WSU vs. Cal: Baxter's beer of the game

Baxter can sense the quiet rumblings on CougCenter over his weekly beer column. He took three weeks off earlier this season and that coincided with a three-game winning streak for WSU, including a win over USC in the Coliseum. When he returned last week, the Cougars were embarrassed by Stanford.

He sees this trend, but doesn't care. Y'all a bunch of superstitious fools.

So the internet's most important dog beer critic is back for another round. And this week he's got a second beer from my hometown of Yakima, Wash, delivered by hand from the brewery itself.

It's hard to believe, but there was no craft brewery in Yakima, the center of the country's "hop basket", from 2002 until 2007. The brewery that closed in 2002 was run by Bert Grant, a pioneer in the craft beer movement. Yakima was brewery-less after that until a group of beer nerds decided to use Grant's old brewing setup (which was owned by my girlfriend's dad's best friend, who delivered the beer for this game) to make beer again for commercial distribution.

Yakima Craft Brewery began selling its beer in 2008, and Twin Stag Scottish Ale (today's beer) was one of the first labels. Yakima Craft's original setup was just 3.5 BBL, but this year they expanded to 20 BBL. So folks in Washington should have an easier time finding YCB bottles going forward.

Craig's Review: Twin Stag pours a little darker than other scottish ales, it's a deep brown. The smell is malty and sweet, as one would expect from the style.

That darker color shows in the flavor. There is a nice roasted kick to the malts, but it still is quite smooth and easy-drinking. The finish is clean, with just enough hop to balance things, but not enough to have much of a presence in the flavor profile.

It certainly drinks like a sessionable beer, but be careful! Twin Stag's Beer Advocate page says it checks in at 6.6%, which is more along the lines of what is seen in IPAs.

Baxter's Review: I was really glad to see Bob, and then he brought this beer! A nice change of pace from Craig's collection of hop-heavy beers. I enjoy the sweetness. And seriously, how could you think I'm bad luck? Jerkface jerks.

That's what Bax and I will be having. What will you be enjoying while you watch the Cougs take on the Golden Bears.?