The 50th Super Bowl is upon us as the Denver Broncos look to make amends for their blowout defeat to the Seattle Seahawks (booooo) two years ago, this time against Cam Newton’s Carolina Panthers. Newton has been in sensational form this year as the Panthers romped to a 15-1 regular season record before wiping the floor with the Seahawks (boo) and then the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC championship game. The Broncos have found it a little harder, with injuries to Peyton Manning meaning backup quarterback Brock Osweiler has had to step up to help them finish 12-4 before narrowly beating the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tom Brady’s (swoon) New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game in a bruising encounter.

And for most Brits that’s where American Football stops being interesting. Many of us lack the patience for the game with  60 minutes of playing time usually spread over 3-4 hours. The Black Fringed Brewer also suspects that the British sense of gentlemanly conduct is violated on numerous occasions with all the “whoopin and a hollerin” that goes on after every play. Considering the amount of ire in Britain reserved for the wages and lifestyles of Premier League footballers it may also be assumed that we Brits could find the increased wages of NFL stars sending us into fits of apoplexy (though in many ways NFL is more egalitarian than proper football).

But there’s one reason you should watch the Super Bowl Sunday night – American beer. When most Brits think of American beer we instantly think Budweiser, Coors, Miller. Indeed, when the Black Fringed Brewer watches the Super Bowl at the Bayou on Camden this Sunday he is certain to be drinking at least one Bud (it’s included in the admission price). As far as cheaply made lagers go, Budweiser isn’t that terrible. The addition of rice gives Budweiser a cleaner taste to a lot of European lagers and the increasingly sparse use of hops makes it about as offensive to the palate as a slice of white bread. Ricey, white bread. Mmmmmm. Perhaps it’s this blandness that makes Budweiser so popular – Bud Light and Budweiser share 5% of the world market. Whilst it could be worse, (the most popular beer in the UK is Carling) not only is Bud bland but it’s owned by the all-encompassing, brand-swallowing, megaliths of beer AB InBev (hissssss). AB InBev are all about selling the most units at the highest profit, which means that their beer has to be the least offensive possible on the smallest budget – hence Bud and Bud Light.

But this is not America’s fault! For more than thirty years now our friends over the pond have been leading the way with craft beer. This Super Bowl, The Black Fringed Brewer urges you to be adventurous and depart from that bland boring lager you’ve been drinking the rest of your life. I’ve picked one craft beer from each state of the Super Bowl teams for you to try and a few others:

Odell Brewing Company, Fort Collins, Colorado. Having been around for 25 years or so, Odell can be considered veterans of the craft beer scene. I recently had their Cutthroat Porter and it was to die for, a Colorado tribute to a London classic. Lager fans may want to try and get there hands on Loose Leaf, a session ale with pale and Pilsner malt but the Porter has to be tried.

NoDa Brewing Company, Charlotte, North Carolina. According to the North Carolina Brewers’ Guild, North Carolina has the largest number of breweries in the American South. I can’t claim to have had beer from any of them but NoDa’s Hop, Drop ‘n Roll won the World Beer Cup in 2014. If any one knows where to get this in London then please enlighten me! Also in North Carolina is Sierra Nevada’s East Coast brewery (see below) so for something more easily available beer you could go for one of theirs instead.

Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, California. Liberty Ale is an iconic beer for an iconic city. Before everyone was drinking watered down lager, the beer of choice across most of the world was IPA. And then various events such as world wars and beer being taxed by gravity meant that IPAs sped out of fashion. Liberty Ale revived the style, first being brewed back in 1975. This is widely available in the UK so there’s no excuse not to try it. Plus the Super Bowl is being held this year at the San Francisco 49ers (woooo) Levi’s Stadium so it’ll add an extra layer of authenticity to your experience.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California. While the Californian NFL teams stank this year, Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale definitely does not and is a favourite of the Black Fringed Brewer. I can’t really say more than what’s written here. Except Neil Young drinks it on his Silver and Gold acoustic video. Legendary.

Brooklyn Brewery, New York. Brooklyn Lager maybe a lager, but it’s a craft lager and definitely not boring. Like the two above its readily available in the UK. For something even more interesting try this. No ties to the Super Bowl here except the New York Giants (booooo) quarterback Eli Manning is Peyton Mannings’ younger brother. Incidentally, despite Peyton being the better player, Eli has two Super Bowl titles to Peyton’s 1.

So this Super Bowl Sunday, throw away the cheap stuff and get acquainted with some American Craft Beers. Even if you don’t make it through the whole game and NFL really isn’t for you, hopefully you’ll get something out of the beer. And, for the record, I hope to see Cam Newton “dabbin” in the end zone many times tonight.