10 Underrated Beers For Your Super Bowl Party, According To Experts

One of the best things about the Super Bowl — besides watching your team score a game-winning touchdown — is that it gives us an excuse to hang out with friends, tuck into some tasty snacks, and enjoy a few beers. While you could opt for a bucket of popular light beers, it's always worth picking up some options from craft breweries.

If you're looking to try a new beer that's unique, interesting, and delicious, you're in luck. We wanted to look past the recognizable macro-brewery brands, so we reached out to experts from bars and bottle shops around the country to find the best underrated beers to serve at a Super Bowl party. While these beers were predominantly recommended based on their flavor and quality, many of them pair perfectly with classic Super Bowl snacks. You probably won't find any of these beers at your local grocery store, but it's well worth the effort to seek them out. Who knows? One might even become your favorite new brew.

For those who like hop-forward beers, IPAs are the way to go. Kevin Horan, beverage manager at Ormsby's in Atlanta, Georgia, suggests introducing your Super Bowl party guests to Pipeworks Brewing Co.'s Ninja vs. Unicorn. While the brightly colored can will certainly turn heads, Horan claims this is a beer for true hop heads. 

"A golden haze speaks to the unfiltered, grapefruit-noted, balanced IPA's character," he explains, "with a shockingly low bitterness, considering how much hops go into the brewing." It's worth noting that this double IPA clocks in at a relatively hefty 8% ABV, but according to Horan, you'd be forgiven for thinking the alcohol content was lower. It's typically best to pair a double IPA with bold, spicy food that can stand up to the beer's intense flavor profile, and that still applies here. "Pair it with a chorizo cheese dip," suggests Horan, "or a Buffalo chicken bacon ranch dip for a touchdown." 

"When a stout or porter seems too heavy, one can turn to Cigar City's Maduro," says Kevin Horan. Based in Tampa, Florida, Cigar City Brewing showed up on the craft scene back in 2009 with the goal of showcasing tropical, Tampa-inspired flavors in its beers. Its product range covers a variety of styles, but Maduro is the top pick for fans of dark beers. 

Maduro is an English brown ale, a malt-forward style that's known for its low bitterness and toasty chocolate notes. Cigar City also adds flaked oats to the brew to give the beer a softer, creamier mouthfeel. According to Kevin Horan, this is a great alternative to richer, more cloying dark beers. "With notes of toffee and chocolate, this beer gives sweetness without being as overly sweet as a stout," he explains. The roasty character of dark, malty beers makes them the perfect partner for grilled meat, and Horan suggests pairing Maduro with smoked chicken wings for a winning combination.

While you may be tempted to play things safe at your Super Bowl party with a domestic lager, there are some beer styles from overseas that shouldn't be overlooked. Germany is famous for brewing some of the best beer on the planet, and Kevin Bradford, founding partner and beer curator for Harlem Hops, recommends trying Eckhart Beer Co.'s Kölsch-style ale.

To be considered an authentic Kölsch, the beer has to come from Cologne, Germany, but Eckhart Beer Co. is based in Brooklyn, New York — hence the "-style" suffix. "They specialize in emulating the iconic ales of the Cologne region of Germany," says Bradford, "[and] this beer is brewed with Continental Heirloom Pilsner and Vienna malts and a late addition of Alsatian Amaris hops." He adds that this creates a clean and balanced beer with subtle fruit notes, making it an excellent pick for a Super Bowl party.

Kevin Bradford isn't the only beer aficionado who suggests we sip on a Kölsch during the upcoming Super Bowl — Ormsby's Kevin Horan also recommends the German beer style for the big game. But while Bradford picked a Kölsch-style beer made in New York, Horan highlights Reissdorf Kölsch, a truly authentic version straight from Cologne. 

Reissdorf Kölsch has been produced by the privately owned Heinrich Reissdorf brewery since 1894, which would seem like a pretty long time ago if the style hadn't been around since the 14th century. However, Reissdorf is one of the oldest German Kölsch producers still operating today, and Horan claims that this beer is the perfect representation of the historic style. "At 4.8%, this pale golden ale drinks like a lager, but has a little more to offer with a subtle fruitiness and a crisp, dry finish that doesn't linger," he notes. Not only does it come in 500ml bottles and 16-ounce cans, but you can also find Reissdorf Kölsch in 5-liter mini-kegs, making it an even better choice for your Super Bowl bash.

Besides offering customers a range of delicious craft beers from around the world, Harlem Hops has also collaborated with local breweries to create its own offerings. Made in partnership with Alementary, Kevin Bradford believes Harlem Hops' Pier 57 Imperial Lager is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Brewed with high-quality Pilsner, Vienna, and Munich malts, Pier 57 is relatively strong for a lager, but it's more approachable than you might think. "Don't let the 6.3% [ABV] scare you," says Bradford, "this one is extremely drinkable." By adding Ahtanum hops late in the brewing process, the lager has a big hop profile but low bitterness, resulting in a clean, refreshing beer with a taste closer to that of an IPA. It's ideal for those who want to drink a lighter beer while watching the game without sacrificing those bolder beer flavors, and it's the perfect match for spicy snack foods, like Buffalo wings.

Like Kölsch, pilsner is a European beer style with a long history, and the crisp, hop-forward lager is still hugely prevalent in the modern beer world. Stephanie Brennan, Beverage Director of Chicago's Hopleaf Bar, tells us she'll be quaffing two beers made in this classic style during the upcoming Super Bowl. The first of those is Bauhaus — a German-style pilsner from Art History Brewing, based in Geneva, Illinois. "It is dry, crisp, everything you want in a Northern German pilsner," says Brennan.

The style originated in the Czech Republic, and Czech pilsners are known for having a soft, malt-forward, low-hop flavor profile. Meanwhile, German pilsners typically taste less complex but tend to be more hop-forward, with moderate bitterness and a refreshing mouthfeel, making them perfect for sipping while the game's on. Bauhaus also features gentle notes of lemon and honey — typical of German pilsners — and, as Brennan points out, a relatively low 5.2% ABV, meaning you don't have to limit yourself to just one.

Kevin Bradford's final beer pick for the Super Bowl comes from Brooklyn's Saltfields Brewing, the first Japanese craft beer producer in New York. Yuki and Yumi Shiono — the husband-and-wife team behind the brewery — only launched their venture last year, but despite having created just one beer so far, it's been making waves in the local craft scene.

"Crisp, dry, and endlessly refreshing, this Japanese-inspired rice lager brings together tradition and innovation in every sip," explains Bradford. The base is made from a blend of flaked rice, wholegrain Calrose rice, and German Pilsner malt, with a small amount of white Koji — a type of mold traditionally used by sake brewers. This final addition lends the beer a slight acidity, boosting its clean, mouthwatering profile. The extra-light lager is best served ice-cold, and pairs superbly with both seafood and fried snacks.

Hopleaf's Stephanie Brennan has another strong Super Bowl beer recommendation for lager lovers — Goldfinger Pils. Also a German-style pilsner, she explains that while this one is a bit hoppier than Art History Brewing's Bauhaus, it's still extremely crisp and refreshing. 

In the craft beer world, lagers don't typically get the same amount of attention as hop-bomb IPAs or barrel-aged stouts, but that's certainly not the case at Goldfinger Brewing Company of Downers Grove, Illinois. Head brewer Thomas Beckmann comes from European brewing stock — his Polish ancestor, Markus Goldfinger, was a renowned brewer during the 1800s, even selling his beer to royalty. Beckmann's modern-day venture draws inspiration from this heritage, and he's laser-focused on crafting the best lager possible. "This is consistently one of my favorite beers that I reach for," says Brennan, calling it "herbal and clean with a beautiful rocky head." Like Bauhaus, it's also versatile enough to pair with most Super Bowl party snacks, particularly fried foods.

If you're someone who prefers drinking big and brash barrel-aged stouts, Hopleaf's Stephanie Brennan recommends seeking out a bottle of Barrel-Aged Abraxas from Perennial Artisan Ales. The brewery's seasonal Abraxas imperial stout is made with cinnamon sticks, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and ancho chilis, creating a hugely complex, rich-tasting beer. However, if you're lucky, you might be able to get your hands on one of Perennial's rare barrel-aged editions.

The limited-release Barrel-Aged Abraxas takes things up a notch by aging the beer in bourbon and rye barrels for at least 12 months. The exact aging times and barrel types vary between each release, but the result is a reliably decadent beer bursting with sweet-and-spicy chocolate flavors. This beer isn't for the faint of heart — it typically clocks in at between 11% and 13% ABV, and it doesn't come cheap — but it's a great way to impress any hardcore beer lovers at your Super Bowl event.

Low- and no-alcohol beers have come a very long way in recent years, making them a viable alternative for anyone who wants to enjoy a sober Super Bowl. While there are plenty of options to choose from, Kevin Horan strongly recommends Guinness 0, the alcohol-free version of Guinness' classic stout. 

Remarkably, Guinness 0 manages to capture everything that people love about the full-strength version, from the rich, roasted flavor to the soft, velvety mouthfeel. "This still has the nitro widget of a Guinness [can], which gives that lovely cascade into a nice creamy head," notes Horan, referring to the innovative device the brewery uses to make canned beer taste as smooth as draft. He believes that Guinness 0 is "probably the closest visceral experience of drinking a beer without the alcohol," so unless you're stout-averse, this is arguably the best beer to pick for a booze-free Super Bowl party.