WSU vs. Stanford football: Baxter’s beer of the game

Last week, the Washington State Cougars did something that seemed out of the realm of possibility for a Mike Leach offense, running for 280 yards and six touchdowns. That was a rare event, at least so far in Leach’s Cougar tenure. Baxter wanted to celebrate with a rare beer to match.

The Bruery in Orange County, Calif. makes all sorts of large stouts, the most famous of which is Black Tuesday, a hulking near-20 percent bourbon-barrel aged stout that is released once a year, with only a small amount sold to the general public. The only way to guarantee a taste of Black Tuesday is join one of The Bruery’s “societies”, which would require a California address for delivery or the ability to trip down to the brewery in Placentia once a quarter to pick up your haul.

As luck would have it, my mom lives in California, so I have The Bruery send my society shipments to her house, where she stores them for my typically twice-yearly visits. I even let her drink some of the beer sometimes.

Black Tuesday has spawned a few variants over time, included Grey Monday and Mocha Wednesday. Baxter’s beer of the game for Stanford today is Chocolate Rain, a Black Tuesday variant that takes the base bourbon-barrel stout and adds cacao nibs and vanilla beans.

I procured the one bottle I have of this beer before I joined one of The Bruery’s societies at a bar in San Diego. I’m not drinking that today, but I will be down in California and visiting The Bruery, where Chocolate Rain is currently on draft. I will also be picking up a few other barrel-aged stouts and sours that I have ordered over the past few months. It’s gonna be a good beer day.

Unfortunately, as I have not yet tried this beer, I have no review, and neither do Baxter or Schooner. Additionally, the “Chocolate” in Chocolate Rain is a bit of turn-off for Bax, but he is not selfish beer chooser. He is a man of the people.

If you are around Huntington Beach, I hear there is a Cougar viewing party there tonight. I’ll be there. And as always, let me know what you’ll be drinking for Cougar Football Saturday.