Beer Goggles: ETSU

Opponent: ETSU

Brewery: Yee-Haw Brewing Co.

Beer: Winter Porter

ABV, IBUs: 6.0%, 20

For being a relatively small city (66,000 people), Johnson City has a decent size cultural footprint. It is the home of East Tennessee State University and has a thriving medical based economy. It is also the place where Mountain Dew was born (for all you non-alcohol drinkers, this is no longer Beer Goggles- it’s Dew Goggles). But most people know it from that first Americana/Folk earworm “Wagon Wheel,” from 2004. No, not that “Wagon Wheel.” It’s best not to talk about that Wagon Wheel. Although, I think there should be more talk about this Wagon Wheel.

Who hasn’t yelled out “Johnson City, Tennessee!” at a cover band in a dive bar while slugging draft beers from plastic cups?

Anyway, ETSU has the pleasure of playing the Dores in Mid November while the winter has settled in. It’s cold and gets dark early. There isn’t really much to play for as this season has been a bust of expectations and potential.

That’s why I chose the Winter Porter. It’s Yee-Haw Brewing Co’s winter seasonal. I like Yee-Haw and drank their beers here and there while I lived in the Music City. The Winter Porter is cold, dark, and has hints of vanilla- vanilla like our offense, amirite????

It’s 6.0%, so you’re not getting cheated. The can is festive, and we all know how marketing works on me (ps. anybody know if the Impossible Whopper really tastes like the real Whopper??). I wouldn’t hate if we came out in some seasonally inspired uniforms instead of whatever gray nonsense we trot out 30% of the time.

Nonetheless, drink up because that’s about all we have left- other than beating THEM. And since Mason is here in 2020, we might as well.