Who doesn’t love a Super Bowl party? A day spent watching an American pastime, enjoying ridiculous commercials, and of course, indulging on classic football-fare: pizza, chicken wings, sub sandwiches, chili, and the list goes on from there. In fact, Super Bowl Sunday has become the second largest “food-day” in the US (Thanksgiving takes the lead)! With all this good entertainment, good company, and good food, it would be a huge mistake not to have good beer to go along with it all.
Beer and Super Bowl Sunday go together like Manning and Wayne, like Brees and Bush, like the Cowboys and cheerleaders. It’s the one day even wine snobs drop their noses out of the air and throw back a few cold ones. Despite what commercials you see during the game, the best beers to go along with your grub don’t arrive by silver trains from the Rockies and don’t have three frogs as their spokespersons. Serving mediocre beer is as much a bad decision as running the ball up the middle on third-and-long.
What you are in need of is a good “session” beer! While there is no legal definition for the term session beer, it refers to any beer that has a balanced flavor of malt and hops, alcohol content of about 5%, and a clean finish. The purpose of a session beer is to allow the drinker to enjoy several beers in a reasonable amount of time without being overwhelmed by flavor or alcohol. In other words, a beer that can be enjoyed for all four quarters of the game without leaving you passed out on the couch. Now, session beers would definitely include those American macro-breweries, but why not support a microbrewery that might not be able to afford multi-million dollar commercial spots during the game?
One fun way to enjoy a variety of beers throughout the NFL post-season is to feature beers at your parties that are from each team’s home state. Here are a few suggestions for beers that would be appropriate to serve and support your favorite team with:
2010 NFL Post-Season Six-Pack Beer Lineup:
AFC
Indianapolis Colts – Three Floyds ‘Alpha King’ Pale Ale ($12)
San Diego Chargers – Stone Brewing Co. Pale Ale ($13)
New England Patriots – Harpoon ‘UFO’ Hefeweizen ($10)
Cincinnati Bengals – Thirsty Dog ‘Labrador’ Lager ($13)
New York Jets – Brooklyn Brewing Co. Lager ($10)
Baltimore Ravens – Flying Dog ‘Tire Bite’ Golden Ale ($10)
NFC
New Orleans Saints – Dixie Lager ($11)
Minnesota Vikings – Bard’s Tale ‘Dragon’s Gold’ Lager ($10)
Dallas Cowboys – Shiner Bock ($9)
Arizona Cardinals – Cave Creek Chili Beer ($13)
Green Bay Packers – Lakefront ‘Cream City’ Pale Ale ($10)
Philadelphia Eagles – Victory Brewing Co. ‘Prima’ Pilsner ($11)
Whether you’re into football or not, Super Bowl Sunday is fun for everyone, and the right beer makes it that much better. All of these beers are available at Vine & Table gourmet market in Carmel, Indiana, as well as, more than 750 other beers – all chillin’ in the beer cave!
Enjoy and GO COLTS!
Matt Dailey
