JOPLIN, MO —
Many of America’s great football cities are great beer cities, too. Even if your team didn’t make the final game this season, you can enjoy a taste of your favorite home team with these locally available brews.
— Chicago Bears fans can choose Goose Island beers for their Super Bowl festivities. Available in the Joplin area, Goose island’s Honkers Ale and 312 Urban Wheat Ale are award winners. Honker’s Ale, an English style bitter, combines a fruity and floral aroma with a deep malty texture to create a well-balanced beer, which complements burgers, fish and chips.
— Did you cheer the Denver Broncos on as they met defeat at the hands of the New England Pats? Maybe a Boulder Beer Hazed and Infused Dry Hopped Ale would help ease the not-so-super pain. Brands including Sweaty Beatty Blonde, MoJO IPA and Hazed are available in bottles around the area.
— The Kansas City Chiefs may not have made it to the big game, but Kansas City’s beer continues to rack up awards. Boulevard Brewing’s Pale Ale and Saison-Brett seized Gold Medals at the 2011 Great American Beer festival. Both beers and their cousin, Boulevard Wheat, are all available in bottles and on draught around the area.
— The New England Patriots made it to the big game. Fans of Sam Adams Boston Lager are ready to cheer for the home team and home brew. You can find Boston Lager, it’s lighter style, Latitude 48 India Pale Ale and Alpine Spring Ale on most grocery and beer retailers shelves. Seasonal sampler 12-packs are often available.
— Football fans in the South love their New Orleans Saints. Many of those devoted followers are big fans of Abita Beer, too. Purple Haze, a raspberry wheat beer, is on local shelves. Abita’s Turbodog, a dark brown ale, is recommended by the company’s website served with spicy dishes and heavy cheeses. Their Amber Ale is a Munich-style lager is often used in the recipes of prominent Louisiana chefs.
—San Francisco 49ers fans will find several styles from Anchor Brewing around Joplin. Anchor’s Steam Beer, a caramel-colored lager, is on shelves at many grocery and beer retailers. Liberty Ale, an American IPA, is a bitter beer loaded with hop flavor and fragrance.
— Even if the St. Louis Rams are not playing on Sunday, their hometown brew is well represented at the Super Bowl. Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Bud Light, Official Beer Sponsor of the National Football League, is a Missouri favorite and an international powerhouse brand. Known for it’s wide appeal it’s a good bet for a Super Bowl party.
— New York Giants fans will have trouble finding beers that make them feel at home. Brooklyn Brewery products haven’t made it this far west. New York is a hotbed of small, local and regional breweries, but few products make it past the Mississippi in bottles. There is an Anheuser-Busch brewery in Baldwinsville, N.Y., so maybe Budweiser is the brand for Giants fans.
