No. 14 WSU vs. No. 24 Stanford: Baxter’s beer of the game

If I told you that Baxter’s beer of the game for WSU vs. Stanford was from Upright Brewing, what might you think I’m going for? Well, my sister Stephanie initially thought that I was tying the beer to field goal posts. That’s absurd. I’m on team #NeverKick, so I would never highlight field goals in a positive manner.

No, when I am thinking Upright, I’m thinking the state of Gardner Minshew II for most of the 2018 season. The Washington State offensive line has given up just five sacks against 375 passes. Add in dropbacks that ended in scrambles and sacks, and thats five sacks in roughly 400 tries by the defense. That’s really good. Minshew is staying upright.

And why am I bringing up my sister? Well, she’s my special guest this week on the Baxter’s beer video. It’s five minutes long, the longest video yet. Don’t let that deter you, it is five minutes of pure magic where you’ll hear our tasting notes and find out why Stephanie drinks so many dang sour beers now (hint: It’s my fault).

The beer this week is Special Herbs from Upright Brewing. It is a spelt saison, blended with mixed culture beer and some herbs and flowers and such for flavor. What do those words mean? Spelt is an old-ass (heirloom) wheat-type grain that is common in saison styles. Mixed culture refers to the type of yeast in the beer—the “wild” yeasts like brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and pediococcus. These bugs are what give funky and sour beers their funky and sour characters. Yeast rules everything around me.

The spelt, the herbs and flowers and such, and the yeast combine to give this beer a nice botanical gin character. I highly enjoyed it. Upright is one of several PNW breweries that crush this mixed culture saison style. We are super lucky in this region to have breweries that crush these types of beers. Check Upright out, their beer is pretty easy to find in nicer beer shops and high-end grocery stores. You can also visit them down in Portland (and head to Tin Bucket while you’re in the neighborhood).

So, Baxter, Stephanie, and I will be drinking Upright as we root for Minshew to stay upright this afternoon. What will you be drinking?