Super Beers for the Super Bowl: Not Your Usual Brews

Super Bowl Sunday, the all-American sports extravaganza, is the second highest day of food consumption in the United States after Thanksgiving. Practically a national holiday, it is the most watched U.S. television broadcast of the year -- a broadcast marked by its bajillions of dollars worth of commercials for mass-produced beer. Yes, not only is Super Bowl Sunday a blessed sports day, it’s the biggest beer-drinking day of the year. In fact, beer sales go up a staggering 15% two weeks before the big event. 

Clearly, beer is still the beverage of choice for many Americans. Still, the times, they are a' changing. A colleague recently sent me a fabulous cookbook called "Great Food, Great Beer," that emphasizes beer and food pairings -- it has tons of mouthwatering recipes to move your feast beyond microwaved hot wings and Fritos with dip. I also asked my good pal Christina Perozzi, AKA the "Beer Chick," for some off-the-beaten-path beer suggestions. Christina is essentially a "beer sommelier," and her ability to pair beer with food is impressive. Here's what the Beer Chick had to say about super beers for the Super Bowl:

"I'm all about moving past the mass-produced beer that we Americans all now unknowingly call good beer and into the real craft and artisanal beers. These craft beers are perfect for the Super Bowl because they are mostly regional, made lovingly by the local brewmasters and made famous by the local natives who discover it and drink it."

New England:

1)  Allagash White – Allagash Brewing Company – Portland, Maine
This is the "light beer" for New England fans. When I say “light,” I don’t mean the pale fizzy yellow water that most light beer is. I mean this beer is light in color and body and has a fresh, crisp, nuanced flavor. This beer is a quintessential Belgian-style Wit beer or White Ale. Unfiltered and cloudy, this wheat beer has fresh citrus and spicy notes.

5.0% alcohol by volume

2)  Pissa Mauvais – Cambridge Brewing Co. – Cambridge, MA
This beer, named for the famed “Wicket Pissah” expletive uttered proudly by many a Bostonian, is called an American Wild Ale. Don’t let the color of this dark German-style beer fool you.  This beer is medium-bodied and tasty with smoky, toasty, woody notes and a slight sour finish.
7.0% alcohol by volume

3)  Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner – Boston Beer Company -  Boston, MA
Every autumn for over 20 years, Jim Koch, the founder of Sam Adams, has traveled to one of the oldest hop-growing regions in the world, the Hallertau region of Bavaria in Germany, to hand-select Noble Bavarian hops (including the Hallertau Mittelfrueh variety, considered one of the best in the world). This bold American Double or Imperial Pilsner has the spicy, citrus flavors and aromas of the hops balanced with the slight sweetness from the malt, providing hop lovers with an amazing beer-drinking experience.
8.8% alcohol by volume

New York:

1)  Brooklyn Local 1 - Brooklyn Brewery – Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Local 1 is brewed in my favorite way, the Saison Farmhouse style. This rustic but effervescent and bright beer is brewed using barley malt and hops from Germany, aromatic raw sugar from Mauritius, and yeast from Belgium. Behind the full golden color you’ll find an “alluring aroma, a dynamic complex of flavors, Belgian flair, Brooklyn fortitude.” They also use the old technique of 100% bottle refermentation, a practice now rare even in Europe. It gives this beer a palate of unusual depth.
9.0% alcohol by volume

2)  Rare Vos Amber Ale - Brewery Ommegang -  Cooperstown, NY
Named after a Brussels bar made famous as the starting point for bicycle and pigeon races, the Rare Vos Amber Ale is also a great beer to drink for Giants fans. Pouring with a coppery-amber color and a rich creamy head, this beer has the distinct aroma of spicy orange blossoms. The pleasant mellow flavor of caramel malt glides easily into a dry, hop finish.
6.5% alcohol by volume

3)  Jahva Imperial Coffee Stout – Southern Tier Brewing Company – Lakewood, NY
Getting a little sleepy during the long game? This beer will wake you right up! This wonderful elixir is a stout brewed with coffee. Yes, I said coffee. This beer uses Blue Mountain Coffee from the misty mountains of Jamaica and then blends it with their beer to create a heady mixture of sweet sugar, dark roast, and complex flavor. This beer is big with a capital B-I-G.
12% alcohol by volume


For The Losers:

1)  The Abyss – Deschutes Brewery – Bend, OR
If, by chance, you find yourself on the losing end of the Super Bowl, or if your team is already out (I love you, Favre!), you might like this abysmal (in a good way) beer. This is a Winter seasonal, just released on January 14th. It's a Russian Imperial Stout, which means that it's big, it's luscious, and it has a high alcohol content. Aged in French oak, pinot noir, and bourbon barrels since last March, this beer has immense depth with rich and complex flavors. True to its name, subtle notes of coffee, chocolate, molasses, and licorice pull you in deeper and deeper. Cherry bark and vanilla bean added during the dry-hopping process are the proverbial “cherry on top”!
11% alcohol by volume

For The Winners:

1)  Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock - Brauerei Aying – Near Munich, Germany
If, by chance, you find yourself and your team the victors of the Super Bowl, then you should really treat yourself to the likes of this beer. Of course I haven’t had them all, but I consider this one of the best beers in the world. Originally a style brewed at a monastery in northern Italy, "double bock" was quickly introduced by Bavarian brewers to compete with bock. Doppelbock names end with the suffix "-ator." This beer is a “profoundly dark, rich elixir, with a complex fruitiness of roasted malt and whole hop flowers with a semi-dry finish." Drink, Celebrate and enjoy!
6.7% alcohol by volume