So I started thinking about what I should do for the Super Bowl, for I’ve neglected to make a thing of it the past couple of years. I mean, I do enjoy football, but I really only follow college teams; and, when it comes to the Super Bowl, I’m only really fascinated with critiquing the advertisements. So anyways, I reached out to a few of my friends to see what their plans were, but after a few g-chat exchanges, all potential Super Bowl plans were put on the back burner when Courtney decided to make rezzies at Local 16 for their boozy-Sunday Brunch. My ability to rally after this type of brunch is non-existent, so I’m going to predict, I’ll see a grand total of none of the Super Bowl.
For me, this takes precedence over the Super Bowl
BUT! There is one Bowl I’m going to follow, and that is the Brew Bowl. This competition, created and judged by prominent figure-heads in the craft beer space, emulates the NFL playoffs with competing craft breweries. The Super Bowl of Beer incorporates everything professional football employs, from wild cards and seeds, to a tournament bracket. Obviously we all would hate to see one pint of beer tackle another pint (I’m particularly imaging Hendricks cringe at the sight of alcohol going to waste), so instead these beers are judged on taste, scent, look, etc. The judges are the following: Bartholomew Broadbent of Broadbent Selections, An Bui of Mekong Restaurant (named Best Beer Bar in America 2012 and coincidentally my favorite place to drink beer), Matt Brehony of Secco Wine Bar, brewer/photographer Steven Salpukas, and Jason Tesauro, chief sommelier for Barboursville Vineyards (hands down my favorite winery in Charlottesville).
These beer connoisseurs fabricated this bowl to parallel its NFL counterpart, in that different styles of beer and different alcoholic contents are facing each other in a tournament-style bracket. Of the contenders, I think, at the end of the day, I’m rooting for Terrapin Brewery in Athens, GA (I’m particularly biased from my visit there last spring). But 21st Amendment (San Fran) and 3 Stars (local) are up there on my list. I am excited to read the reviews at the end of the competition, for there are a few breweries up for contention that I have yet to explore.
So if you are one of those people that gets really into the Super Bowl, whether it be via some sort of tailgate, sports bar, or you might stay in bed wrapped up in your down comforter live streaming the game on your computer on mute while listening to Sufjan Stevens (that could just be me), at least after this friendly brewery competition, you’ll have a noteworthy beer(s) in hand.
Glad to see Brew Bowl I get a Home Edition, Asimard. Let us know who wins. A number of the match-ups could’ve gone either way, so we’ll see who takes the title in your tourney. Bon. – j.T