Pride Pub: Orlando City at D.C. United

Welcome back to the Pride Pub! This Saturday, Orlando City heads to RFK Stadium for the first of two remaining matches against Eastern Conference foe D.C. United. It’s no secret that every point counts as we head down the stretch, so here’s hoping the lads do well in the nation’s capital. We’re on a short turnaround, so don’t pull a filibuster. Just get to it!

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 Maryland (darn close to DC) - Snake Dog IPA, Flying Dog Brewery

Originally founded in 1990 in Colorado, the Flying Dog story is way too long to summarize here, but you should definitely check it out. Regardless, they made their way to Maryland in 1994 and have consistently put out delicious beers, especially their Snake Dog IPA.

According to the brewery:

"Snake Dog IPA is our resident hop monster...and Food Network Star. It was recently featured in the ‘Zoo Foods’ episode of Unwrapped. Sadly Double Dare legend Marc Summers did not make an appearance at the brewery during filming."

Well, that was nice about Double Dare, but not very descriptive. Let’s go back to their original description.

More cunning than a snake in the bush...Snake Dog India Pale Ale is a Colorado-style IPA, power hopped with specialty hops from the Pacific Northwest. This is the brewery’s hop monster, and the citrus fruit aroma will hypnotize the senses of the most hardcore of craft drinkers. 15 Plato, 60 IBU, Crystal Malt, Warrior and Columbus hops, and dry hopped with Columbus.

Pair with: Old Bay Crab Cakes. The spicy goodness of the crab cakes will pair well with the hoppy IPA. This recipe is the only recipe endorsed by the Pub and, more importantly, my grandmother.

Dave's recommendation: Serve with mashed potatoes. If you’re not feeling up to the effort of making them from scratch, I hear they sell them in a box nowadays.

From Florida - Floridian Hefeweizen, Funky Buddha Brewery

Founded in 2010, Funky Buddha is Florida’s largest microbrewery and located in the Oakland Park Culinary District of Boca Raton. Not only are they the largest, but their Floridian Hefeweizen is only one of their excellent brews.

According to the brewery:

"Our unfiltered and refreshing German-style wheat beer is full on flavor yet light on the palate. Authentic hefeweizen yeast creates the compelling aromas of bananas, citrus, and cloves, while the all wheat and malt body perfectly captures the brilliance of a golden Florida sunset."

Pair with: Chicken Caesar Salad. Both the beer and the salad are light but flavorful, a perfect combination.

Dave's recommendations: Since the salad is a meal unto itself, let’s have some banana pudding for dessert. It will also pair nicely with the hefeweizen.

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