Super Bowl Beer Town Showdown: Denver vs. Charlotte
Super Bowl weekend is upon us. On Sunday the Denver Broncos will take on the Carolina Panthers in football, but today, we’re going to pit the two against each other in something much more important: beer.
Denver’s Spangalang Brewery and North Carolina’s Fullsteam Brewery have already laid down a wager of their own based on Sunday’s game. A true brewery-style bet, the losing team will have to brew a beer made out of ingredients indigenous to the winning team’s state, using a recipe chosen by the winning brewery.
Even better, the losers will also have to fly the flag of the winning team in the brewery until the beer is gone. That’ll give everyone an incentive to drink up. Another incentive, both Spangalang and Fullsteam make some pretty amazing beers, so regardless of who wins, a great beer will be born.
“The worst that can happen is we let a like-minded, quality obsessed craft brewer take the lead on a beer of ours,” says Spangalang co-founder and brewer Darren Boyd, “So this is a good bet to make. Although the Panthers flag in our brewery would make us all sick.”
SEE ALSO: 20 Session Beers To Sip on During Super Bowl 50
Speaking of new beer, both Spangalang and Fullsteam both released beers for their respective home teams today, in honor of the big game.
Spangalang will bring back Orange Crushsicle, which it debuted prior to the Broncos defeating the New England Patriots to win the AFC crown and a place in the Super Bowl. The beer equivalent of the Dreamsicle frozen treat, Orange Crushscicle is a citrus session ale enhanced with orange juice, sweet and bitter orange peel and vanilla. Its name pays tribute to the past and current defense of the Broncos and predicted the creaming of the Patriots by the Broncos.
Fullsteam will release Bless Their Heart, a twist to its recent collaboration with Charlotte-based Free Range Brewing. The beer is made with foraged juniper, North Carolina Frasier fir, and an addition of chokeberry syrup. “We thought chokeberry would be a good ingredient to use in this beer,” Wilson says, “due to Manning’s history of choking in the Super Bowl.”
In honor of the big day, we created a little head-to-head playoff between beers from both Charlotte and Denver. We’ve used the descriptions from the respective breweries for each one. Take a look at all the options, and vote at the bottom on whether you’d rather have the Charlotte or Denver flight while you’re watching the game. [Update: voting has closed. See below for the results.]
Birdsong Jalapeno Pale Ale vs. Breckenridge Agave Wheat
Birdsong Jalapeno Pale Ale: The Jalapeño Pale is in a class by itself. Using our Free Will Pale as a foundation, we add a generous amount of fresh, hand-cut jalapeños mixed with a hint of awesome. Don’t be scared to try it! The Jalapeño is refreshing, crisp, and pairs well with the peanuts we have in the tap room!
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Breckenridge Agave Wheat: The self-proclaimed “nectar of the beer gods.” Agave complements the refreshingly light quality of our wheat and adds a subtle note of flavor that expands this beer’s uplifting taste profile.
