This week in the Beersi Brewing League we see Everton host Arsenal, who have just ended an embarrassingly long period without a trophy with last season’s FA cup win over Hull City. Everton are the only Premier League team to have an alcoholic sponsor on their shirt, so they’ll have Chang Lager fighting their corner. Arsenal, who now reside on a bed of lies in North London, were originally formed 12 miles south in Woolwich, and so have the wonderful Hop Stuff brewery as their representative.
My first experience of Chang Lager was actually at Goodison Park, where I watched Everton take on the mighty Spurs in a goalless thriller that was without a doubt worth the 8 hour round trip, and all things considered the beer was pretty pleasant too.
To make the comparison between a mass produced lager and a microbrew slightly fairer, I have to say that as far as lager at football stadiums go, Chang was a welcome change. The standard at most the stadiums I’ve been to is Carlsberg, and it seems to have been brewed especially worse for football fans as some sort of punishment… perhaps the Danes are still upset about the 3-0 battering we gave them at the 2002 World Cup?
I love the traditional relationship between beer and football so I have a lot of time for Chang lager keeping this up, and even more so because they actually sell the stuff at the ground. This sounds like it would be obvious, but at the Carling Cup final in 2007, the beer on offer was Carlsberg.
Hop Stuff Renegade IPA
To start this section off I have to say that it’s incredibly hard for me to say anything positive about something that has come out of Woolwich; that possibility went straight out the window the first time I saw 11 red shirts line up against my lilywhites.
This was until I tried a beer from the guys at Hop Stuff brewery anyway, and in particular their flagship IPA, Renegade. When I first tried this in a pub in South London, I was skeptical because of the subtle Arsenal references on the pump clip, but after my initial long gulp, I was content with my decision to get a pint of it and happily admired the orangey/gold beer that was remaining in the glass, before quickly taking my second sip.
For the purpose of this article I ordered some Renegade online to refresh my memory (taste buds), and I was relieved that the sticky, citrusy, and piney tones all still come through in a bottle as well.
The Result
Unintentionally this has been a bit of a lengthy article compared to previously, so on that note I’m predicting a long and boring game up at Goodson Park this evening. Against everything I believe in, I’m giving Arsenal the win here; the IPA is a cracking beer and the brewery have a really good range on offer as well; besides, it’s not their fault they’re located in the same area a small club were formed all those years ago.
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