I really like college hoops. I really like craft beer. I have no idea why I never had this idea before, but here’s a simple, fun game: go through each Pac-12 program and find the brewery most simpatico in style, substance, history and quality. Now, I’ve had my fair share of beers in fine establishments all over the West, but living in California with the sheer number of excellent breweries in this state, we’re going to wind up with plenty of choices from the Golden State on this list. It would be nice to pick more geographically-fitting breweries, but for instance, while there are plenty of fine Arizona breweries, none can match the quality and national importance of the home Wildcats, so we’ll have to go elsewhere for that comparison. And by no means have I got the finger on the pulse of every single craft brewery that has arisen. So, if you’ve got better comparisons in mind, I’m interested in hearing them, especially true toward the bottom of the list where I admittedly ran out of steam. Enough nonsense, let’s get to the list!

Much like the ubiquitous Lagunitas Brewing Company, Arizona fans are a national presence. (AP)

• Arizona: Lagunitas Brewing. My first instinct was to go Russian River here, but comparatively speaking, Russian River is a niche brewer. It’s legendary and excellent, but it’s also pretty small. Lagunitas, by comparison, is a national power. It’s the fifth-largest craft brewer in the nation (and the 11th biggest brewery overall, even on a list with the big boys) and ubiquitous, yet it still manages to crank out superbly high quality beers without fail. And if you’ve ever done the brewery tour, you know that Lagunitas is definitely A Player’s Program. The only significant problem I find with this selection is that Lagunitas’ mascot is a dog.
• UCLA: Sierra Nevada. If Arizona is Lagunitas, the Bruins have to be somebody equally as big, so we’ll go with the Chico mainstay. Sierra Nevada is an old school classic. This brewery has been around forever; it has great history; it’s still committed to quality. But let’s be honest, it’s also been bypassed by a handful of other institutions, and although they still shoot for the stars, sometimes it disappoints. Here’s one thing Sierra has over UCLA, though — unlike Pauley Pavilion, their tap room is never whisper quiet.
• Utah: Epic Brewing. I have some reservations about comparing a basketball program with the history of the Utes to a Beehive State-based microbrewery given the lack of history that the state has with sensible alcohol laws. But I’ll rationalize this choice by saying that Epic, a brewery that formed after Utah slightly modernized its regulations over the last decade, is making history of its own. Plus, like the current Utes squad, the beers that Epic makes are big and bold.

• Oregon: Rogue Ales. Oregon’s history of quality basketball goes back nearly 100 years (its first regular season conference title was claimed in 1919). Rogue’s history only goes back only 27 years of its own, but in craft brewing history, that is forever. And much like the Oregon basketball program, the Rogue brand has had its fair share of ups and downs in quality and has been known for taking some “interesting” stylistic approaches. Still, with the 27th-biggest distribution numbers among craft breweries and with occasionally spectacular offerings, the Newport, Oregon-based brand, much like the Oregon basketball program, has plenty of upside.
• USC: Golden Road. If you live in Los Angeles, you can’t swing a sword around without puncturing a case of Golden Road beer, and every now and then, its beers can surprise. And their facilities are grade A. But, purely as beer-makers, the best thing that can be said about them is that they’re great marketers. Style over substance, much like a certain basketball program in the same city.
  

  Is there a more appropriate fit for brewery and school?

• California: Bear Republic. Let’s not overthink this. The Golden Bears and Bear Republic. It just makes perfect sense. Sure, Berkeley and Healdsburg, although only separated by 70 miles, may be worlds apart, but there’s enough funkiness in Bear Republic to keep this comparison on the rails.
• Stanford: Stone Brewing. The stereotype of the Stanford community is that of the rich and elite, a group that thinks they’re better than you, whoever you are. What better craft brewery to represent the Cardinal than the brewers of Arrogant Bastard, a beer that proudly proclaims “You’re Not Worthy!” Both organizations are sublimely self-righteous, old guardians of the type of excellence that defines the West. And, really, when it comes right down to it, both entities probably are better than you.
• Arizona State: Karl Strauss. If you’re in San Diego, you’re surrounded by at least (to make this comparison to the Pac-12 work) 11 great breweries. If you wind up at Karl Strauss (which, don’t get me wrong, is a perfectly okay chain, but not in the same category as places like Stone, Green Flash, Alpine, Ballast Point, etc, etc, etc…), it is either out of convenience, accident, disinterest or because you can’t get anywhere else. Please don’t make me be any more explicit in this analogy. Go Devils.
• Colorado: Oskar Blues. There are so many great breweries in Colorado but I couldn’t bring myself to compare them to places like Avery, Odell, Great Divide or even behemoth New Belgium given the relatively thin list of accomplishments in the history of Buffaloes basketball. Now, don’t get me wrong, Oskar Blues is a terrific place that makes great beers and is on the cutting edge of the craft beer scene with their all-canned beer approach. And Colorado basketball, likewise, seems to be a program on the rise, but neither has earned its way into the upper echelon of its respective fields.
• Oregon State: BridgePort Brewing. One of Oregon’s oldest breweries, it was a major player in the craft beer scene in the early days. While they still rock, relatively speaking, it has been almost a decade since it’s won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup. It’s a fun place with a lineup of plenty of good beers but nothing spectacular.
• Washington State: Mendocino Brewing. Remember back when it was good? Yeah. Good times. Maybe it will happen again someday, but don’t hold your breath.
• Washington: Pike Brewing. A brewery with a long history that once was considered exciting and inventive but is now all too often boring.

AMurawa (999 Posts)

Andrew Murawa Likes Basketball.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2015 at 11:01 am by Andrew Murawa and is filed under microsites, pac 12. Tagged: arizona, brewery, craft brews, feature, oregon, pac-12, ucla, utah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.