The Best Beers to Drink During the Super Bowl, According to Brewers

You’re going to need a beer during Super Bowl LIII, whether you’re a nervous Patriots fan, a super nervous Rams fan, or everyone else who’s rooting for a tie so that neither Boston nor Los Angeles wins another damn championship. Don’t mind me, I’m just a jealous Philly fan.

To help you figure out what to drink during the game, we asked brewery folks from across the country what they’ll be sipping. We gave them one rule: no beer from their own brewery. Whether you’re looking for something light and easy-drinking or a big beer to take the edge off, these beer experts have just the brew for you.

Barleywine-Style Ale, 9.6%
Chico, California
“Well, as a fan of the New Orleans Saints, you can probably guess I’ll be drinking the most bitter beer I can find during the Super Bowl. Bigfoot is not only deliciously bitter, but at 9.6% ABV, it should help to heal the lingering pain of the NFC Championship game." -- Joe Peay Lorenzen, brewmaster, Waikiki Brewing Co. (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Gose, 4%
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
“A delicious blend of sour and salty, Westbrook’s Gose will serve as a reminder of both my beloved Panthers’ failures and of the extremely gratifying playoff exit of the reviled New Orleans Saints.” -- Scott Griffin, head brewer, Legion Brewing (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Pilsner, 4.9%
Hood River, Oregon
"I like to watch the Super Bowl without sound so that I can blast jam bands on my stereo and try to get the music to randomly sync up with the play on the field. Every time this synergy happens, I like to slug craft pils and do Cheez Whiz cannonballs. This year my game time pilsner selection will be from one of my favorite breweries out of Hood River, Oregon: pFriem Family Brewers. I visited pFriem this past summer and brought a couple cases home to share with friends. It's the perfect game-time call with tons of flavor, and it’s super sessionable, which you’ll need for a four hour game. Also, for the record, the best Super Bowl opener of all time is ‘Tweezer Reprise,’ fireworks, an F-22 flyover, and an STS Pils." -- Colby Cox, co-founder, Roadhouse Brewing Co. (Jackson, Wyoming)

Pilsner, 5.3%
Los Angeles, California
“I’m going to stay local for my Super Bowl beers, to keep those strong LA vibes flowing to the Rams. For the bulk of the game, you’ll find me drinking Highland Park’s Pleasant Pils because sessionability is crucial when you’re in it for the long haul. Then when the Rams inevitably win, I’ll switch to Eagle Rock Brewery’s beautiful barrel-aged golden sour, Equinox -- it’s super special and super celebratory.” -- Alexandra Nowell, brewmaster, Three Weavers Brewing Co. (Inglewood, California)

DIPA, 8%
Portland, Maine
"This Super Bowl I will be drinking Swish DIPA from Portland, Maine’s Bissell Brothers. I'm a bit superstitious, and along with wearing my good luck jersey and posting my weekly ‘P-A-T-S! PATS PATS PATS!’ Facebook chant, I'm a firm believer of consistency in my gametime beer. Not only was I drinking Swish during the Super Bowl XLIX win against the Seahawks (‘Malcolm Go!’), but I was also drinking Swish for the win against Atlanta (that 28-3 blown lead!) in Super Bowl LI. I never made it up to Portland to get Swish last year prior to the big game, and well, let's not talk about what happened..." -- Dino Funari, founder, Vitamin Sea Brewing (Weymouth, Massachusetts)

DIPA, 8.5%
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Since my loathing of the Patriots will likely keep me from watching the whole game, I'm reaching for a bigger beer. Our beer friends down in Milwaukee make one of my favorite IIPAs in the state, so a few Rewards will do the trick before an early bedtime, hopefully.” -- James Owen, co-founder, 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. (Sheboygan, Wisconsin)

Double NEIPA, 9%
Midvale, Utah
“I’ll be hiking in Zion National Park this year for Super Bowl Sunday and plan to sip on a Feelin’ Hazy New England Double IPA. Hopefully, the fruity deliciousness distracts me from the fact that my Eagles aren’t playing in this year’s game.” -- Dave Otto, brewmaster, PT’s Brewing Co. (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Pilsner, 4%
Salem, Massachusetts
“I'll be drinking Notch Session Pils during the Superbowl -- it's a marathon, not a sprint. I'll also have some Hermit Thrush Po' Tweet in case they go into overtime. And our current soundtrack leading up to February 3 is, naturally, ‘This Is Boston, Not L.A.’" -- Emily Vides, Co-Founder, Small Change Brewing Company (Somerville, Massachusetts)

IPA, 6.5%
Framingham, Massachusetts
“I feel like I should be drinking something hop forward and hazy to show my support for New England, but it's football so I'll want something light and crisp to last through the game.  Thankfully my friends at Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company in Framingham do both really well with The Cat's Meow (IPA) and Goody Two Shoes (kolsch). I'll plan on being well prepared for a Pats win with a 4 pack of each in my fridge.” -- Brett Bauer, lead brewer, Idle Hands Craft Ales (Malden, Massachusetts)

Bock, 5.5%
Lynn, Massachusetts
“It was brewed in honor of Tom Brady (the GOAT) and it’s a great, light, easy-drinking Bock-style lager.” -- Jason McCloud, brewery manager, Cheeky Monkey Brewing Co. (Boston, Massachusetts)

Pilsner, 5.1%
St. Paul, Minnesota
“Keller Pils is one of my all-time favorite beers out of Minnesota. This beer is excellent whether I’m wearing shorty shorts on the lake or in my Ghostbusters footy pajamas when it's cold outside. I will be crushing this beer the way the Rams will crush the Patriots.” -- Logan McLean, assistant brewer, Finnegans Brew Co. (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

IPA, 6.8%
Chico, California
“After the devastating Camp Fire, over 1,400 of us breweries got together and volunteered to brew Resilience, with 100% of sales to be donated to the Relief Fund." -- Aram Cretan, Co-Founder/Brewmaster, Federation Brewing (Oakland, California)

Black Lager, 4.8%
Moorpark, California
“The Super Bowl is a day for eating grilled and/or deep-fried, cheese-covered goodness, and the best beer to accompany that is a clean, refreshing lager. But because I’m looking for something with a little more flavor to compliment my queso-dip pigs in a blanket, I’ll be washing my snacks down with a few cans of Enegren’s Nighthawk Black Lager. And most importantly, at only 4.8%, I can have a few of them without hating myself the next morning. #DrinkLocal #RamsHouse” -- Kale Bittner, COO/CFO, Iron Triangle Brewing Co. (Los Angeles, California)

Lager, 4.5%
Mexico City, Mexico
"I'll be drinking whichever beer the host has provided, or what the other guests are going to bring. And not be a snob about it. But I'd also bring some Modelo." -- Michael Carroll, brewer/co-founder, Band of Bohemia (Chicago, Illinois)