Pride Pub: Orlando City vs. New England Revolution

Welcome back to the Pride Pub! Orlando City welcomes the New England Revolution to the Campground. The Lions sit three points back from their Eastern Conference foes, and could really use all three points in their first MLS game with Jason Kreis as skipper.

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 New England Area – UFO Big Squeeze Shandy, Harpoon Brewery

Founded in 1986 by Dan Kenary, Rich Doyle, and George Ligeti, Harpoon Brewery has been brewing great beer for years. In 2014, they became an employee-owned company. That has only spurred the brewery on to bigger and better things, churning out a plethora of fine brews.

According to the brewery:

"When we first started thinking of a UFO summer seasonal, we knew we had our work cut out for us. We loaded up the vans for the beach and spent days ‘researching’ every combination of fresh fruit juice and beer we could think of until we discovered a combination that made our decision easy.

Description – Sweet with a hint of tartness, UFO Big Squeeze Shandy is perfect for all of your summer adventures!

Tasting Notes – Appearance is hazy, slightly orange, fine foamy head. Aroma is clean citrus, some crackery notes from the wheat malt. Mouth feel is light-bodied. Taste is sweet malt, sweet/tart grapefruit. Finish is quenching, refreshing.

Pair with: Grilled Shrimp and Citrus Skewers. The light and refreshing shandy will go well with the tasty grilled shrimp. Perfect for a warm summer night.

Dave's recommendation: Grilled Packet Potatoes. We’re lighting up the grill, so let’s break out the aluminum foil and make some delicious potatoes to give a little heft to the meal.

From Florida – Onatopp Russian Imperial Stout, Ocean Sun Brewing

According to the brewery:

"Deceptively smooth. Roasted malt and dark fruit flavors. 8.9% ABV. 69 IBU."

You have to love those breweries that are so eloquent that they can describe a beer in eight words. Let’s see what our friends at www.ratebeer.com have to say.

Draft at source. Lots of fudge in the aroma. Moderate coffee. A light tartness. Taste is full of fudge, chocolate, modest bitterness. A light residual sweetness.Not much alcohol noted. Decent but lacks complexity.

Pair with: Beer-Braised Beef and Onions. The recipe recommends serving over egg noodles, so we’ll go with that as well. The full flavor of the dish will go well with the full flavor of the stout.

Dave's recommendations: We’re going to recommend some nice vanilla ice cream for dessert. It will also be tasty if you have any of the stout left over.

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