2/3/12 – SPECIAL EDITION – WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING THIS SUPER BOWL WEEKEND?

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Always sublimely self-righteous, the folks at Stone sum up the weekend perfectly with that prophetic tweet.  Yes, I do hope that you’ll be laughing along with the commercials this Super Bowl weekend and I do hope that you choose your suds wisely for this most splendid of drinking occasions.

I already know you support independent craft breweries.  I also know that it’s tough to support your local craft brews at this time of year when these corporate overlords are tossing out mind-blowing statements about their beers being triple hops brewed and other beers being brewed with only the finest ingredients.  Yeah, it’s not easy going back to the local guy when you have no idea if his beer happens to be triple hops brewed.  You don’t even know if the craft brewer uses the finest ingredients.  I mean, it’s not like they tell you right on the label or have hunky guys hanging out with other hunky guys telling you how hunky they are by drinking corn-flavored sugar water.  You really just have to trust the craft brewer and hope that they’re using three whole entire hop additions in their boil and using rare ingredients like that barley stuff and maybe of that yeasty junk that I’ve been hearing so much about.  I know, that’s a lot of trust to put into an independent company that’s running their own ship and putting their heart and soul into their product.  So while you’re watching what will surely be a few very funny beer commercials this weekend, try not to get sucked in.  It’s okay to ignore the commercial from the Belgian company that’s pitching the true American spirit and it’s perfectly fine to ignore the South American company that’s as pure as the Rockies themselves.  Nothing says America like international corporations desperately trying to get your buy-in on their piss-poor while a little football plays in the background.  Try to remember that you like beer and the commercials shouldn’t sway you one bit.

Now where were we?  Oh yes, the beer.  Safe to assume you chose wisely, went to the store with a $50 budget taking pride to only exceed that by $100, took home certain beers to celebrate a Super Bowl victory and others to drown your sorrows should the unthinkable happen again?  Maybe that’s just me.  Like a few of the other Aleheads, I’m a Patriots fan and I’m a little on edge this weekend.  That means I’ll be drinking.  A lot.  Starting tonight.  Continuing on Saturday.  And then there’s Sunday, when I know you’ll all be drinking with me.  Super Bowl weekend is a great drinking weekend.  For gameday I like to have a sessionable six-pack that I can keep reaching for throughout the game to wash down crunchy things and stuff covered in cheese.  Then I like to have a few specialities that I’ll dip into when the time is right.  Since my team is in the big dance this year, I’ll also have something special that needs to be cracked right when the game lets out.  If the Pats win, I think a Liefman’s Goudenband is in order.  Lose?  A little self-flaggelation with a B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher mixed with a glass of Bourbon.  I honestly don’t know what any of the other beers will be yet but the weekend is still young.

So fellow football fans.  I know you won’t be drinking Miller Lite this weekend, even though their marketing budget is just a tad bigger than the brewery down the street from you.  Since light beer and macro swill is out of the running…

What are you drinking this Super Bowl weekend?