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

It's said that you often overlook what's in your own backyard.  I certainly do, going out of my way to choose unfamiliar beers each week when it's just as important to celebrate the fact that Boulder County possesses one of the deepest brewing cultures in the country.  So, screw SoCal, and screw whatever else the Pac-12 footprint is brewing up. I'm drinking local this weekend.

Upslope continues to be my favorite brewery in town.  They surpassed Avery in the latter half of last decade, and have maintained the key to my tastebuds ever since.  One of their long-term staples, Upslope Brown Ale, is my gameday beer-o-the week.

The clean-finishing Brown Ale is a wonderful tailgate beer.  Not only does it come in easy-to-pack cans, it pairs well with a lot of the traditional eats of a football Saturday, and isn't as challenging to the palate as other styles like IPAs can be.  A slightly more bitter version of the style, it utilizes a darker roast on the malt and an extra dash of Patagonia hops to balance out the sweetness that normally turns me away from browns. Overall, the package is simple, direct, and pleasing.

A few of these before the game will do you nicely, as the 6.7 ABV will keep away the chill of tomorrows projected sub-freezing temperatures. Six-packs are readily available in pretty much every local liquor store of note, so roll like me, and drink local on Senior Day.

Happy Friday! Go Buffs, beat the Trojans!