Beer of the Week - Bell Ringer Ale

If you've frequented these BotW posts you know that I'm a big fan of RJ Rockers, a small brewery in Spartanburg SC. They don't produce as much beer as some others, but I see that as a good thing. Because they don't spread themselves too thin, everything they make is really good.

And that includes their Bell Ringer Ale. This is an American Strong that is sweet, smooth and deceptively bold. Ahem!...hence the name.
When you pour it you immediately realize this is a hearty brew. But the nose is sweet, I pick up caramel and a lot of malty goodness.

Then you taste it. Your mouth only verifies what the nose has told you, this is going to be a great experience. It's not overly sweet at all. The hops give it plenty of bite and the malts smooth the edges of all the tastes very nicely.


I think Bell Ringer's the perfect beer to start things off on a gameday, and it's name also tells you it can finish the gameday experience off nicely too. Because what Dawg doesn't like to hear a bell ringing after a win? 


Thanks for the reminder ScooBoo. And while we're all here giving toasts, head over to Untappd and check in your beer. Today's the site's 1st birthday. 


Pour em slow, but pour em often. Enjoy the "day off".

Mid-Season Roundtable

Kevin at College Football Zealots convened another roundtable, this one to assess all things Red and Black mid season and to ready ourselves for Florida. Part two will be up next week. Make sure you check out all of the questions and everyone's answers using the link above.

At the mid-way point what makes you the most excited about this Georgia football team?

Definitely the way the defense is playing. I can recall several occasions as recently as last year where the defense had just lost their intensity and was looking to get off the field. Now you can tell there is a vested interest in not letting the opponent score. And when they do give up points they don't look too thrilled about going to the sideline. More importantly we're swarming to the ball well and seem much more disciplined in our assignments than in recent years.  At the beginning of the season I needed to see progress on the defensive side of the ball. And since week one I feel that we have. A lot of it.

Which player has been the biggest surprise on offense so far this season?

I think it's clearly Michael Bennett. While Crowell and Mitchell have lived up to expectations, Bennett has become that go to receiver that can make the tough catch in traffic and give you 12 yards when you need 10. Mitchell is clearly our best option at receiver and King is having a decent season. But you need more than those two. Brown seems to be ready to contribute and enjoyed a great game as a wide open target against Vandy. Wooten just can't seem to find the field much at all. Who knows how long this concussion will hinder him. But Bennett has been steady, hauling in 18 catches so far this season.

Out of all the games left on the schedule which one worries you the most?

Florida, for all the obvious reasons. The WLOCP is our nemesis as much as the Florida Gators themselves. We're the clear favorite. We're getting some key players back. We've won 5 straight while they've lost 3 straight by a combined score of 96-27. But we've been in this position before and crapped our pants. I need to know if all this hard work since the South Carolina game is going to pay off or if it's just going to be another painful memory next to the St. Johns river. This is a big game for the relationship between myself and Coach Richt. Not that he's paying much attention to that, I hope...but I'll have some more definitive opinions about the program he's running on October 30th.
Winning this game could do wonders for the Georgia football program while sending Florida reeling into desperation mode. I would try and spend some energy being cautiously optimistic if I hadn't been kicked in the crotch 18 of the last 21 years.

Friday misery, chapter 6: bye bye Bernie

It's a bye week. So what's there to be miserable about? 


My bye week road game
I love the idea of travelling in the Fall, cuz nine times out of ten it means seeing the Dawgs play somewhere on the road. This weekend the Dawgs are taking to the road, but it's to see Mama, fish a little, hunt deer, read Bibles on Grandma's front porch while sipping lemonade.

Eye candy, not arm candy.

So where am I off to? My wife's high school reunion. Now, I've long been convinced that I was put on this Earth to adore and care for Catherine Zeta-Jones. But our paths never crossed; and the judge has seen fit that they never will. And perhaps that is for the best. I'm just not cut out to be arm candy so that Mrs. Bernie can show me off to people she used to turn down for school dances and dismiss from the cool lunch table. Catherine is better off with someone more polished and politically correct for the red carpets she graces.


For the wife...I'll do my best. I packed a tie. And clean underwear.


But I was supposed to be off the hook for this. When the issue first presented itself I celebrated the fact that it would be during football season. I have a great wife. She knows that if mowing grass and painting walls takes a backseat to Georgia football, driving to Virginia to grin and bear it during a 20 year catchup gossip session had no chance in hell.


But they chose the off week. YGTBFKM. 


Worry? Me?
I have two kids. When they ask to venture outside my public area comfort zone (ie. mall, Wal-Mart, crowded restaurant, soccer field, up the street to Brandon's house...) I get nervous. I'm not tied nearly as closely emotionally to our football players as Coach Richt. Yet he's releasing 115 kids loose on the continental United States.


I'm a nervous wreck. Do they allow scooters on I-75? Can we get Twitter and BookFace to crash for a few days so that the temptation to post certain pictures is removed? Where's Mudcat's car?


It's times like these that you can just sense the AJC journalists start to drool at the thought of Monday morning's column. You can hear the radio personalities smiling through their teeth at the opportunity to light up the call lines all next week.


I trust our players. Truly. I just hate old history lessons.

Girl you know it's true!

Ca$h bar? No thanks.
Speaking of history, back to the school gymnasium in Virginia...


Wife paid money for this right? A good wad of dinero actually. And then Wednesday...that's right, two days ago...I come to find out that the only thing it covers is some shrimp cocktail and soft drinks. Oh!...but there'll also be a cash bar.


Gee thanks. Nothing says let's talk about how y'all used to skip chemistry class like a $5 well drink. By the time we get to the revisionist history of the senior prom I'll be taking out loans against the kids' college education for a half empty bottle of José Cuervo.


With any luck Milli Vanilli will be the band. Maybe that's where all that ca$h went.


Have a great bye y'all. I've got my flask of bourbon packed and ready for whatever punch they serve Saturday night. Just hope I don't get over-served and end up dancing with Mrs. Bernie's old History teacher.


Or the wrestling coach.

"Florida Players were starting to celebrate a bit early"

1980 Dawgs released another clip of their newly released DVD yesterday on YouTube. It's from the greatest WLOCP of them all. I'm sure you're familiar with the play.

"That was something wasn't it?!?"


It damn sure was. Go Dawgs!!

Bye week blues

Mostly some housekeeping notes for you as we near the first weekend of the season that has no Georgia football. Together we can get through. Chin up now. It's ok.

- First and foremost, I intended to have a separate post dedicated to what would have been Lewis Grizzard's 65th birthday. But time did not permit its finish. Maybe it'll fit in Monday's Meatloaf. In the mean time here's a link to some Grizzard based posts under the tag I've dedicated to him.
- What I recommend to people though on a special day like today, is to head over to the site dedicated to him and read one of his columns. (If that link doesn't work I'll correct when I'm off the mobile.) Check out The Grit Tree. Or simply read from your favorite book.
- God I miss that man dearly. Happy Birthday Mr. Grizzard!
- More on this tomorrow, but the family and I are heading out of town for the bye week. That is going to result in little to no posting, barring breaking news.
- However I do have a chapter in misery coming tomorrow. And there's been a request for a Brew of the Week post, so that will come Saturday. Which works out well because Saturday is the first anniversary of the ever popular social beer drinking app Untappd. More to come.

So get some rest Dawg fans. Have a safe and relaxing bye week. Stay away from underage alcohol and scooters. And consider Remerton a ghost town.

- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

Coach Bobo, after some reflection

Some great comments and reactions to yesterday's post, both here at my little blog and on twitter. More than anything that proves I've got great readers and the best followers.


I've reread what I wrote a couple times and stand by what I typed. I do agree with DawgFaithful that it was probably ill-timed. We have won five straight games and are coming off what may have been Bobo's best called game of the season. 


In fact, Saturday was definitely Bobo's best game when you consider that he didn't have his starting tailback for the 1st quarter and wasn't even blinking over the thought of attacking Vanderbilt's strength - their secondary. Consequently, Murray had a career day.


But yesterday was an example of how I still believe the only people that read this blog are Nama and my wife. I tend to assume everyone has read everything thing I've written on Bobo. That's my fault and a rookie mistake. Especially considering all the new visitors I've had recently. (Hello, my name is Bernie. Beer's in the cooler...no, over there...)


Truth is I've been pretty fair to Bobo. I really do think he can make a great offensive coordinator. I even think that it could happen in Athens. We've seen it. I just don't believe we've seen it enough. Whether that's because he's not experienced enough yet, or Richt's still got his hands in there, or because some plays are still the head guy's, or because of injuries and misfortune, or having to use good players to help block instead of run routes...I don't know. Maybe a little bit of everything.


But I tell you what I do know, I'm tired of excuses. If we're not scoring points because of the offensive line, the depth at running back or because the concessions at Section 326 aren't selling enough peanuts, then Mike Bobo needs to figure that crap out. This is his offense. 


Can I do his job? Hell no. Which is why it's so frustrating to see us line up in shotgun to kill clock. My daughters knew Samuel was going to take that ball right towards the sideline on 1st and 15. And any doubt Vanderbilt didn't know it as well was erased pretty quickly after the snap. Put Figgins back in there and let #22 run downhill right behind him. We all know that's what he does best. The head coach even said as much Monday night on the Hotline.


Coach Richt has the attitude that every play when executed correctly will succeed. Good, sound philosophy to impart on his young protégé. And for the most part I agree. But this is a league where you sometimes need a lot more than execution.

Midseason Roundtable discussion

The bloggers' answers will be up tomorrow at College Football Zealots. If you want a sneak peak at the questions, here they are.

At the mid-way point what makes you the most excited about this Georgia football team?

Which player has been the biggest surprise on offense (and why)?

Out of all the games left on the schedule which one worries you the most (and why)?

What do you think?

- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

On the Air - Muschamp

Thought maybe you might want to listen in as Coach Hissyfit talks about Florida's off week and getting ready for his first WLOCP as a coach.

On the Air - Coach Richt

SEC Today - 10/19/11