Pairing 3 Beers with 3 Sports on #BeerSaturday

There's nothing better than getting to the end of the week and really feeling like you've earned your beer and I can honestly say that I've definitely put in the hard yards over the last fortnight to justify an entire day spent watching sport and consuming some fine ales.

Brave New World West Coast IPA

As a sports lover, yesterday offered very rich pickings, with cricket, rugby and football all on the goggle box so I thought I would try and pair my drinks with each of the occasions in the way you might with wines and fine dining.

Beer: A Brave New World

Sport: U-19 Cricket World Cup Final England vs India

Given the England cricket team's struggles of late, it is refreshing to see that the next generation at least carries some hope of better times to come.

What better pairing then for this game than an IPA called 'Brave New World' a beer that claims to be "future proof", whatever that might mean.

As far as the cricket was concerned the only disturbing glimpse into the future that I got was another top order batting collapse with the youngsters following a very similar pattern to the mens Test side by being reduced to 47-5 at one point before an excellent partnership of 93 between James Rew and James Sales helped us at least post a competitive total albeit that India ultimately overcame a couple of scares to chase it down with relative ease.

The beer itself was full of flavour, very hoppy with a bitter citrusy taste of grapefruit coming through. Would certainly drink it again but it didn't offer anything particularly unique.

Beer: Ola Dubh

Sport: Six Nations Rugby, Scotland vs England

Up next was England's opening game of this year's Six Nations against the Auld Enemy Scotland.

There are very few sporting events better than the Six Nations and beyond the sporting excitement, the start of the tournament always gives hope that winter is nearly done!

The game itself was frustrating from an English point of view. We dominated territory and possession but couldn't quite make it tell against an organised Scottish defence who ultimately took their chances to score at the other end. Still think we were somewhat hard done by at the end of the match when our scrum quite clearly destroyed theirs well within kicking range of a penalty that would have at least given us the chance to tie the game, only for the ref to bottle making the decision more on account of the match situation than anything else.

Enjoyed the Ruby on the laptop and the beer while also cooking dinner. Who said men can't multi-task especially where beer and sport are concerned

Still, while the rugby was disappointing the beer that I paired with it was certainly not!

I'd been given this bottle of 'Ola Dubh' by my dad a few weeks ago with a glowing recommendation that it was definitely one to try. Knowing that I was likely to be too busy with work to enjoy it for a little while, I had ear marked today as the perfect opportunity to give it a go and it did not disappoint.

'Ola Dubh' means Black Oil in Gaelic with this beer coming from Harviestoun brewery up in Scotland. It's a twist on their equally impressive beer called 'Engine Oil' which I'll have to drink again and review for your pleasure (and mine) on a future BeerSaturday post.

The difference with 'Ola Dubh' is the 'Engine Oil' has been matured in Scotch Whiskey barrels which adds some wonderful flavours to an already very smooth beer. Vanilla and dark chocolate are what immediately hit your palette and while you can just about get the hints of whiskey behind that, you aren't over powered by it. In fact, given this beer is a whopping 8% alcohol volume, it's noticeable how velvety and easy to drink it is.

Should I be considered a traitor for drinking a Scottish beer while watching the Calcutta Cup? Perhaps! But quite honestly I'd give up a few years in the Tower of London to enjoy this beer again.

I would highly, highly recommend trying to get yourself a bottle if given the chance!

Beer: Gender Fluid

Sport: FA Cup, Spurs vs Brighton

While results wise, the sports Gods hadn't yet smiled on me, the scheduling of the matches this Saturday was certainly in my favour with Spurs FA Cup match vs Brighton being the late kick-off, allowing me to enjoy the Rugby, get the kids to bed and sit down in time for the football to start.

This was a proper cup tie with Spurs looking well organised and dangerous on the break but Brighton giving it a good go particularly in the 2nd half.

As @blanchy had said in one of his recent blogs, having Son and Romero back in the side was very much like having a couple of new signings. The South Korean's pace caused Brighton plenty of problems especially given how well we escaped their high press and found space in behind which was made all the more possible by the Argentine's crisp and accurate passing out from the back.

I lived for nearly 6 years in Brighton but have no particular affiliation with their football team. The only game of theirs I ever watched was when Bristol City visited them at the old Withdean Stadium. "Stadium" being used in the most generous of terms as it really was just a athletics track with some temporary stands put up around it.

Still, Brighton is an awesome place to live, especially when you're young, free and single. Great bars, restaurants and an alternative culture scene which provides lots of things to do all year round.

'Gender Fluid' seemed the perfect beer to pair for a match against Brighton with the The Two Chefs brewery claiming that this beer is all about you being you and furthering the cause of equality and diversity which is very much at the heart of what the South Coast town stands for.

It's a Strawberry Milkshake IPA but I'd actually say that the bitterness of the beer against the slightly sweet notes makes it taste more like rhubarb than strawberry. It was fine, very easy to drink but like most fruit flavoured beers I wouldn't want to drink more than one in a single sitting.