Game Day Beer Review: Brasserie Dupont Saison Dupont

(6.50% ABV) Poured into a chalice from a 11.2 ounce bottle on a recent Sunday while reviewing the weekend happenings in the Barclay's Premier League. The beer poured a murky orange-gold color with just a little bit of a white head showing around the edges. The carbonation was active and immediately noticeable, but due to the caution with which we poured the beer, the head was not hyperactive.

Saison Dupont smelled mainly of citrus and yeast. This quintessential farmhouse ale -- the epitome of the style for our money -- was dry and yeasty upon tasting, with the beer's flavors neatly mirroring its smell. We found some green apple and grains in the upfront taste, and just a hint of clove and maybe even vanilla on the finish. The beer was highly carbonated and active on the tongue. It's a genuine Belgian treat: A-

Street Fight

photo by digitalshay	via PhotoRee

In which we head back to the San Siro for a recap of this week's Champions League match pitting Spurs angainst Milan

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 / Stadio Guiseppi Meazza (a.k.a., San Siro) / Milan, Italy
Spurs return to the San Siro tonight long on Yiddish chutzpah, but short one Welsh maestro in the form of Gareth Bale. On a stormy evening in Milan, tempest a-brew, Bale's teammates returns to Milan to face not the Internazionale side they blitzed for three second half goals last they played here, but rather Inter's fierce cross town rivals, AC Milan. Uncle Harry starts the Champions League knockout phase with an attacking lineup that includes Van der Vaart, Lennon, and Crouch, while Milan counter with Ibrahimovic and Robinho, and old war horse Gennaro Gattuso, among others.

Spurs show no fear of their opponent, attacking from the start, and Milan center back Alessandro Nesta is guilty of a handball inside the first minute. The referee, however, seems not to have arrived at the match yet as he fails to spot the infraction. Peter Crouch's height causes the Italians problems in the early going, as they appear uneasy dealing with an ultra-tall thin man with limited mobility in a direction other than vertical.

In a worrying early development, Milan are forced to substitute goalkeeper Christian Abbiati due to a concussion on 15 minutes, and there's not time like the present to learn the trade for backup Marco Amelia.  Abbiati's been the busier of the two 'keepers to this point in the match, but it's not immediately clear where the blow to his head came from.

For much of the first half Milan appear to be playing the match underwater, not just in heavy rain, but actually underwater: freakishly slow movement being the most obvious component of their play. By the half hour mark, though, Spurs are no longer dominating and Milan have somewhat played their way back into the match, although it's probably more accurate to say that they've managed to drag Spurs down to their level rather than having picked up their own effort. Spurs have gone away from the wide crosses into Crouch that led to their early flurry of opportunities, and both sides seem in search of inspiration as well as goals. In truth it's a fairly drab opening 45 minutes, fit only to match the evening's weather, and it'll be up to the two coaches to channel their inner Vince Lombardi during the interval.

Rapture

photo by jurvetson	via PhotoRee

St. James Park / Newcastle Upon Tyne, England / November 28

It's a rematch of the League Cup from late September, with only the location having changed,  Newcastle hosting Chelsea today at St. James Park. Sol Campbell makes his first Premier League appearance for the home side, whose defense is not exactly at full strength for the match. Regular Captain Kevin Nolan also sits out with a knock, as Shola Ameobi deputzies for the Geordies, who are looking to rise above arch-rival Sunderland in the table. The pitch is a frozen slab of brown, green and white, and if the early bounces are any indication, players on both teams will have significant trouble just keeping control of the ball today.

As if illustrating that fact, there's a misunderstanding between Alex and Petr Cech to open the scoring, the Brazilian defender's back pass escaping the arms of the Chelsea 'keeper, who's rounded by a surprisingly speedy Andy Carroll. The recent England call-up has little work to do to put the home side ahead, the net vacated by Cech, and the goal at his mercy. It's 1-nil Newcastle in the 7th minute, and the crowd which braved the sub-zero temperature is frozen in rapture.

Twenty minutes in and the visitors are beginning to look a bit more dangerous, despite their lack of goals in recent competitions.  Chelsea have begun the day in a new 4-4-2 formation, in a bid to gain width through Kalou and Malouda, with Anelka and Drogba playing as co-equals up top. Although the scoreline does not reflect it, the Blues begin to control the ball better after some early wobbliness.There are more miscues by the makeshift Chelsea backline near the 25 minute mark, Ameobi and Carroll ending up on the end of a long cross into the box, but with both strikers making the same run there's no one home to knock the ball in amdist the chaos and carnage that is the Chelsea defense.