Game day beer picks: Syracuse vs. Central Connecticut State

This week’s Friday night kickoff for the Syracuse Orange presents a greater opportunity than normal to consume a few beers during the game. If you’re on the East Coast, Saturday nooners are acceptable, and 3:30 kickoffs, even more so. But especially for those of us on the left side of the country, there’s little appeal to a 9 a.m. brew, regardless of quality.

So whether you’re drinking before the game, during or after tonight, see below for three beer picks that are worth your while. You probably won’t be able to acquire at least one of these. Sorry in advance.

Central Connecticut Beer Pick: Steady Habit Brewing Co. Method IPA

It would be too easy to just pick ANY Connecticut brewery (there are quite a few good ones), so we hyper-localized the choice and went with one that’s actually in the center of the state. Haddam, Conn. -- the hometown of Steady Habit Brewing Co. -- is located just southeast of Middletown, and less than 30 minutes from CCSU. They have quite a few well-rated IPAs and stouts, but Method looks to be a pretty popular option as a nice mix up citrus and pine, with mild carbonation. Connecticuters with more tasting notes, have at it.

Syracuse Beer Pick: Prison City Pub & Brewery Mass Riot IPA

One year ago, Mass Riot was blind taste-tested and ranked the No. 1 IPA in the country by Paste Magazine. That’s high praise given the competition of 246 other beers from around the U.S. And it’s also a boost to the CNY beer scene to have such an acclaimed spot right in its midst. If you can snag some Mass Riot from Auburn, it could be a highlight to your holiday weekend — other than a Syracuse win, of course. The beer delivers the “haze” and “juice” all the kids want in their IPAs today. A nice way to move on from Dome Foam.

Los Angeles-Area Beer Pick: Cellador Ales Raspberry Saison

Just like it’s pretty tough for me to get the beers listed above, it’s going to be tough for any of you to get the beers listed in this section each week. But it would be irresponsible to celebrate local beers without highlighting some of the best from the exploding L.A. scene.

Cellador’s up in North Hills, and is one of just a handful of blenderies in the area, specializing in sour-style beers. Their Saison has tried out several different adjunct fruits, and in my opinion, raspberry was best of all. The tart raspberry was a great enhancement to the base beer and also didn’t come off too fruity either. I’d drink anything from these guys, who’ve only been around a year and yet have made a ton of (great) noise already.

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So what are you drinking? Share your own game day beer picks for the long weekend below.