The Humble Gourmand

I’ve been tasked with a weighty assignment: drink beer and tell you what I think. Since this Sunday happens to be the Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl happens to be a time during which much beer is imbibed, I have taken it upon myself to offer thoughts on which beers are appropriate to imbibe during this particular Super Bowl, Number XLII.

The Super Bowl requires good, easy-to-find session beers (low in alcohol, so you can drink a lot of them), preferably themed after the competing teams. Let’s first glance over what we are missing: since San Diego got ruined by the Pats, I no longer got to taste Stone Coast’s Ruination IPA, nor do I have to settle for Wisconsin’s Best, Miller, or Schlitz.

No, my job was made easy this year: New York and Boston provide an easy beer dichotomy. Two breweries, New York’s Brooklyn Brewery and the Boston Beer Company (makers of Samuel Adams), stand out as accessible providers of delicious brews. While the stock of my local beer store rendered me unable to make an exact comparison. I settled for a simple test: Brooklyn Lager vs. Samuel Adams Lager, and then was forced to compare Sam Adams’ Brown Ale with Brooklyn Brewery’s Pennant Ale ‘55 (wrong sport, I know, but NFC Champions Ale XXI doesn’t have the same sort of ring). Both are ales without strong adjunct flavors (Cherry Wheat, Pumpkin Ale, etc.).

I started with the Sam Adams lager, a pale, straw-colored beer with a light, malty aroma. On the tongue there was a light citrusy bitterness provided by the hops, but the overall effect was unmoving. My immediate thought was, “Tastes like beer.” Good for someone wanting an easy-to-drink lager, perhaps, but not too interesting.

Brooklyn Brewery’s lager was much more intriguing; a golden brew with a stronger, sweet floral aroma from the hops. The flavor was very full, underlined by a light caramel base and followed by a lingering sweet, hoppy bitterness. It tasted more like an American Pale Ale than a lager, which is quite all right with me.

For the ales, I started with Brooklyn Brewery’s this time — the lighter of the two. It was a dark amber color and slightly cloudy, with a sweet malty aroma and a subtle honey undertone. The beer tasted much like its smell, accompanied by a hoppiness that bordered on sourness in the aftertaste.

The Sam Adams Brown Ale, a darker style by definition, was rich with yeasty sweetness. On the tongue it was redolent of molasses, bread, and malt, with a touch of coffee in the nose. A very pleasant chuff if you’re looking for a nice loaf of unseeded pumpernickel in your pint glass. (Who isn’t?)

For the football fans hunting for solid complements to the wings, Chex mix, or stuffed grape leaves of their Super Bowl fêtes, Pats fans can be confident that Samuel Adams’ Brown Ale will stand up to the strong flavors of a good spicy chili, while Giants supporters can enjoy the rapport created between Brooklyn Lager’s floral notes and guacamole’s citrusy creaminess. Cheers!

Brew’s Clues are to be a regular feature of The Humble Gourmand. Look for his column, next to The Wine Leading the Blind, in our next issue!

1. Andrew

   February 1 2:24 p.m. 1

   I hope Chicago makes it to the bowl one year, if for no other reason than to get Goose Island's beers out there to represent!

2. Samuel

   February 3 4:58 p.m. 2

   I've never had Goose Island. Guess I should go out and try some for da Bears!