Playoff Pints Help 49ers Win!

Heritage line up for game day!

Watching the Packers-Niners game at Heritage Public House in Santa Rosa was quite an experience; both for the game and the beer! As usual they had a wonderfully varied menu on tap. However, while still trying to choose the first beer, the Packers scored on an interception! Obviously decision time: chose the Drakes' 1500 Pale Ale and right away Kaepernick ran 20 yds for a TD! I definitely made the correct choice. Go Niners!

Drakes 1500 Pale is described as:

"An American Pale Ale. For batch number 1500, we decided to brew a big hoppy beer, yet make it quaffable by keeping the alcohol level down. Turns out everyone liked it so much, that it is now brewed year-round. Loads of Simcoe and Amarillo hops are blended in the fermenter just after fermentation has finished to impart a huge aroma of pine and citrus."

 I liked the long, dry finish and the fact that the low alcohol allowed for more than one, if needed. By the time the pint glass was empty, the Pack was ahead again... what to do?
Glancing again at the menu board, the Steelhead Extra Pale caught my eye and appetite so that was my next brew. Again, magic happened. Barely two sips into my brew and minutes into the second half, a 12 yd pass to Crabtree brought the game back to a tie. Now that's a winning beer!

Steelhead Extra Pale is, according to their website:

"... a bright golden hued ale of medium body with a spicy/floral hop character and a very mild bitterness.  Goes well with poultry, fish/sushi & spicy foods." 

I think they will have to add "football games" to their list of pairings!

Into the third quarter and, oh no, game is tied again! While the Niners worked on their strategy, I realized that the time had come for some serious hoppiness, so I turned to one of my all-time favorites, one that never fails to score with me, Stone's IPA. One sip of that dry-hopped flavor that results from a 77% IBU rating and I knew things were gonna happen. And sure enough, Kaepernick makes a run for it, almost as if he had heard that Stone was on tap and it was Happy Hour, and 56 yds later the NIners are on top and destined to stay there. 
I was quietly proud that I had done my part to send them to next Saturday's playoff against the dreaded Falcons. This will be a busy week of practice; they on their defeating Ryan strategy, me on my next selections of winning brews! Game on.

Photo: Stone Website

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