Friday Beer Post: Gameday Beer-o-the-week - Iowa State/Special Basketball Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beer") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

Tonight is the first basketball game of the year.  In respect to the season's opener, I've decided to forgo my usual frantic search for an appropriate beer for the football opponent to undergo a frantic search for a beer representative of tonight's basketball opponent.  In case you're lost, the CU Men's Basketball team faces the Idaho State Bengals tonight at the CEC (8 o'clock tip.... you better be there. *shakes fist*).

Idaho State got me thinking Idaho Springs, and any Coloradan can guess what that means: Beaujeaus Pizza!... err, no.... beer post, damnit ... Tommyknocker Beer!  Accordingly, their Maple Nut Brown Ale is this week's Tailgate Beer-o-the-week.

Tommyknocker uses a bit of maple syrup to give this beer a sweet finish to offset the flavor of some darker malts.  Sure, it can be a little too sweet, but you can't just have bitter and floral flavors all the time. Just think, kickoff for Iowa State is 11:30, which means breakfast tailgating.  Doesn't a dark beer with hints of maple sound good to go along with you breakfast tailgate?  Damn straight it does!  You'll thank me later....

Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, Beat the Cyclones!