May 23 / Rob

Beer in Bridgeforth. What Is the Ideal Tap List?

There you have it. Fans (age 21 and older of course) can buy and drink beer in Bridgeforth Stadium starting this fall. Previously, beer was only served to the ballers in the club level. This was a bit of open secret after folks sharing the news at multiple stops on the Duke Club Spring Tour, but now it’s official.

Nobody wants to waste their time reading us analyzing this. Beer in moderation is good. People overdoing it is bad. Yada, yada, yada. Personally, it will be nice to grab a beer while watching our Dukes and this is potentially a nice little revenue stream for the athletic department. We’re on board, as you’d expect us to be. So instead of discussing the particulars, let’s have some fun and create our dream tap list for Bridgeforth concessions.

We need some ground rules before we get started. First of all, we’re talking about a stadium, not a craft beer bar with a 10 page menu. Let’s keep things simple and stick to 6 beers. And we’ll break it down as follows: 1 IPA, 1 pilsner or lager, 1 dark beer, 1 classic (define this however you want), 1 wild card, and 1 mainstream/non-craft. And that’s about as much thought/structure, we want to put into this. If you want to pick your 6 favorites, have at it. If you want to create some algorithm trying to optimize the 6 best beers based on Beer Advocate ratings, Untappd check-ins, and predicted weather patterns on JMU football home dates, we won’t judge you. (ed. note – That’s a lie, we’ll judge you. Nerd.) Without any further ado, here’s my ideal Bridgeforth tap list for the 2019 JMU Football season.

  1. IPA – Cigar City Jai Alai. Every brewery makes an IPA (or 12). Most are good. Some are bad. Jai Alai is good.
  2. Classic – Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Is there any other choice?
  3. Pilsner/Lager – Brooklyn Lager. People who know me, know this is one of my favorites. No gimmicks. Just a well balanced, delicious beer.
  4. Dark – Port City Porter. It’s delicious. And the founder is a JMU alum. Bonus points for being a perfect late season cold weather/playoff beer.
  5. Wild Card – Pale Fire Salad Days. Podcast listeners have probably heard me discuss my love of Arrant IPA, but this saison is pretty perfect for front porch or outdoor drinking. That translates to Bridgeforth.
  6. Mainstream – Narraganset Lager. Hi Neighbor! What can I say? My family loves spending time up in Rhody in the summer. Ice cold and crushable.

So that’s my list. Today. It will probably change, but for now, I’m good with it. Thankfully it’s 2019 and you need to go out of you way to drink bad beer. And we’re looking forward to having a few good ones in section 211 this Fall.

5 Comments

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  1. Pitz / May 24 2019

    This is a very good, realistic list.

  2. Paul C / May 24 2019

    We’ve got some great micro-brewers in VA and some ate JMU alumni owned. Let’s support local / JMU grads. Go Duke!

  3. Snowman / May 24 2019

    IPA – Triple Crossing’s Falcon Smash – with so many alum in RVA, this beer is Dukes tested, Dukes approved
    Classic – Lagunitas’ Lil Sumpin Sumpin – dare to dream, get you sum
    Pilsner/Lager – like I always tell my wife, “ask the bartender” – not downing the beer type, just have zero experience in the category
    Dark – North Coast Brewing’s Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout – when the sun sets early, as the season progresses, digging a little deep gets necessary
    Wild Card – Sierra Nevada Otravez – lime / agave Gose at sub 5% ABV keeps the focus on rootin when the temps still require shorts and tees
    Mainstream – Miller High Life – quaffing on the CHAMPagne of beers seems apropos prior to lifting another National CHAMPionship trophy

    Go Duuuuuuuuukes

  4. Uncle Ron / May 29 2019

    Will try to keep it mostly Virginia here….

    IPA – Commonwealth Papi Chulo
    Classic – Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
    Pilsner/Lager – Port City Downright Pils
    Dark – Blue Mountain Dark Hollow or Brothers Resolute
    Wildcard – Veil Never Again (Gose)
    Mainstream – PBR

  5. Isaiah / Jun 18 2019

    IPA – Brothers Brewing Hoptimization
    Classic – Sam Adams Seasonal Rotator (Octoberfest to kickoff the season)
    Pilsner/Lager – Pilsner Urquell
    Dark – Port City Porter
    Wild Card – Dogfish Head SeaQuench
    Mainstream – Michelob Ultra

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