his head around" according to Toffee coach David Moyes. Nevertheless, Moyes has benched Lescott for the last two games on account of poor attitude. Pronounced: he's dragging his heels cause he smells greener pastures.

-Second, coming off a whirlwind of buzz for US International goalkeeper, Tim Howard, after an unbelievable Confederations Cup in South Africa this summer, as well as seeing off his teammate's in the MLS-All Star match vis-a-vie penalty shootout, Howard has by proxy been setup for disaster. A 6-1 drubbing to Howard's hope for cleansheets has burned and will continue to burn unless the Gunners end up Winning FIFA.

All in all, Everton need to hold fast as the market dictates attitudes. Appearing the battle hardened blue's(collared) of Liverpool, one expects this side to see the market rumblings peter-out. Lets hope its sooner than later as 20th in the prem overstates their current troubles.