Friday Beer Post: 2012 Gameday Beer-o-the-week: Sacramento State 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!"

OK, BuffNation, time to get up off the mat.  Tomorrow is Saturday, damnit!  No more wallowing in self-pity, WE'VE GOT PARTYING TO DO!

I have yet another wedding Saturday (my friends suck), but, unlike last week, the ceremony starts late enough that I feel comfortable trying to go to at least the first half.  What that means is that, for the first time this season, I get to experience a normal tailgate.  Bring on the Beer!

This week the Buffs are playing the FCS Sacramento State Hornets.  Many people incorrectly associate hornets with bees (stinger, hive structure, yellow and black coloring, etc), but hornets (and wasps) are actually in a separate family from bees.  In fact, you have to climb to the sub-order Aprocita to find a common classification.  But, screw that scientific shit, for my purposes today hornets are essentially honey bees, and spend their days making sweet, delicious honey (completely not true).

There's actually a pretty decent wheat ale brewed with a touch of honey from Colorado Springs.  I'm naming that beer, Bristol Brewing's Beehive Honey Wheat, as my tailgate beer-o-the-week.

Commensurate with the talent level of the opponent, this beer is on the lighter side, with soft flavor notes, and a low alcohol content (only 4%).  There's a nice golden haze to the beer, as is associated with the style. Expect bready hints on the nose and palate, offset with a hint of sweetness from the honey.  It's also not as "spicy" as some wheat's can be.  When I first tried it last year, I found it a bit thin, but further tastings have yielded slightly more complex results.  I feel it's a good way to ease back into tailgate season.


Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, beat the Hornets!