Hoosier Gameday Lager

Hoosier Gameday Lager was created as the first ever Indiana University Athletics branded beer. It’s a collaboration between Upland and thousands of beer-loving IU sports fans. Over the course of several weeks, we sent out surveys via social media to be answered by any of our followers over the age of 21. After over 10,000 completed surveys, clear preferences were determined for the name, label design and key attributes of the beer itself. This recipe is a reflection of the those preferences: a crisp, drinkable, but still flavorful lager with a moderate, sessionable level of alcohol.

Hoosier Gameday Lager can be classified as a Vienna Lager. The easy way to think of this style is that it falls in between a pilsner like Champagne Velvet, and a richer, more malty lager like Oktoberfest. Far from the cheap light lagers consumed by the gallon that are stereotypically associated with sporting events, this recipe incorporates two base malts kilned and toasted to differing levels of richness, three more flavorful specialty malts to create a layering of subtle toasty and slightly caramelly flavor along with two different hop varieties for a light floral, earthy background note. The result is a beer that strikes the perfect balance of delicious malty goodness and refreshing drinkability. The Vienna malt that creates the bulk of the flavor for this brew was malted and toasted to perfection by Indiana’s own Sugar Creek Malt in Lebanon Indiana.