(Photo: TheBrewBros.com)

Editor’s note: this is the second installment in the monthly What’ll You Have? series.  The first one ran last month.

You know what I’ve been drinking frequently in recent days (responsibly and in variable moderation, of course)?  Bubblejack IPA from Rush River Brewing Company in River Falls, Wisconsin, which is an American IPA, or India Pale Ale.  Rush River is a small operation in a town of about 15,000 in western Wisconsin.  They produce nine varieties of wonderful beer.  Interestingly, Rush River Brewing produces only unpasteurized and unfiltered ales in order to keep the flavor as plentiful, natural and fresh as possible.  This method also, of course, reduces the beer’s shelf life.  Rush River beers are obtainable in just Wisconsin and Minnesota.  From a look at their website, the beers aren’t available in Milwaukee just yet, but you can get them in most places west of Madison, and they are widely accessible in the Twin Cities area.  I’ve also had their Lost Arrow porter and the Lyndale brown ale, but I keep coming back to the Bubblejack.

Bubblejack isn’t overly hoppy.  It has a light body and color, with slight floral or fruity notes.  Bubblejack may be more like a pale ale than a super-hopped IPA in terms of overall taste.  It has hints of malt and is a well-balanced beer, with a 60 IBU (on the scale for International Bitterness Units).  Generally, craft beers are expensive to drink, or at least more expensive than mass-produced swill, and so it’s always nice to get a powerful punch with the alcohol by volume with craft beers.  Bubblejack has a 6.5% ABV and so a six pack is not only very drinkable but should provide a decent buzz as well.  Rush River also offers the Double Bubble, which has a 9.0% ABV, and for the Double Bubble they ‘doubled the hops, and added three pounds of local honey per keg’.  Good stuff.  If Bubblejack or Rush River’s other beers are available near you, definitely check them out.  They have a ‘Where to buy’ section on their website for handy searching.

Would you like to know more?  

I had the pleasure of contributing to Cincinnati Reds blog Chris-Sabos-Goggles and their 2013 Brewers preview as part of their look around the NL Central.  Please check it out; it’s most likely, nay, decisively worth your time!               

(Photos: RushRiverBeer.com)

(Photo: Justin Marshall, JSOnline)

I thought this photo from Justin Marshall of the JS Peanuts and Cracker Jack 2013 blog was pretty awesome. 

(Photo: AP/David J. Phillip)

It’s probably fair to say that most Brewers fans remember Yuniesky Betancourt’s 2011 run without fondness.  His .252 batting average / .271 on-base percentage / .381 slugging percentage did not exactly set the world on fire.  He committed 21 errors that year, which was Yuni’s fourth season with at least 20.  The guy has had a negative WAR every year since 2007.  If you participated in a drinking game where everyone did a shot when Yuni popped out to an infielder, you would succumb to alcohol poisoning well before the All Star break.

But it looks like Yuni is back for lucky ’13.  While it would easy to slap our foreheads and curse our rotten luck, let’s instead keep it on the positive.  There are only a few more days before the start of the season, so we can afford to be optimistic.  Yuni has a lot of upsides that we should keep in mind.

Haudricourt’s post on the Yuni signing noted he was hitting .447/.451/.574 in 18 spring training games with the Phillies.  There’s some promise there.

Looking back over Yuni’s 2011 stats, I notice he led the league in sacrifice flies that year with 10.  That’s…not so bad.  I would have assumed if Yuni led the league in any particular metric, it wouldn’t be something that helped his team.

It may be hard to remember, but Yuni had a good playoff run in 2011.  Not Jerry Hairston good, but nothing to sneeze at: .310/.326/.500 with three doubles, a home run, and 6 RBI in 11 games.

Remember that crazy double play he started where he flipped the ball behind his back to a barehanded catch-and-turn by Rickie Weeks?  Sure you do.

On a personal note, Yuni was part of one of my favorite in-person Brewers games on May 20, 2011.  The Brewers were still “searching for their identity” as they say, just a few weeks removed from a seven-game losing streak and still under .500.  That Friday, they played the Rockies in a 14-inning game where they had to come from behind in three different innings to eventually secure a 7-6 win (on a glorious Prince Fielder walk-off).  To get to that point, they needed a solo home run from Yuni in the bottom of the 13th to tie the game and keep the Brewers alive.  That game was a significant turning point in what would be the winningest season in club history.

While there’s a lot to criticize about Yuni, let’s look on the bright side and remember the guy can contribute.  If nothing else, we can at least start using the nickname “Yuni-bomber” again.