Guest Contributor - Beer and Sports, a match made in Heaven!

I am happy to present to you our latest guest contributor, Blake. A home brewer from upstate New York, Blake writes about two of his favorite things and how well they go together! Thank you Blake, and enjoy!


Beer and Sports, a match made in Heaven!
Fall is my favorite time of year for many different reasons, but when the leaves start changing and the air gets crisp, there’s one thing that I’m most excited about: sports. With football season kicking off and the MLB playoffs right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get together with friends and enjoy some good old-fashioned American competition. Going to the game certainly has its perks, but what about bringing the game home, right into your living room?

There are a lot of things you’ll want to take care of before you get everyone together to watch the game, but the number one necessity for your party is beer. Besides being a great time of year for sports fans, fall also brings the release of some unique seasonal brews, so you’ll have plenty of choices when it comes to stocking up for the party. You can’t go wrong with a nice, malty Märzen to ring in the start of the new season. This is a good “entry-level” option for guests that might be intimidated by trying new beers, but will satisfy craft beer veterans as well. Another style that tends to be a crowd-pleaser during this time of year is pumpkin beer and you could stock your entire party with the choices available within that category alone!

Another great way to pick out beer for the event is to choose something that’s tied to the team/city/state that you support. So, if you’re rooting for the Patriots or Red Sox, embrace the spirit of Boston by picking up some Sam Adams and your guests will immediately get into the Boston groove. If you’re hoping that the Pirates will make a deep playoff run or that the Steelers will get back to their winning ways, shows your Pittsburgh pride by picking up some Iron City Beer. When getting your place ready for all of this beer, look for useful but festive accessories, like growlers, pint glasses or even some MLB baseball bat bottle openers. You’ll keep the theme of the day going, while giving your guests the right tools to enjoy their brews.

 At this point you’ve got the beer situation pretty much under control, but you can’t leave your guests’  stomachs empty. Baseball and football games are usually synonymous with eating greasy stadium food and abandoning any and all health-consciousness for the duration of the game. You can bring this tradition into your own home, by taking typical ballpark eats and making them more party appropriate.

Everyone’s favorite first course at the stadium is nachos, and there’s no reason why your guests can’t enjoy this too. Give your nachos a beer-infused twist by making some Beer Queso to put on top. You should be able to find a decent variety of tortilla chip options at your local grocery store, so grab some colors that show your team pride and drizzle on the cheese!

 Craving something else to go with those nachos? Take the all-time favorite ballpark franks and give them your own unique twist. Cut up some hotdogs, wrap them in cheese and biscuit dough, and after a few minutes in the oven you’ll have your very own pigs in a blanket. You can go with traditional dipping sauces like ketchup and mustard, but why not make some extra Beer Queso and serve that alongside the dogs as well? After all, if you’re going to do some damage to your cholesterol level, you might as well make it worth it.

In case anyone needs a pick-me-up after halftime or once the 7th inning stretch rolls around, you might want to have something a little sweeter on hand. At one of my recent get-togethers my wife was nice enough to make us some cake pops, and got creative by shaping them into footballs. I left the baking to her and don’t have the play-by-play details for this one, but I found a great step-by-step guide that shows how you can easily make some football-shaped treats of your own.


Hopefully these tips will give you some inspiration if you’re planning on having a sports-related party in the near future. Just remember that you can have a great time while keeping it simple and most importantly of all: don’t forget the beer!

Blake Daniels

Blake Daniels is a stay-at-home dad from Upstate NY that likes to keep things simple. You'll most likely find him brewing and enjoying beer, mowing his lawn or spending quality time with his family (but not necessarily in that order).








Thank you so much Blake, good stuff! Please help me in welcoming Blake to the Beer Czar. We hope to hear a lot more from Blake very soon, on a  regular basis!

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar

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Time to play a little catch up.....this passed weeks events.

First off, let me start by apologizing to my readers. Nothing makes you realize how many people enjoy reading your blog then when you fail to update it for over a week! I thank you all that reached out to me to make sure all was "OK". Have no fear, I am just fine, albeit a tad busy. Between various beer events, my oldest daughters basketball schedule, and a job that seems to be expanding weekly, I have found myself with  very little time to write any updates, till now!!! So, here we go...

Great American BBQ and Beer Festival...

So good!!!

Let me start with the Great American BBQ and Beer Festival. Held back on March 23 in Historic Downtown Chandler. This event, put on by San Tan Brewery, was, shall I say, fairly awesome. To be clear, it was much more a BBQ festival then a beer festival, but that really isn't an issue here at all. San Tan was providing the beer, and just a TON of BBQ vendors took part in providing the food. My wife, and my oldest daughter and I made our way down there, had some AWESOME brisket from Up in Smoke BBQ. Enjoyed a Mr Pineapple and Sex Panther, and walked around, enjoyed the beautiful weather, checking out the sites and sounds and smells,

The weather was perfect!

 and even got to say hello to my friends from Craft Brewed Clothing!! We went early, soon after the gates opened, so it wasn't too busy, but from some of the pictures I saw, it was packed later that evening, and for good reason. The sights, and smells of this festival were just amazing. Everyone was having fun, and were friendly, and polite. There was plenty to eat and drink (even for the kids) and lots to learn, and even some free swag to collect (I scored 3 free t-shirts!) A hat tip to San Tan Brewery and HDE Agency for putting on a spectacular event! Can't wait till next year!



Pitcher of Nectar Distributors Rare Beer Festival

Up next, was the Pitcher of Nectar Distributors Rare Beer Festival, held at Whole Foods. This festival, although small, had an amazing line up of beers! I got 15 tickets, and used each one on a beer I had never tried before, and in many cases, never even heard of! We spent a good 3+ hours making our way through the crowd, visiting with friends, making some new ones, and just having a great time doing it. Now, if I had one knock on this festival, is that it was a little starved for space.

Lots of beer lovers!

If you have ever been to The Watering Hole at Whole Foods, you know its not a huge place, and it seemed every beer lover in the east valley was filling the place up for this event. That being said, it didn't really detract from the event at all. I normally hate tight crowds. I get grumpy, and short tempered normally. Not this time. Maybe it was because of all the amazing beers to be had, or all the friendly beer lovers enjoying themselves, or our gracious host King James Swann, making the rounds making sure everyone was happy. Maybe it was all these things. It was a great event, and hope next year, you can procure a little more floor space (maybe even in the parking lot?), as I am sure there will be an even larger crowd next year.

Play Ball!!!!
This brings me to one of my favorite days of the year, Opening Day! As is my tradition, I attended the D-backs Opening Day with my mother, and her friend Andrea, and her husband Rich, as we have done for the last half dozen years or so.Growing up a huge fan of the sport, watching my beloved Red Sox every chance I could get, or playing in as many leagues as our short Maine summers would allowed, I have always loved the game of baseball. The fact that beer and baseball go hand in hand is just a glorious coincidence. Now, craft beer and baseball, well that is still a young relationship, but one that is maturing with each passing season. Currently, a majority of the beer available at most ballparks is comprised mainly of macro American lagers. However, if you know where to look, Chase Field, and other ballparks do offer a few tasty brews. A few Sam Adams seasonal are available, as is a few of Phoenix Ale Brewery's offerings. I enjoyed an $11 Cambleback IPA, while I watched as the D-backs raked up 15 hits, and 6 runs to win their 5th (?) straight opening day, this time against the Cardinals of St Louis.
On a side note, I was just reading that our beloved local brewery Four Peaks is in discussion with the D-Backs currently to provide their brews at Chase Field for next season, which would be WONDERFUL news if you ask me! I can see myself enjoying a Hop Knot while taking in a ball game!!!



OK, I promise, I will not take so long before I post again, as I have a list of things I want to write about, or share with you. Again, I appreciate those that showed concern in my absences, nice to know I have some faithful readers out there!

Thanks again, and until next time
Bottoms up my friends!

The Beer Czar

Ball Park to feature craft beers!!

Fenway Park

As many of you know, I am a huge baseball fan. I've been a life long Red Sox fan, and since moving to Arizona, I have warmed up considerably to our local boys, the Diamondbacks. I have a lot of traditions when it comes to my beloved game. My mom and I attend Opening Day every year, and have with a few exceptions for the last 10 years. We always make homemade pizza during the All Star Game, and a few others. However, there is no greater tradition in baseball, then enjoying a beer and a hot dog while watching the game at the ball park. Beer is a part of baseball, and as long as I can remember, it always has been. Like the quote “Beer needs baseball, and baseball needs beer,” New York Times best-seller Peter Richmond once declared, and I couldn't agree more. However, we are seeing beer becoming a whole new aspect of today's game. A while back, I wrote about a triple A affiliate of our Arizona D-backs in Hillsboro Oregon that has embraced the beloved hop as their mascot (read my write up on it here....).

Well, they made the (beer) news again! They announced that they will be featuring local craft beer at the ball park (check out a local write up here.....)! Now, if you have ever been to Oregon, "local" beer is not only plentiful, but for the most part, excellent! There is some world class beer being brewed in that state right now!

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Seems they are still pounding out the details of the concessions contract, but should be wrapped up, maybe this week hopefully. I will be checking back on the team website occasionally to check out news of the contract, and once worked out, I would love to check out a list of beers you can get at the park!

This news comes just in time, as Pitchers and Catchers are reporting to camp in just a few weeks, and the first spring training games are less then 30 days away! So, if all you people back east are sick and tired of sub 0 temperatures, and ball deep snow, head on out and see us in the valley of the sun, to take in a few Cactus League games, and thaw out for a few days (going to be in the 80's today, and it only January!).

So, PLAY BALL!

So, until next time my friends
Bottoms up!
The Beer Czar