Pride Pub: Orlando City vs. Montreal Impact

Welcome to the Pride Pub, where we provide the cuisine and craft beer recommendations that allow you to fully enjoy Orlando City matches. Just a reminder on how this works: we choose a craft beer from the (in this case) country/province of our opponent and include a recipe to pair with that beer. We also choose a Florida craft beer to represent our Lions and the beautiful Sunshine State.

This week, Orlando City hosts our visitors from the Great White North, as the Montreal Impact comes to Camping World Stadium. Are you used to saying that yet? Camping World Stadium...oh well. It's a Sunday game, so take off and get the ingredients and beer together, you hosers.

Oh and a great big welcome to our Canadian friends...

From Canada, eh? - Unibroue Maudite, Unibroue

In 1990, Andre Dione and Serge Racine decided to get in on the craft beer market. They bought La Brassiere Brewery, merged with Unibroue, and began brewing Belgium style brews developed by Trappist Monks two centuries ago. It's quite the story, and most importantly quite a good brew.

According to the brewery:

"Style - Strong Amber-red ale. Clarity - Cloudy. Head - Beige, rocky foam. Bubbles - Fine. Effervescence - Slow. Nose - Malt, orange, wild spices with fragrances of coriander and cloves and floral hop notes. Flavor - Characterized by a robust maltiness and spiciness that is counterbalanced by an assertive crisp hop finish. Body - Medium. Aftertaste - Pleasantly lingers on."

Pair with: Sriracha-Miso Glazed Salmon. Maudite is a strong brew, and as such we're going to have a strong food pairing. The taste of the salmon heightened by the sriracha will counter the robustness of the beer.

Dave's recommendations: Spicy Rice to continue the spicy kick of this pairing.

From Florida - Sunshine City IPA, Green Bench Brewing Co.

Named for the green benches that used to line the streets of St. Petersburg, Green Bench Brewing Co. wants to convey the same sense of hospitality that the actual benches did in the 1900's. I know I feel more hospitable when having one of their excellent brews.

According to the brewery:

"In celebration of our beautifully sunny city, this IPA was designed to be a bright as the warmest summer day. Packed with hop flavor and aroma, we double dry hop this beer with equal parts of Mosaic, Citra and Azacca, for an intensely tropical profile reminiscent of tangerine, nectar, papaya, peach, kiwi, and, and pineapple."

Pair with: Pepperoni Pizza Burgers. Oh yeah, nothing healthy about this one. The little bit of sausage and pepperoni kick to this burger will go well with the hoppiness of the IPA.

Dave's recommendations: Sweet potato fries to provide a contradictory flavor to the pairing.

We hope you enjoy this week's grub and grog selections. As always, we'd love your feedback in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!