Top 20 Beer and Video Game Pairings

Beer and video games; both are works of art meant to be enjoyed. They can take the edge off after a long work day, or serve as a way to build friendships and community. They can also be quite complementary – putting you in a zenlike zone of sipping and blipping, slaying while swaying, or guzzling during puzzling. We love both, so we put together a list of some of our favorite games and their fittingly fizzy counterparts. 

So gather your party and venture forth; all your beers are belong to us.

The Legend of Zelda Series – All Green Everything – Link of the evergreen tunic; perennially searching for his other half, Zelda. Perhaps it’s the enthralling art design, or powerfully nostalgic musical score, but something about the Zelda franchise conjures up visceral emotions within its fans. The public seems to feel the same way about this Triple IPA, perennially pining for their Other Half beer. The can is simple, yet gorgeous and its contents are equally remarkable, clocking in at an extraordinarily refined and dry 10.5% ABV. This beer, like the Zelda franchise, is a testament to a focus on quality over quantity.

Street Fighter V – Fist City – Championed by purists, Street Fighter is widely considered to be the progenitor of the modern fighting game. Its cartoony visuals belie an extremely deep gameplay experience which, while fun for the average player, requires significant study to master. Revolution Brewing’s Fist City resides in the Pale Ale family, a perennial contender for the most popular beer style. The style’s strength is in its accessibility, a combination of juicy hops and easy-drinking ale. At first taste, Fist City’s elusive candied melon, grapefruit and citrus flavors are masked with mild crackery malt. Our judge advises that you must take time to study this one to fully reveal its character.

Fallout 4 – Bombshell Blonde – Fallout 4 features one of the biggest, most impressive game worlds in recent memory. With a thriving mod scene and a robust story, many beers would pair well with this (Super Mutant) behemoth of a game. However, what started it all in the Fallout series was “the bomb.” Lots of bombs, actually. Nuclear ones. Southern Star’s Bombshell Blonde is an easy-drinking and spritzy Blonde Ale that would fit your friendly neighborhood Vault Dweller and your Lone Wanderer like a snug Power Fist as he explores the Commonwealth. You could even toss some food coloring in there to make it look like a Nuka-Cola! (Rad-X not included.)

Telltale Games The Walking Dead Series – Zombie Dust – Point-and-click adventure games used to be all the rage. Before technology caught up with video games, just moving a mouse around and seeing a digital character move in reaction to your input was revolutionary. Of course, technology did catch up and with it, point-and-click games became old news –obsolete and antiquated. However, nostalgia has now also caught up with those games, and developer Telltale Games makes some of the best modern, narrative-driven, point-and-click games around. They made their name with The Walking Dead series and with good reason. The games are extremely well-written and they adapt to the decisions you make, as you make them. These games are harrowing, however, so sip a 3 Floyds Zombie Dust Pale Ale in real life while you turn zombies into dust within the game. Trust us, it makes the (frequent) sad moments in the game a little less sob-inducing.

Mass Effect Series – Space Rock – Bioware’s Mass Effect was a groundbreaking first game in the series when it was released in 2007. Featuring an excellent story set in the year 2183, well-rounded characters, a futuristic setting and score, and the revolutionary dialogue wheel for player-character responses, it’s no surprise that it spawned an all-encompassing multiverse that includes comics, books and mobile games. One of the main goals of series protagonist Commander Shepard is to explore uncharted worlds and find elements, supplies and weapons that will help him or her defeat an ancient alien menace. These planets (or Space Rocks) are well-represented in beer form by Short’s Brewing’s Space Rock, a smoothly hoppy American Pale Ale that’s crafted to reduce gluten. A gluten-free beer would suit people in the future, as they all look thin and fit even at an advanced age, something that is discussed in-game at various points. Well, this entry is over; I should go.

Call of Duty Black Ops III – Brooklyn Black Ops – Call of Duty has come a long way since its inception as a WWII-era first-person-shooter. Now, all sorts of futuristic gadgets and military technology are commonplace in the series. Not only do Brooklyn Black Ops and the COD Black Ops series share a name, they are also both best enjoyed under cover of night so as to fully immerse oneself in the riveting gameplay of COD as well as the velvety layers of roasted chocolate, boozy barrel and caramel coffee flavors found within Brooklyn Black Ops.

Assassin’s Creed Series – Cutthroat Porter – Assassin’s Creed combines elements of stealth with vicious combat. Odell’s Cutthroat Porter follows suit, blurring the lines between porter and stout with punchy, robust flavor notes of dark coffee and woodsy hops tempered by a deceptively silky and creamy finish. Just as Assassin’s Creed bounces between stylistic representations of classical eras, Cutthroat’s makeup gives a nod to both the classic London porter while masquerading as a modern American Stout. How do you know you can trust it? Because it’s beer.

Pokémon Series – Bengali, Resin and Hi-Res – There’s something extraordinarily satisfying about catching a bunch of extremely well-designed digital critters (ranging from adorable to terrifying), improving their abilities and statistics, and watching them evolve and grow into bigger and more interesting well-designed digital critters. You can’t help it, truly – you “gotta catch ‘em all.” Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn understands this appeal and translated it into a line of delectable IPAs with Bengali, Resin and Hi-Res. Each beer gets stronger and improves upon its previous incarnation in numerous ways (just like Pokemon). So whether you’re flitting about like a Pidgeotto or flopping around like a Magikarp, Sixpoint’s line of top-shelf IPAs is there for you – as you grow as a beer drinker and a Pokémon trainer.

Doom Series – Mephistopheles’ Stout – Doom is one of the more venerable first-person shooter franchises in gaming history. In it, you take out the denizens of hell with an ever-increasing array of weapons and power-ups. There have been numerous entries into the series over the years, with Doom 3 being one of the most memorable, culminating in a titanic tussle between the player-character and Beelzebub himself. Usually though, you’re defeating some of his minions, such as the namesake of Avery Brewing Company’s Mephistopheles’ Stout. This deep, dark and beautifully packaged Imperial Stout clocks in at a powerful 18+ percent ABV, pairing well with the brutal gameplay that the Doom series is known for.

Super Smash Bros. Series – 2X Smash – This beer matches perfectly with the Super Smash Bros. series in a variety of ways. It could refer to the number of different Smash games in the series you play on a regular basis – mostly Melee and Smash 4 – (but not Brawl, never Brawl), or it could refer to the amount of times you chuck your controller across the room when you get thwomped by your best friend (again), or it could be the obscene amount of smash attacks that your opponent always seems to nail you with throughout an online match. No matter what the meaning, this hefty Double IPA will make every round of Super Smash seem a little more epic with each sip. Settle it with 2X Smash!

Grand Theft Auto Series – Barrel Thief – “Yep, I’ve been drinking again.” A classic line from the timeless GTA III, which spawned one of the most influential series of games to date. The eloquent pedestrian responsible for that statement may very well have quaffed this oak-aged DIPA from Odell, with a similar theme of thievery – stolen from the brewhouse and stashed in medium-toast American oak barrels, according to the brewer. At 9.4%, “the brew features a notorious tropical fruit hop character that tangles with hints of vanilla, dried fruit, and toasted nut from its time served in the barrel.” Our judge gave it an 88, though if it did some more time in the cellar, he would have likely given it a five-star rating.

Donkey Kong Series – Barrel Chested Barleywine – Barrel Chested is a big, burly barleywine that’s sure to put hair on your chest, if not your entire body. Upland’s beefy offering began as Donkey Kong did – with barrels. The buff ape with the name of an ass kicked off his career by hurling said barrels down a 2D set of platforms and ladders, woefully ignorant of their true value. Thankfully, Upland picked up the slack and has created a bold, boozy, bourbon barrel-aged barleywine boasting big woody aromas with notes of toffee and aged molasses. In the decades since his villainous inception, DK has become more of a family man, mellowing with age. It’s recommended to give this beer time to do the same!

Forza Motorsport 6 – Racer X – Racer X is 100 IBUs, but it’s so well balanced and good looking in a glass that you’ll hardly notice. Forza is similar – you’re going hundreds of miles an hour, but the game is fun, handsome and startlingly accurate. Forza’s consistency and replay value has helped it to become a backbone of Microsoft’s lineup, and the same can be said about Bear Republic’s beer, which regularly commands attention along with its equally drinkable little bro, Racer 5. Sure, Forza might not be as pretty as Gran Turismo, and Racer X’s artwork might not be as sexy as Bissell Bros. Swish, but we all know it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Mario Series – Bell’s 30^th Anniversary Ale – 1985 was a big year for beer and video games. Bell’s Brewery first started producing brews that year, and Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. as a launch title on its NES system as well. Both institutions celebrated their 30^th anniversary in 2015 in the only ways they knew how: Bell’s released a hearty, 11 percent ABV Imperial Stout and Nintendo released Super Mario Maker, where aspiring level designers can create their own levels using the original Mario Bros. 30-year-old engine. Both milestones are indeed worth celebrating, so why not combine them by drinking a Bell’s 30^th while playing some old-school Mario levels? It’s a-me, Beerio!

Elder Scrolls Series – Wayfarer – Green Man’s alchemy skill is evident, as they have crafted a masterful potion. This beer embodies the Elder Scrolls spirit; be whatever you want to be and explore wherever strikes your fancy. Wayfarer isn’t trying to be anything more than a pleasantly drinkable IPA at a reasonable ABV. It’s not trying to paralyze you with hops, nor will it send you on a fetch quest for rat meat (fast food). It will fortify your willpower, endurance, and speechcraft, and it’s light enough to stack a few times, though you’ll see a drop in agility and intelligence if you guzzle too many. It’s well-suited for any quest, and so are you, because you’re the Hero of Kvatch.

Grim Fandango – Decadent Imperial IPA and Euphoria Pale Ale – Matching up a beer with Grim Fandango’s stylistic flair and effortless charm was never going to be easy, but Ska Brewing’s aesthetic comes the closest. Grim Fandango, a point-and-click cult classic designed by gaming folk hero Tim Schafer, follows the noirish exploits of skeletal sleuth Manuel “Manny” Calavera in the Land of the Dead. Ska Brewing’s can artwork, seen here on Decadent and Euphoria, also features a skeleton as a main character. In this case, it’s a corporate bigwig named Pinstripe, and while the skeletal nature of both characters links them, it’s mostly the flavorful and interesting beers that Ska produces that makes them such excellent pairings with Grim Fandango. Drinking a Ska while playing such a terrific game is certainly far away from being a truly grim fandango.

Pac-Man – 8-Bit Pale Ale – A pretty self-explanatory combination. Pac-Man was one of the earliest video game phenomenons, dating all the way back to arcade cabinets and employing the blocky, pixelated 8-bit graphical stylings of the time. Keeping with the them, Tallgrass’s 8-Bit Pale Ale also shows a heavily pixelated Pac-Man-like character licking his lips on this lovingly-crafted can design. While arcade games are rarely experienced today, 8-Bit Pale Ale’s timeless blend of five different hop varietals – led by Centennial and Cascade – will never go out of style.

Twisted Metal Series – Sweet Tooth – It certainly looks fun, but beware: beneath that sweet exterior lies a powerful beast. 9.4% ABV, to be exact. Those familiar with the Twisted Metal series will undoubtedly recognize the similarity between Sweet Tooth the vengeful, ice-cream-truck-driving killer clown from the depths of hell and Sweet Tooth the salted caramel Belgian Dark Strong Ale from Kansas. Though, if faced with the choice of which one we’d rather have in our mouths (a plastic disc or a yummy brew), we’d choose the beer every time.

Tomb Raider Series – Seven Summits – Lara Croft has had a long career in games. With the first Tomb Raider game coming out in 1996, she has been baiting dinosaurs and spelunking catacombs for over 20 years. With a reboot series in full swing for the newest generation of consoles, one thing you’ve never seen Lara do is let her hair down and enjoy a nice tipple. But hey, that’s what you’re here for. Lara has been known to scale some landmarks at fairly high altitude, so pop open this aptly named collaboration between Devils Backbone and Wicked Weed. This Imperial Stout features robust yet smooth chocolatey flavors and clocks in at 10.5 percent ABV, helping you work though those tougher puzzles (or forget them altogether).

Oregon Trail – Wagon Party – Cinch-up your conestoga wagon-tops and keep watch for snakes… and drink this beer. It’ll help fight cholera. Minnesota’s Bauhaus Brew Labs has crafted a beer in the spirit of the journey westward, right down to the name. The California Common style emerged during the Gold Rush era, and this brewery has come on strong in the past few years, which some would consider the “golden age of beer” in America. Either way, this easy-drinking brew pairs well with this early, oft-educational video game about the travails and rigors of traversing the Oregon Trail. And if you don’t die of dysentery or get swept up in the current of the Big Blue River along the way, there might be a California Common waiting for you at the end of the line.

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