How to build a perfect Super Bowl party beer lineup

Creating a perfect Super Bowl party isn't just a function of a great television, supreme snack lineup and enough ambient noise to drown out Tom Brady's increasingly obvious observations. It's also about giving guests a proper array of drinks, from the teetotalers to the beer snobs.

We're fortunate to live in a time where there's a larger and more diverse array of boozy drinks than ever before. But that can be a lot to process. Rather than suffer from cart paralysis and walk out shell-shocked with a case of Mike's Hard Lemonade, let's do a little planning to ensure a smooth trip through your local liquor store.

Let's build that perfect beer lineup -- from the stuff I'd seek out locally here in Wisconsin to the drinks you can find across America and beyond.

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1. The common denominator

Light beers are the best-selling beers in America for a reason. Maybe people don’t love them, but pretty much anyone who’s OK with beer can drink them. That, coupled with the fact most folks have work the next morning, makes a light lager the proper base for your Super Bowl lineup.

These beers are the SiriusXM PopRocks station of beers. Sure, no one’s out here looking for it, but if it’s on the background, only a real dork is gonna complain. This should make up about 40 percent of your party’s booze lineup.

The Wisconsin option: New Glarus’s Spotted Cow

This is the part of the column where I throw in the disclaimer that while Spotted Cow is great, it’s roughly the eighth-best beer New Glarus makes. It’s an easy-drinking farmhouse ale that no one objects to. That’s why it’s on tap at every single bar, from upper crust to townie, across America’s Dairyland (but nowhere else, that’s illegal).

The non-midwestern option: Miller/Coors/Bud Light/Modelo

Don’t overthink this one. Grab the kind of beer you’d find at a stadium, atop the tap list at Buffalo Wild Wings or advertised incessantly on fall weekends. It’s fine.

2. The fancy (boozy) IPA

Pale ales aren't for everyone, but they remain a dominant force on the brewing landscape. Big, bitter and boozy makes for a solid sipper to get you through a full half of football, but the genre has extended far beyond the hop bombs endemic to the 2000s craft brewing explosion.

The Wisconsin option: Hop Haus’s Magic Dragon

The Verona-based brewery’s double IPA is also its flagship (along with a great Scotch ale called Plaid Panther). A potent dose of fruity, floral notes helps balance out the hops for a complex beer that’s never bitter and doesn’t feel like something that clocks in at 8.2 percent ABV.

The non-midwestern option: New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger series

Voodoo Ranger is brewed for mass appeal. It's a well-made pale ale that doesn't taste alienatingly hoppy. More importantly, it brings a ton of bang for its buck.

Take Juice Force IPA, which clocks in at 9.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) but never tastes like it. The Colorado-based brewer has made America's No. 1 craft beer for years now. Apply the common denominator strategy here and you'll end up with a relatively inexpensive beer that may not spark conversation or boost your local beer scene, but will get drank.

3. The classic German(ish)

Consider this a return to easy drinking beers with more flavor than the lighter beers of the first category. Centuries of brewing experience have made Germany an epicenter of incredible brews. Most importantly, these brewers have created beers meant for repeated drinking, sometimes one liter at a time.

The Wisconsin option: 3 Sheeps Brat City Pils

I'm not sure I can still find the Brat City variant of the Sheboygan brewer's German pilsner -- the good news is 3 Sheeps' standby pils is pretty good too. But this sweeter, crisper version is a perfect beer for washing down wings or merely stress-drinking your way through the fourth quarter.

The non-midwestern option: Paulaner Münchner Lager

This has been my 2024 (and now, 2025) go-to. If I picture the platonic ideal of a lager, this is where I end up -- crisp, malty and light. It finishes dry and keeps you coming back for more.

And, because I love a good, big can, it comes in 19.2 ounce stovepipes. Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with any brand that has its own tent at Munich’s Oktoberfest — Lowenbrau, Spaten, Paulaner, Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr or Hofbrau.

4. The lighter, fruitier option

Not everyone likes beer and getting up to make a cocktail is a multiple step process that takes you away from the game. Having a boozy, non-hopped option in the nearest fridge or cooler is a must. Something refreshing and just a bit fruity will hit the spot -- and with a seemingly endless supply of canned cocktails and seltzers arriving on liquor store shelves each month, there's plenty of options from which to choose.

The Wisconsin option: Central Standard Brandy Old Fashioneds

I'm still not convinced you can make a proper Wisconsin old fashioned in a can -- many have tried and failed before. But Central Standard comes the closest to the Badger State's specific brand of madness. It's the best I've tried... outside of maybe Hop Butcher For The World's Brandy Old Fashioned Seltzer, which is a Chicago-made drink.

The non-midwestern option: Long Drink

The Finnish staple has made inroads in America and is likely the most visible gin-based canned cocktail out there. That could be a hard sell for some folks -- gin can be a bit divisive -- but the mix of citrus flavors behind it team up with dense, almost creamy carbonation to make a crushable cocktail that's perfect in the summer and still perfectly sippable in February. And if you want to branch out, the peach version is pretty good as well.

5. The THC choice

Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill and recent advances in extracting THC from hemp, you can now get federally legal cannabis across the United States. These are more expensive than most of your beer/cocktail options and it might not be for everyone. But hey, if you're casting a wide net and want to give folks something to talk about should the game get out of hand, this is a solid place to start.

The Wisconsin option: Good question!

I've had my share of THC seltzers over the past few years, but I don't believe any were made in Wisconsin. Drinkin' Buds has a Wisconsin-style brandy old fashioned THC cocktail out there. It might be worth a shot.

The non-midwestern option: Mary Jones THC sodas

Jones Sodas -- the same folks behind the savory Thanksgiving-themed pops -- made the skip over to THC beverages. They handle the new industry with the same craft and care of their unadulterated drinks, leaving behind a solid soda that happens to get you a little bit (or a lot) high. The cola here is a properly balanced blend of sweetness and spice, with barely a hint there's any cannabis inside.

6. The non-alcoholic options

Don't forget the folks who don't drink. Specialty sodas are an easy win for the kids who could tag along with their parents. Non-alcoholic beers have come a long way recently as well and could be the perfect pause for someone who's had a couple drinks but still needs to drive back after the confetti falls.

The Wisconsin option: Sprecher Root Beer, Puma Kola, and Orange Dream

Sprecher began life exclusively as a brewery. As it evolved and realized kids needed something to drink on its tours, it added a house-made root beer to the mix. Now that root beer out-sells the company’s entire beer portfolio on its own.

Sprecher’s root beer is great, but it’s not the undisputed king of its soft drink empire when it comes to taste. Puma Kola is a caffeine-free cola that pours like velvet and gives way to subtle, sweet vanilla. The Orange Dream is a melted down, carbonated creamsicle. Do yourself a favor and keep these refrigerated rather than pouring over ice — they’re way, way better that way.

The non-midwestern option: Athletic Brewing’s Upside Dawn Golden Ale

Athletic makes the closest thing I’ve ever tasted to a traditional beer in an alcohol-limited (less than 0.5 percent ABV) format. It’s a proper upgrade from O’Douls. Their Upside Dawn is a full flavored beer without any of the booze, and while the Ready Front IPA may be a bit more divisive it’s still pretty dang good.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: How to build a perfect Super Bowl party beer lineup