Happy National Beer Day!!

Today, April 7th is National Beer Day. Did you know that? I didn’t either untilnI was bombarded with just about every brewery and blog I follow on twitter letting me know this morning. So, in the spirit of continuing to spread the message....here is this post.

Beer is good. Barley. Yeast. Hops. Water. That’s all you really need....especially if you are a German purist and are a strict follower of Reinheitsgebot. Gesundheit.

Many other people think the additions of other things in their beer is a good thing. Other grains such as corn, wheat, rye. Other flavoring additives such as different fruits, or coffee, or spices.

Lots of people have their favorite styles. You have your traditional european styles— German, Belgian, your mass produced commercial lagers -you know the usual suspects, you have your barrel aged beers, usually stouts, and usually some form of whiskey but others abound, or you can have your sours and other funky beers where you let your yeasts do the heavy lifting.

Whether you are still a Bud or Miller guy, or you have dived head first into the craft beer culture, we can all agree beer is good. Beer is a necessary part of any good tailgate.

So with that our premise.....I’ll list my top five beers for a Gopher Football Tailgate. I’m sure my five will differ from your five. I’m hoping they will. You should tell me your five in the comments section. There is no wrong answer. (ok...there is but I will judge in private)

So here are my top 5 Gopher Football Tailgate Beers!

#5 Grain Belt Premium—Schells Brewing Company-New Ulm, MN

A traditional pick. You can have your classic American lagers from the big boys.....I’ll take my Minnesota icon any day.

#4 Bells Oberon—Bells Brewing Company-Kalamazoo, MI

In a shoutout to Coach Fleck’s former spot, this beer is near elite. A perfect beer for those late summer game days where it is still stupid hot. Easy drinking, but a bit more heft then your Premo. Some wheat, a bit more hops. There is a little something there, but it still does down nice and easy.

#3 Great Lakes Oktoberfest--Great Lakes Brewing-Cleveland, OH

Its fall, so an Oktoberfest beer has to make the list. Minnesota unfortunately is sorely lacking in quality oktoberfest beers. So we stay in Big Ten Country and pop over to Cleveland for this one. Malty, a bit sweet, its everything you want on a cool but not cold fall morning before a big football game.

#2 Surly Darkness- Surly Brewing-Minneapolis, MN

The opposite of the hot weather easy drinking beer, this is one that gets pulled out for those late season colder tailgates where you need a little help to warm up. It packs a wallop but still tastes really really good. You just want to make sure you share this one if you actually want to make it to kickoff though.

#1 Grainbelt Nordeast—Schells Brewing-New Ulm, MN

The perfect Gopher tailgate beer. Good at any temperature. Can drink many without any issues. The 16oz Silo Can is easy to hold, easy to transport, easy to dispose of. Its a Minnesota beer so you don’t feel guilty about supporting a different Big Ten rival’s state. Tastes good with just about anything you can throw on a grill. It is the “Official Beer of Any Tailgate Featuring Two or More The Daily Gopher Staff Writers- One of Which is Usually Sporting Zubaz” TM

So there you go. There is my list. Lets hear yours. And...if you have any controversial ones on your list—explain why. I’d love to hear why you think your choice is better than mine. Because...it just might be it’s not.... ;)