Warning - Beer Content Alert

So I made this IPA with an unusual combo of Northern Brewer and Cascade hops. I also (inadvertently) made it really dark. It almost looks like an amber. Third strike - we couldn't control the temperature at all, so it ranged from 65-78 during the time that it was resting in the closet.

All this is to say that I wasn't terribly surprised when I tasted it after 24 days of being bottled, and found it, well, nasty. It whalloped with bitterness right off the bat, and then seemed completely empty in the mid-palate, floated through some weird sweetness that I believed to be off-flavors, and finally settled with a whimper of a tinny aftertaste.

I resisted the temptation to toss the whole batch right there, though. I was reminded that heavy alcohol brews need extra maturation time (this one's about 6.3%). So I waited another two weeks. And I tasted it again yesterday.

Wow, what a difference. I'm still not 100% sure about the sweetness that's in the middle, it seems a little odd to me. But the initial bitterness has mellowed, flavors have arrived to complement in the middle of the timeline, and the tinny-ness is gone. It feels like it has been ripened like a very rich fruit. And it's good. I can't believe it.

I feel like I need to clarify my last post. I am not in any way calling out the heart of the Scorch team - only their relative politeness. I am not calling out their skills (not at all!) - only their tendency to self-doubt. If that self-doubt can be eliminated, then they have the ability, potential, talent, skill, and heart to play with absolutely anyone in the country. Period.

In other notes, Tucson Club Women's tryouts commenced yesterday. It's so great to see 22 women out to play hard and get ready for a summer of serious bizness. I am co-captaining and -coaching this team and am nervously excited for the challenge. I am using this blog to talk up some of the ideas I have.... To help me work them out, and believe in them. And I believe everything I read.

Last thought for the day. I don't know who the original author of this quote is, but I got it from prospective WNBA player Megan Vogel on her blog:

"When you don't practice, know that someone else somewhere is practicing, and when you meet them, they will beat you."

Just got finished reading the SW Women's All-Region thread on RSD. Everyone did a magnificent job of patting themselves on the back. I am thankful that the Arizona team has been spared a bunch of empty congrats from other teams who, in truth, totally disregard them and consider them a non-factor in the region's development.

They are considered that way because they allow it. They have thusfar been content to be proficient without distinguishing themselves. The only thing missing from this group is a certain kind of "want to," the kind that makes you hate to lose more than you love to win.

I have always struggled with this in my own athletic career; because I have not been on a lot of successful teams I accept losing very willingly. Otherwise I wouldn't enjoy the pursuit. There are so many things in life to get excited and emotional about, and I have not allowed my own sports performance to be one of them. How do you convert yourself from an easygoing take-it-or-leave-it athlete, to a crazy must-win athlete? And how do you do it without losing a sense of fun, or without destroying your commitment to Spirit of the Game?

We'll be working with some of the student athletes during the summer/fall Club season. I am hoping to have some great long discussions about this with them and the rest of the new teammates and try to find the answers to these questions.

I am still recovering from viewing and volunteering at SW college regionals. The top seven women's teams were in a whole 'nother stratosphere from the rest of the group, but this is actually good news. The region used to only go about 3 deep. And one of this top seven is a freakin' b-team. Be very afraid of UCLA for the next, like, forever.

I also have the Warriors in my mind today. I was a fan when I lived in the Bay Area - this franchise has always displayed a certain amount of spunk on the rare occasions in which they'd actually win a game. But this group is obviously different - it's not the NBA as we know it, but it's also not exactly streetball. FreeDarko is right - the Warriors are breaking off the shackles of the old-guard NBA and finding an entirely new way to win.

That is what I want to do with Ultimate, and women's in particular. I am beyond tired of the old school Right Way to play. It absolutely crushes creativity and spunk and encourages machine-like discipline in order to limit the effect of external variables. I like variables - and I like exciting outcomes. I want to evolve into an offensive style instead of an offensive system. When we speak of making Ultimate more fan friendly and "legit," I think that an increase in dynamic styles of play would be a great start.