by Joseph Elia
Football is a beer sport, no two ways about it. But football
season brings about a dilemma for beer drinkers--How do you keep Bud, Miller,
Coors fans happy and satisfy your need to drink a quality beer? Or how do you keep craft beer drinkers
satisfied when you are a Bud, Miller, Coors fan. In an attempt to bridge this gap, I have put
together a list of some beers with crossover appeal for your next football
gathering. This is an excellent
opportunity for both craft beer drinkers and Bud, Miller, Coors fans to try
something new and distinctive. Many
standard domestic beer drinkers do not often try craft beer and when they do it
is usually something that is hoppy, heavy, and high in alcohol. Many craft beers fans get stuck in the IPA,
Ale, Stout, Porter rut and neglect trying other styles of beer. So try one of the following at your next
football gathering; it could be eye opening for both sides of the beer fence.
Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold
This is a lager brewed in the Dortmunder style. This style originated from the German city of
Dormund and was brewed for the workers in the swelling coal and steel
industries of the 19th century.
They are characteristically a pale golden color, have a balanced hop profile,
and are generally crisp, clean drinking beers.
They are what American beers used to be and they will have the greatest
crossover appeal with the your Bud,
Miller, Coors friends. It also has
enough flavor for craft beer drinkers.
Great Lakes Brewing from Cleveland makes one of the best examples.
ABV: 5.8%. IBUs 30.
Kona Longboard Island Lager
Light in taste and on the wallet, Kona Longboard Island
Lager from Kona Brewing in Hawaii is a craft lager with great crossover
appeal. It has some hop spiciness that is
sensed more in the aroma than in the mouth.
Overall it finishes crisply and cleanly and makes a well done
sessionable beer that will satisfy all but the hoppiest hopheads.
ABV:
4.6%. IBUs 20.
Bell’s Amber Ale
American pale ales have a tendency to be hopped to just shy
of IPA standards. Bell’s Amber Ale
however notches the hoppiness back to allow some malt flavor and sweetness to
show through. This well balanced ale is
crisp and light with a little more carbonation than would be expected from an
ale. There are some citrus notes that
become apparent towards the end. This
beer is easy to pair with football fare and will delight all types of beer
drinkers. As craft beer drinkers know, this
Michigan brewery delivers quality and taste.
We recently sampled Bell’s Amber at one of our Thursday Tastings and it
was a warmly received by the Bud, Miller, Coors crowd and craft beer fans.
ABV: 5.8%. IBUs: NA.
Great Divide Nomad Pilsner
We are sampling Great Divide on October 24th, 2013
and we will be featuring Nomad Pilsner.
Pilsners are pale lagers that are bottom fermented and are often
associated with Bavaria, Czechoslovakia, and Bohemia. If you collected beer cans back in the day,
these locales were all over American adjunct lager labels. Nomad reminds me of the beers I use to steal
from First Communions, weddings and picnics.
It is extremely drinkable (I’m drinking one right now in fact) and
accessible to all tastes. It has the
positive qualities of Yuengling Lager with an added mild bitterness that rounds
out the flavor.
ABV: 5.4%. IBUs: NA.
Founder’s All Day IPA (cans or bottles)
Some craft guys, only do IPAs. I can’t say I blame them much, but it often
alienates other drinkers. With Founder’s
All Day IPA you don’t have to worry.
Brewed as a sessionable IPA, this beer is low in alcohol and relatively
mild on the bitterness and hoppiness. It
also comes in both cans and bottles making it perfect for drinking in all
settings. All Day may just be the beer
that opens the eyes of your Bud, Miller, Coors friends to the wonders of
IPAs.
ABV: 4.7%. IBUs: 42.
