Friday Beer Post: 2013 Gameday Beer-o-the-week - ASU 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!"

The Great American Beer Festival is rocking Denver's collective liver this weekend, but I won't be attending since tickets are harder to come by than seats to the CU/KU basketball game.  That doesn't mean, however, that my weekend will be beer-free.  Quite the contrary, in fact.  There's football, so there will be a watch party.  There's a watch party, so there will be beer.  Ipso facto.

For Arizona St, I've gone back to a mascot-derivative selection.  Victory Brewing kicks in the door with a hellaciously hopped IPA that's right up my alley.  That beer, Hop Devil IPA, is my gameday beer-o-the-week.

Hops take center stage, both on the nose and the taste.  Floral, citrusy, and spicy whole-leaf hops allow this brew to deliver a distinctive punch to the nostrils.  Pleasantly bitter, the taste is offset by a big dose of malt, giving the whole package big-body taste and flavor.

Even though Victory is from far off Downington, PA, they distribute out to the Rockies, and you should easily be able to find Hop Devil in the local alcohol mega-marts. Coming in at a busty 6.7% ABV, it'll lead you around if you're not careful, so split the six-pack with friends. 

Hopefully, CU can exorcize their Pac-12 demons while I'm sipping on a few of these.


Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, beat the Sun Devils!