Pride Pub: Orlando City at D.C. United

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.

The good news is that now that there’s less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs, Orlando City will almost certainly go on a winning streak. It might even start Saturday, so let’s make the most of it with some lovely beer and food. What else are you going to do? Not watch soccer? Ha!

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 the general D.C. area: Indian Brown Dark IPA, Dogfish Head Brewery

I admit that Dogfish Head Brewery is not located in D.C. But they are in the nearby state of Delaware (a tick over 100 miles from RFK Stadium). Given how good their beers are, I figured a little state line crossing was in order. They recently celebrated 22 years of brewing beer, so let’s hope we can celebrate with a Lions win. Their Indian Brown Dark IPA is quite an interesting beer, and one I’m certain you’ll enjoy.

According to the brewery:

"Forget about the car companies, this is the original hybrid. A cross between a Scotch Ale, an India Pale Ale and an American Brown, Indian Brown is well-hopped and malty at the same time (It's magical!).

The beer has characteristics of each style that inspired it: the color of an American Brown, the caramel notes of a Scotch Ale, and the hopping regimen of an India Pale Ale. We dry-hop the Indian Brown in a similar fashion to our 60 Minute IPA and 90 Minute IPA. This beer is brewed with Aromatic barley and organic brown sugar.”

Pair with: Braised Short Ribs. Dogfish Head recommends this pairing, so we’ll go with their expertise. The strong flavor of the ribs will hold up against the unique taste of the dark IPA.

Dave’s Recommendations: Garlic Mashed Potatoes. The mashed potatoes will provide a delicious and filling side for the ribs.

From Florida: Passion Wheat, JDub’s Brewing Company

How can you not like brewers that dress up in cow outfits and ride around in a buggy? The answer is you can’t. They put all of that outrageous awesomeness into brewing beer, and we’re lucky that they do it in Florida.

According to the brewery:

"Passion Fruit and Mango Wheat Ale. An easy drinking, refreshing wheat beer, crushable in the sun."

Wow. JDub’s could really learn something from Dogfish Head when it comes to describing brews. Let’s check in with our friends at www.ratebeer.com

“Pours clear and golden with a small, wispy, white head. The aroma is reminiscent of Magic Hat #9, although this is treated with passionfruit and mangoes instead of apricot - I can pick out the passionfruit here. The nose is also wheaty and yeasty. Medium-bodied with a skim-milk mouthfeel and gentle carbonation. Lots of wheat and bready yeastiness in the flavor. There’s a slight ration of passionfruit – very mildly fruity and tart. I’m not picking up any mangoes. Finishes bready (almost soapy) and well-balanced with a suggestion of apricot.” -by hopscotch (11032)

Pair with: Grilled Turkey Gyros. A tasty version of the traditional gyro, and the turkey won’t overpower the lighter wheat ale.

Dave’s Recommendations: Herbed Greek Roasted Potatoes with Feta Cheese. Since we’re going with a variant on the gyro, why not go with a variant of french fries. These roasted potatoes will go very well with the gyro, and bring a bit of traditional taste to the meal.

That’s it for this edition of Pride Pub, Mane Landers. Let us know which of these pairings you decided on for your watch party or soccer therapy session in the comments below. Thanks for your patronage and go City!