Volume 3 | Issue 1 - Origlio Beverage

By Tara Nurin
How to Throw a
Super (Craft)
Bowl Party
uper Bowl Sunday is rushing toward us and let’s say
you’re passing, rather, throwing a championship-level
party. In preparation, you’ve scheduled a cleaning service,
mounted the 72-inch flat-screen, borrowed the
neighbors’ ultra-luxe recliners, picked up cases of
whatever beer was on sale and ordered hoagies and pizzas from
the place down the street. Whoa, wait. What’s wrong with this
high-def picture
Your food and beer could get you benched. Today’s guests expect
to be as wowed by the eats and drinks as with the width of your TV.
So to win the Most Valuable Host award, you’ll want to run plays
around some home cooking and the craft and imported beers that
can help earn your party a win.
As Brendan Smith, owner of the Rittenhouse Square sports bar,
Smith’s Restaurant and Lounge says, “Why waste your time If
you’re going to throw a Super Bowl party, throw a really good one.
Craft beer makes a difference, no doubt.”
Yet there’s little doubt that some guests will be shy, but curious
about drinking unfamiliar brews. Ease their inhibitions by making
crafts and imports a fun part of the party. With any success, the
“games” they’re playing in your living room will prove more memorable
than the one they’re watching on TV.
• Ask guests to bring a beer they’ve never heard of. Direct
novices to your trusted distributor or bottle shop.
• Buy beers from the cities whose teams are competing on the
field. Some suggestions: Baltimore Ravens – Heavy Seas;
New England Patriots – Harpoon; San Francisco 49ers –
21st Amendment. Don’t forget to root for an Eagles appearance
next year by supporting some home team picks
like Sly Fox, Weyerbacher and Dock Street.
• Serve beers similar to those your guests might already
drink. Given that pilsners and light lagers sell best in this
country, try Lagunitas Pils, Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella
Pils, Cooper’s Premium Lager and Tusker lager. Adventurous
guests might be pleased to discover that dark lagers
like Sly Fox Dunkel and Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel share similar
characteristics with their usual pales, and the Guinness lover may
appreciate how a Sierra Nevada Stout or a Murphy’s Irish Stout can
expand a palate for dry or Irish stouts.
• Pour Samuel Adams Boston Lager into
cheese dip or braise a rack of ribs with Dogfish
Head Chicory Stout. Some breweries
and food companies make combining food
and beer even easier by packaging prepared
products. Examples include Metropolitan
Bakery’s Stout with Smoked Almonds Popcorn
(www.metropolitanbakery.com); Chimay
With Beer cheese (www.chimay.com);
Whalen’s horseradish cheese spread made
with Ommegang Hennepin Ale (www.ommegang.com);
and two Stone BBQ Sauces –
Levitation and Smoked Porter (www.stonecompanystore.com).
Present the featured
beer next to each dish and stock extras.
• For each touchdown, encourage guests to taste a beer they’ve
never tried. How to up the ante: each time the opposing team
scores, have them taste a new beer that’s frighteningly out of their
comfort zone.
• After each field goal attempt, do a round of blind tastings. Here’s
a good opportunity to teach people that dark beers don’t always
translate to dark tastes by pouring a lighter-bodied stout or dunkel
lager into a tinted glass and have them sip with eyes closed.
Surely guests will appreciate the extra effort. As Smith says,
“Because Philly’s undeniably growing as passionate
about its craft beer as its football, many newcomers to
the game want to educate themselves but get intimidated
by the X’s and O’s of the industry.” A host
who successfully adopts these strategies to turn a
Super Bowl party into a playful coaching opportunity
could jokingly expect his newly initiated
fans to dump a cooler of melted ice on his head.
Let’s just hope they serve craft beer at Disneyland.
8