The big game was peppered with beer ads, for beers that many of us weren't drinking. But it's a day that's inexorably linked with beer, so most of us were probably drinking beers. Were there a couple beers that played up on Sunday? Beers that saw better ratings, or more check-ins while Seattle and Denver competed?
The top 15 by count on February second looks somewhat familiar, with recent releases challenging Big Beer.
| Num | Brewery | Beer | avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Adams | Cold Snap | 3.215 |
| 2 | Miller Brewing Company | Miller Lite | 2.557 |
| 3 | Anheuser-Busch (ABInBev) | Bud Light | 2.420 |
| 4 | Guinness | Guinness Draught | 3.885 |
| 5 | Lagunitas Brewing Company | Lagunitas Sucks | 3.817 |
| 6 | Stone Brewing Co. | Stone Enjoy By 02.14.14 IPA | 4.020 |
| 7 | Coors Brewing Company | Coors Light | 2.378 |
| 8 | Sixpoint Brewery | Hi-Res | 3.678 |
| 9 | Samuel Adams | Rebel IPA | 3.222 |
| 10 | Bell's Brewery | Hopslam (2014) | 4.292 |
| 11 | Yuengling Brewery | Traditional Lager | 3.229 |
| 12 | Pabst Brewing Company | Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) | 2.697 |
| 13 | Bell's Brewery | Hopslam Ale | 4.357 |
| 14 | Lagunitas Brewing Company | IPA | 3.525 |
Lagunitas Sucks was released in late December. Stone Enjoy By 2/14 was bottled on 1/10. Sixpoint Hi-Res came out in mid January. Bell's Hopslam has been out since the second week of January. Even the apperance of Sam Adams' Cold Snap -- the obvious contender for the title of Super Bowl Beer -- could be somewhat explained by its late December release date. The rest are perennial top beers by count on untappd.
Let's compare Superbowl Sunday beers to beers from just a week before. Let's see if the relative counts on each day produce a beer that stands out.
| Num | Beer Name | Brewery | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lagunitas Sucks | Lagunitas Brewing Company | 3.817 |
| 2 | Hi-Res | Sixpoint Brewery | 3.678 |
| 3 | Cold Snap | Samuel Adams | 3.215 |
| 4 | Miller Lite | Miller Brewing Company | 2.557 |
| 5 | Bud Light | Anheuser-Busch (ABInBev) | 2.420 |
| 6 | Traditional Lager | Yuengling Brewery | 3.229 |
| 7 | Woodchuck Amber Hard Cider | Woodchuck Cidery | 2.913 |
| 8 | Lagunitas Sucks (2014) | Lagunitas Brewing Company | 4.043 |
| 9 | Nugget Nectar | Troegs Brewing Company | 4.004 |
| 10 | All Day IPA (Session Ale) | Founders Brewing Company | 3.422 |
| 11 | Rebel IPA | Samuel Adams | 3.222 |
| 12 | Escape Route | Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) | 3.267 |
| 13 | Red Chair NWPA | Deschutes Brewery | 3.714 |
| 14 | Budweiser | Anheuser-Busch (ABInBev) | 2.517 |
| 15 | Hopslam (2014) | Bell's Brewery | 4.292 |
Well, that's interesting. Woodchuck Cider, huh? That might be the token beverage for the gluten-free members of the party. I know it showed up to my superbowl party, and for that reason, so... still kind of hard to call it the superbowl beer. It's just a beverage that we had in common because gluten-free beers are so bad. It was much better than the Redbridge we had at the party, but that doesn't make it the winner.
And then we have some new releases that didn't make the first list -- Nugget Nectar, Red Chair NWPA. Worthy beers, but they'd have made some headway on any given Sunday that came close on the heels of their release dates.
Intriguing is the fact that All Day IPA zoomed up the list. By Founders' website, the beer is available year-round. They did just add two states to their distribution list, but those states were Kansas and Nebraska. And those states didn't turn on the taps between January 26th and February second. The beer makes a nice story, too -- a session IPA for a game that requires a long session of drinking. An All-Day IPA for an all-day type of game.
If you take a look at top 200 beers that rated better on Superbowl Sunday than they did the week before, you get a more eclectic mix:
| Num | Beer Name | Brewery | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gumballhead | Three Floyds Brewing Company | 1.485 |
| 2 | Conway's Irish Ale | Great Lakes Brewing Company | 1.484 |
| 3 | Edmund Fitzgerald | Great Lakes Brewing Company | 0.814 |
| 4 | 2xIPA | Southern Tier Brewing Company | 0.760 |
| 5 | Hopsecutioner IPA | Terrapin Beer Company | 0.687 |
| 6 | Hop Stoopid | Lagunitas Brewing Company | 0.662 |
| 7 | Redd's Apple Ale | Redd's Brewing Company | 0.598 |
| 8 | Sweet Baby Jesus! | DuClaw Brewing Company | 0.520 |
| 9 | Milk Stout | Left Hand Brewing Company | 0.519 |
| 10 | Ten Hills Pale Ale | Goose Island Beer Co. | 0.481 |
| 11 | 420 Extra Pale Ale | SweetWater Brewing Company | 0.404 |
| 12 | Wells Banana Bread Beer | Wells & Young's Brewing Co | 0.391 |
| 13 | 312 Urban Wheat Ale | Goose Island Beer Co. | 0.386 |
| 14 | DirtWolf | Victory Brewing Company | 0.383 |
| 15 | Abt 12 | Brouwerij St. Bernardus | 0.381 |
Yeah, but DirtWolf was the only beer that averaged even close to 100 check-ins on both days. That a random sampling of 50 or so drinkers on Superbowl Sunday enjoyed their Gumballhead more than the group of 50 that drank it the week before seems... random.
So let's crown Founders' All-Day IPA as the Superbowl Sunday Beer. The session beer only got the tenth-biggest jump from Sunday to Sunday, but it sat among the hot-off-the-presses beers du jour in that regard. As hot new beers spread through their distribution areas, they are likely to see big jumps in sales. But All-Day has been around, it shouldn't have large jumps...
Provided Founders didn't just release a new batch of All-Day that is only now making it to our beer coolers. But that doesn't fit the narrative.
Congratulations All-Day IPA!