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

It's Friday and WSU plays a football game at 6 pm PT. That means you get to combine your post-work happy hour drinking with your gameday drinking. That's some real efficiency in beverage consumption.

Since we are doing drinking double duty, Baxter and I believe there is plenty of room for something with a little higher gravity (depending on how your work week went, you may especially agree). There's no all-day tailgating required, and that's why we were fine with picking out the 8.1 percent ABV Stone Xocoveza Mocha Stout to drink as WSU battles Stanford.

Xocoveza (let that be the exact moment that I regret choosing this beer on its name alone) is the product of a collaboration. Stone does plenty of collaborations with some of the biggest craft brewers in the United States, but this one comes from an unlikely source. The exotic Xocoveza, which includes chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, chile pepper and coffee in an attempt to mimic Mexican hot chocolate, is the result of a homebrew competition.

A homebrewer having his beer produced on a massive stage? That's just the kind of "upset" the Cougs will need against Stanford on Friday. If WSU is to win, it will likely need some an unlikely source to step up - something like a few big plays from a downtrodden secondary.

Craig's Review: I'm not always a fan of Stone's over-the-top collaboration beers, but this one is outstanding. The smell is wonderful, with cinnamon, nutmeg and chile pepper obviously present. The beer is sweet, but not too sweet, meaning the ABV was likely a good choice. The finish is complex, with the chocolate, pepper and coffee all taking turns to appear. It really does taste like Mexican hot chocolate.

Baxter's Review: Being a dog, I don't get to eat chocolate much except for when I jump on the counter to get into some that Craig has left out. I try to present my case, showing that I'd have to eat many, many pounds of milk chocolate for it to actually be deadly. He points out that I'm "lactose intolerant." But apparently he ignored that for this particular milk stout. Bring on some more!

(Don't tell him I told you this, but Baxter isn't getting much more. Too good to share).

That's what Baxter and I will be having as the Cougs face Stanford. What's on your drinking list?