Pride Pub: Orlando City at Seattle Sounders FC

Note: We at The Mane Land believe in the responsible consumption of alcohol. If, as an adult of legal drinking age, you decide to drink alcohol, we urge you to please ensure you do so in a safe manner, and never drink and drive.

Welcome back to Pride Pub. Orlando City travels across the country to take on the Seattle Sounders Wednesday night. The Lions are coming off a last-minute draw against Montreal and still don’t have Cyle Larin. Traveling that far is never easy, especially on such a short break, but we have to hope they’re able to get a result mid-week.

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 Seattle: Long Hammer IPA, Red Hook Brewery

Since 1981, Gordon Bowker and Paul Shipman have had the foresight to brew beer that wasn’t in their words, “the light yellow fizzy stuff” that was mostly available. I think they might just be awesome since they read my mind before I was even able to drink beer.

According to the brewery:

"Redhook Long Hammer IPA is a West Coast classic. The generous addition of hops during the brewing and fermentation process gives our India Pale Ale its characteristic bitterness and piney citrus aroma and flavor. Tracing its heritage from another Redhook classic beer, Ballard Bitter, Long Hammer IPA is one of America’s favorite IPAs and Seattle’s #1 local IPA.”

Pair with: Sesame Chicken Bites. Why sesame chicken bites? Why not? Seriously, though, the sesame will stand up to the IPA, and heck they’re delicious.

Dave’s Recommendations: Garlic Fries. Evidently, garlic fries are a thing in the Pacific Northwest, so who am I to argue? Enjoy.

From Florida: Killer Whale Cream Ale, Bold City Brewery

Brian and Susan Miller have a family business going on in Jacksonville. All the family is involved whether it’s cleaning, brewing, or packaging. You have to love an operation like that, especially when it comes to brewing beer like Killer Whale Cream Ale.

According to the brewery:

"If you are tied to lagers, give this ale a shot. The brew process we use allows for a light, crisp and refreshing ale with no bitter aftertaste. Come by the Brewery sometime and ask Mom about the story behind the name, Killer Whale!"

If someone gets to Jacksonville and gets that story, let me know.

Pair with: Grilled Shrimp Scampi. Cream ales go well with light seafood dishes, and so we’ll go with a nice shrimp scampi.

Dave’s Recommendations: Cheesy Tex-Mex Rice. We’re going to kick it up a notch, with this Tex-Mex rice recipe. If you’re feeling adventurous, put the shrimp on top of the rice.

It’ll be a late one on Wednesday, but stay up since it’s your team. Also, let us know which pairing you decided on for your watch party in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by and go City!