Pride Pub: Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew

Welcome back to the Pride Pub! This Saturday, Orlando City hosts Eastern Conference foe Columbus Crew in the confines of Camping World Stadium. Every game counts but Eastern Conference games are even more important. We’re on a short turnaround this time, so get to the stores, posthaste.

Just a reminder on how this works: We choose a craft beer from the country/state/city of our opponent and we include an appropriate recipe to go along with it. Of course, we also choose a Florida craft beer to complement our other recipe, and to represent our Orlando City Lions here in the beautiful Sunshine State.

From Ohio - Jeanneke Belgian Style Blonde Ale, Rivertown Brewery

Founded in 2009, Rivertown is making some award winning brews, and we are fortunately able to acquire them in Florida. The story of how Jason Roeper made his nearly life-long dream to brew beer come true is pretty cool. Take a minute to read about Rivertown’s "Fearless Leader."

According to the brewery:

"Many know of Jeanneke’s big brother, Manneken-Pis, who proudly relieves himself into a fountain basin in Brussels Belgium. Little Jeanneke, however, is hidden discreetly at the end of an unlit, unmarked, dead end alley, proudly squatting and smiling, offering tenderness and virtue to anyone who witnesses her brazen display. Our Belgian Blonde Ale was created by Rob Westendorf, a Cincinnati HomeBrewer who has since won many awards in his perfection of this style. Inspired by a trip he took to Brussels where he first met Jeanneke and drank the most incredible Belgian Blonde ales, he was determined to brew a Blonde that would do justice to his incredible experiences. Featuring Belgian beet sugar, imported aromatic hops, spicy noble hops and pilsner barley, Jeanneke is playful, fruity, crisp and, just as in real life, wonderfully balanced."

Pair with: Sweet and Sour Chicken. The spicy and fruity flavors in the blonde ale will complement the sweet and sour of the chicken recipe, providing a palate-pleasing pairing.

Dave's recommendation: Serve over regular white or brown rice. I hope you don’t need me to get a recipe for that.

From Florida - Drift English-Style Mild Ale, First Magnitude Brewing

What happens when you get a bunch of friends that enjoy craft beer together, and they decide to upend everything in their life and start a brewery? First Magnitude happens. There are plenty of springs in Florida, and a first magnitude spring is the strongest. Additionally, the brightest stars in the sky are also known as first magnitude stars. I think they did an excellent job with the name. Fortunately, they also do an excellent job brewing beer.

According to the brewery:

"Drift is First Magnitude’s dark, malt-focused beer. It is a robust yet smooth English-style Mild Ale with great malt flavor and a medium-light body. A characterful English ale yeast adds complexity and makes it stand out from the crowd. The name refers to the enjoyment of drifting down of of North Central Florida’s many spring-fed rivers."

Pair with: Braised Beef and Mushrooms. As the brewer said, "robust yet smooth," allowing it to stand up to but also complement the bold flavors of the dish. A hearty pairing.

Dave's recommendations: The recipe calls for Whole Wheat Egg Noodles, which you can make yourself if you’re feeling daring, or just get some from the store if you’re like me and don’t have the time to get it done.

Thank you for stopping by the Pride Pub. As always, please comment below and let us know what you think. Vamos Orlando!