Trendy Brut IPAs Can Accommodate Any Type of Beer Drinker

In the words of Jacobim Mugatu, brut IPAs are “so hot right now.” If you haven’t yet encountered this style of beer, you likely soon will! Drier and easier to drink than typical IPAs, this beer has been trending across the nation. So, where did the brut IPA come from, and what exactly is it?

According to SFGate, the term “brut IPA” was coined in late 2017 in San Francisco, by creator Kim Sturdavant of Social Kitchen and Brewery. Using an enzyme typically associated with brewing darker, heavier beers, like stouts and porters, he sought to apply that body-lightening enzyme “to make a basically sparkling hop beverage with no sweetness in it.” Other brewers took note of this refreshing, more drinkable type of IPA, as nearby breweries began experimenting with the style. When SFGate reported on this origin story in March 2018, they listed only 10 California breweries, plus one brewery in New Hampshire, as brewing brut IPAs.

And just what makes a brut IPA a brut IPA? Beer47 details out some key qualities a brut IPA should have, according to Sturdavant:

• Very pale
• Very dry
• Well-balanced
• Hop forward

What about bubbles, or its ties to champagne? I spoke with local Chicago beer experts, Austin Harvey and Andrew Hilsberg, of Beermiscuous, to better understand the brut IPA. “Not all of them have that sparkling feel,” explains Hilsberg, the events and marketing manager at the beer cafe. And Harvey, the curator and manager, notes, “Brut IPAs can use champagne yeast, but the use of it is extremely rare,” adding that it’s that utilization of the special enzyme, amyloglucosidase, that gives the brut IPA its unique flavor. So, the “brut” of the brut IPA is that it’s dry, and easy-drinking, just like brut champagnes—though “bubbly” or not is up to the brewer’s preference.

Social Kitchen and Brewery

Describing the style further, Harvey explains that some are filtered and some are not, affecting how hazy the beer is – though he prefers clearer varieties. Hilsberg contrasts the taste with that of super-prevalent New England IPAs, categorized by their juicy, sweet fruit flavors: “…you still get all those fruit flavors up front…but then it just finishes nice and dry—you don’t have that lingering sweetness that you get with the New England IPA.”

Though the trend is nationwide now, Beermiscuous features mostly Chicago-based brut IPAs. Harvey’s beer pick of the week was a Chicago-brewed brut IPA, Around the Bend Beer Company’s Extra Circus. He’s a fan of local Miskatonic Brewing Company’s Cryomancer, as well, adding that “customers have also been digging on the Hot Pink Brut IPA from Collective Arts out of Toronto.” Hilsberg’s favorites hail from two Chicago-based breweries—Middlebrow Beer Co.’s Art Brut, and Maplewood Brewery’s Mega Dry Brut IPA—but he laments that the latter is draft-only, so far. “I keep asking and begging them to can it but they haven’t canned it yet!”

Seems like you can’t throw a rock without hitting a brewery experimenting with the brut IPA style—and this is good news if you’ve been looking for an answer to those IPAs that leave you with too sweet or bitter an aftertaste. Bubbly or not, hazy or not, there’s likely a variety for you, as long as you like dry, easy-drinking, and hop-forward beers. So, check out your local brewery or bar and see if brut IPAs have made their way to a beer establishment near you—and if not, it’s very likely some nearby brewers have recently caught wind of this trend, and are working to get their take on the brut IPA into your neighborhood bar, and into your glass!

Related Video: How to Pour a Beer

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These Beer-Infused Desserts are Perfect for Game Day

Beer is a many-splendored drink, but it’s not just for sipping (or chugging). It adds interest to all sorts of dishes, from morning pancakes to dinnertime chili. And there are lots of ways to use beer in dessert, whether you favor aggressive IPAs or sweeter pastry beers.

Baking with beer seems like an especially perfect endeavor for tailgating season. Because it involves beer, of course, but also because these booze-infused treats are equally perfect for celebrating the sweet taste of victory or soothing the pain of defeat. (Naturally, they’re delicious at any other time too.)

While rich, roasty stouts and porters, which often already have chocolatey elements, are a no-brainer for desserts like cakes, brownies, ice creams, and truffles, there are lots of other styles you can work into sweets. Even mild lager is useful for lightening up a batter, as in our Almond Biscuit Shortcakes with Roasted Figs recipe, but more strongly flavored beers obviously influence the taste as well as the texture of a given dessert. Peach, cherry, and raspberry lambics work well in jammy or fruity desserts, while spiced pumpkin beers and nutty brown ales add great fall flavor to baked goods, caramels, and frostings. Sour beers and even hoppy, piney IPAs bring bright notes to citrus desserts; saisons marry well with fruit and spice; and malty, strong Scotch ales emphasize any caramelized elements in a sweet dish.

Always use a beer you’d drink on its own, and feel free to experiment by substituting different styles as long as the flavor and intensity makes sense. For instance, you probably don’t want to use a super-funky Belgian in place of a chocolate porter, but any other rich, mellow beer, from coffee stout to fragrant Christmas ale, would likely work (while still changing the flavor profile a bit). And milder beers are generally better in less strongly flavored desserts where they won’t be overwhelmed, while bigger beers can still shine in stronger-tasting treats, yet also blend in more easily with their deeper flavors.

Keep in mind, beer does affect the structure of baked goods, so you’re better off subbing in your beer of choice in a recipe that already calls for some, rather than just adding it to one that’s beer-free. And while these beer-infused desserts may not get you buzzed (except on sugar), you should still only serve them to adults who are okay with consuming alcohol.

If that’s you, try one of these intoxicatingly delicious recipes to satisfy two cravings at once.

Chocolate Stout S’mores Brownies

Chowhound

Choose a rich, chocolatey stout for these s’mores-inspired brownies to intensify the chocolate in the batter. And once these reach room temp, we recommend reheating individual brownies so the toasted marshmallow topping gets nice and gooey again. Get our Chocolate Stout S’mores Brownies recipe.

Guinness Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Chowhound

You can switch up the icing for this moist, rich cake however you please—drizzle on a beer caramel or a stout fudge sauce, slather on beer whipped cream, or make a simple pour-over icing with three tablespoons of your chosen brew whisked into one cup of powdered sugar. Any of these would also be great over a plain chocolate stout cake, of course, but the gingerbread spices in ours are perfect for fall. Get our Guinness Gingerbread Bundt Cake recipe.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Broma Bakery

Dark chocolate stout cupcakes are a great portable option (and if you’re one of those people who doesn’t like chocolate, you can go with citrus IPA cupcakes or malty brown ale cupcakes instead). Again, you can play around with different toppings—try cream cheese frosting, stout fudge frosting, raspberry lambic frosting, white chocolate beer frosting, or even bubbly toasted beer marshmallow meringue that mimics a foamy head—but there’s much to be said for piling even more stout-infused chocolate on top! Couldn’t hurt to sprinkle on beer-candied bacon either. Get the recipe.

Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

David Lebovitz

Guinness strikes again, but thanks to the plethora of options out there, you can find lots of other craft beer ice cream recipes if you prefer another style. This hearty milk chocolate stout ice cream is especially great for beer floats, though. Just scoop it into a glass and top it off with the beer of your choice (would Southern Tier’s Creme Brulee vanilla milk stout be too much?). Get David Lebovitz’s Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream recipe.

Brown Sugar Beer Cookies

Jennifer Meyering

Beer helps keep baked goods moist and tender, so these brown ale-infused brown sugar cookies stay soft even days after they’re baked. This is a good recipe to try swapping in other beers, including ones with a bit more spice—and if you want even more beer flavor, ice them with an easy beer glaze using the same brew that’s in the dough. Get the recipe.

Pumpkin Beer Monkey Bread with Pumpkin Beer Caramel Sauce

Open Bar Co

Not everyone loves pumpkin beer, but fans of fall’s seasonal releases will adore this pull-apart monkey bread, with spiced pumpkin ale in the batter and in the caramel that soaks into every sticky morsel. Get the recipe.

Brown Ale Pumpkin Pie Bars

Draft Mag

For those who don’t love pumpkin in their beer, but still enjoy autumnal pumpkin desserts, these silky pumpkin pie bars use nutty dark brown ale to boost the caramelized flavors. A boozy, barrel-aged brown is even better with the cinnamon and brown sugar. Get the recipe.

Beer Truffles with Pretzels

A Cookie Named Desire

These easy chocolate truffles are dynamite with a dark, chocolate-flavored beer, but you can play around with other strong ales to change the flavor; beers with vanilla notes make a lot of sense too. The salty, crunchy pretzel coating is the perfect contrast. Get the recipe.

Ale and Pretzel Soft Caramels

Sprinkle Bakes

Another beer and pretzel pairing, these soft, chewy caramels are also a perfect place to experiment with different styles; pale ale could become pumpkin beer or American strong ale…and instead of wrapping these in wax paper to help hold their shape, you could dip them in chocolate for another layer of flavor too. Get the recipe.

IPA Lemon Bars

Deschutes Brewery

A bright, citrusy IPA is a great addition to both the crust and the filling of tangy-sweet lemon bars. Try Meyer lemons when they’re in season for a more floral dimension, and try different styles of IPA if you’re feeling adventurous. Get the recipe.

Russian Imperial Stout Fudge with Beer-Candied Pistachios

Stone Brewing

A super-dark, intensely rich and roasty imperial stout with notes of coffee and chocolate is a natural for mixing into decadent fudge—and the beer-candied pistachios on top are a brilliant touch. Get the recipe.

Glazed Doughnut Beer Cake

The Beeroness

A beer-infused cake that tastes like a glazed doughnut? Sounds like something you could happily eat for breakfast too, although after noon, enjoy it with a glass of pale ale to complement the flavors in the batter and the glaze. (By the way, the Beeroness has a ton of other fantastic beer desserts that you should also check out.) Get the recipe.

Related Video: How to Make a Beer Milkshake

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The Role of Your Beer Glass Is More Important Than You Think

When I first encountered it, beer only came in cans or Solo cups. But now that tailgates and off-campus parties are but faint memories and my options are more craft and less mystery keg, I decided it’s time to step up my game and find out – just why are there so many different shapes of glasses for beer?

A better first question might have been – Why use a glass at all? It has to do with the fact that your nose and mouth are a dynamic duo when it comes to your sense of taste. When you drink out of a bottle or can, you leave your nose out of the party. There’s a case to be made that the eye is an important part of this equation, as well. Pouring a beer into a glass shows off its color, clarity, bubbles, and foam, a view that can add to your excitement when you’re about to partake in the refreshing elixir that’s been delighting humankind since approximately 9,000 B.C..

Compared to the thousands of years that humans enjoyed beer out of stone, wood, and even sacks of leather, the proliferation and popularization of beer glasses is relatively new, given that glass wasn’t mass produced until the late 1800s. Our journey charting the history of beer glasses will take us on a trans-Atlantic journey starting in jolly old England around 1920.

Beer Mugs

The first mass-produced beer glass was the 10-sided pint mug. The mug replaced pewter tankards but maintained a handle, which kept pub patrons’ hands from inadvertently warming up their brews. After WWII, this model was replaced by a shorter and wider mug embellished with a grenade-like pattern. While not designed to enhance the taste of a beer, the mug’s character, sturdiness, and size makes it a great addition to a party, and it’s recently experienced a resurgence across the pub scene. Buy them here.

Nonic Pint Glasses

By the 1980s, English pub owners had a new option that was easier to store and clean. These “nonic” pint glasses resemble the American pint glass we’re used to seeing, with the exception of a bulge about two inches below the mouth of the glass. This bulge protects the rim of the glass from being chipped, or nicked (hence the name). A close cousin of the nonic is the tulip pint glass (see the Guinness glass). British ales, lagers, porters, and stouts will feel right at home in these vessels. Buy them here.

Goblets, Snifters, and Tulips – oh my!

For the next stop on our tour de glassware, we’ll cross the Strait of Dover from England into Belgium, where brewing dates back to the monasteries and abbeys of the Middle Ages. Here we’ll encounter some dark beers and strong ales served in goblets and their sturdier cousin, the chalice. These two glasses have wide mouths that allow for big gulps and direct the beer to the back of your tongue, home to the taste buds that detect bitterness. Two other glass varieties, snifters and tulips, resemble the goblet family, but they narrow at the top to lock in the beer’s aroma and allow for swirling, which can continually refresh a beer’s scent. Buy them here, here, and here.

Stange

Crossing Belgium’s southeastern border, we’ll encounter a few more kinds of glasses in Germany. Stange, which means “pole” in Germany is the easiest glass to describe — it’s simply a glass cylinder. The thin shape of a stange glass preserves the carbonation in delicate beers like kolsches. Some are purposefully short in order to prevent the beer from getting too warm or losing its fizz in the glass. But don’t worry — that doesn’t mean you won’t be drinking as much! Traditionally, stanges arrive en masse in a “kranz,” German for “wreath.” Buy them here.

Weizen Glass

Weizen glasses are designed to accentuate all the qualities of Bavarian style wheat beer. Their rounded tops preserve the fluffy foam head, enhancing your aromatic experience of the beer, while the thin glass shows off its bright hue. While some bars serve wheat beers with a lemon or orange slice, be warned: citrus juices can erode your beer’s head, thus eliminating some of the fun for your nose. Buy them here.

Pilsner Glass

From Germany, we’ll head further east to the Czech Republic, home to what may be defined as the Miss Universe of beers: the sparkling golden pilsner. When pilsner was invented in the Bohemian village of Pilsen in 1842, its light clarity was like nothing the beer-drinking world had ever seen. In many ways, the tall and slender glass that widens toward the top is designed to showcase the color and carbonation of the beer that’s been turning heads since the 1840s. Other light beers like bock beers and blonde ales will shine in a pilsner glass too. Buy them here.

American Pint Glass

Back in the U.S.A., the American pint glass is more or less omnipresent in bars and restaurants. The primary appeal of this glass is utility: it’s cheap to make and buy, easy to stack, difficult to break, and versatile (it’s sometimes referred to as a “Shaker Pint,” as its straight edges line up nicely with a shaker when crafting a cocktail). The American pint glass is more or less neutral — it won’t necessarily help or harm your experience of drinking beer. The one exception here is if you’re drinking something strong like a Belgian ale. In that case, if you can’t get your hands on a chalice or snifter, you’d be better off with a wine glass than an American pint glass. Buy them here.

IPA Glass

But it’s not all business as usual back home in the states. In fact, one of the newest members of the beer glass universe debuted here in 2013, born from a partnership between American breweries Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada with German glassmaker Spiegelau. This 19-ounce glass resembles an elongated goblet atop a ridged bottom. While the rounded top preserves the head and locks in flavor, the ridges agitate the beer, continually releasing the hoppy aroma and flavor characteristic of IPAs. Buy them here.

Just how much does the shape of a glass affect the taste of a beer? It’s a subject of much debate. Some contend that the proliferation of beer glassware is nothing more than a money-making scheme, and I’d be foolish to think that wasn’t part of the equation. But I’m also a sucker for a good story. Sure, I know that the Belgians and Czechs were enjoying Trappist ales and pilsners before the widespread use of chalices and pilsner glasses, but now, these shapes have become symbols of the people who brought these beers to life. The chalice evokes the Thirteenth Century monks serving beer in their abbeys while the pilsner sparkling in its slender flute recalls the Bohemian villagers who looked on with wonder as a new clear brew flowed from their casks. The shape of a beer glass may enhance a beer’s look, taste, and smell. But for me, it certainly adds a fourth dimension: a story. And adding history to hops makes enjoying one of humankind’s oldest delicacies just that much sweeter.

Now that you know all about beer glasses check out The Best Subscription Boxes for Beer Lovers.

Related Video: How to Pour a Beer

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9 Tasty Ways to Reuse Your Football Party Leftovers

There’s something about hosting a football party that makes people lose all sense of portion control. As if somewhere along the line a wire got crossed and you and your friends Freaky Friday-swapped with 300-pound linebackers, inheriting all their considerable appetite. You prepare mountains of chicken wings, stock up on all the chips and all the dips, smother your coffee table with all manner of bite-sized junk food and bottles of beer.

And then later, once the dust of the event has settled and you’re evaluating the wreckage, you realize just how overboard you went in the snack food department. Time to channel your inner culinary McGyver and devise some creative ways to recycle from the wasteland of leftovers. Here are nine recipes to inspire some ideas.

Hot Honey Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Yes To Yolks

The buffalo wing is football’s culinary mascot, so it makes sense that people tend to always overdo it on batch size come game day. Not to worry, there are plenty of creative ways to make sure that beloved leftover chicken doesn’t go to waste. By shredding the meat off the bone, you’ve got material for everything from quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches, to creamy pasta or even a loaded baked potato, the sky’s the limit (and by sky I mean your appetite). Most recipes will stick to the straightforward buffalo sauce and bleu cheese or ranch profile, but this pizza recipe makes a clever play by introducing honey to the spicy-savory mix. Get the recipe.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pasta

Buns In My Oven

Get over being annoyed that you have to rummage around for yet another storage container because folks didn’t finish the spinach-artichoke dip. Instead, say a little silent “thank you” because tomorrow night, all you really have to do for dinner is toss it with some penne, smother with cheese, and let it all bake up in the oven. Get the recipe.

Kale Guacamole Salad

The Diva Dish

Ease the guilt of last night’s chips and guac binge by putting the remainder of that dip to good-for-you use in a fresh, easy kale salad. As a dressing, the creamy, tangy spread helps soften the coarsely textured greens and makes them more approachable. Looks like junk food and health food can live happily under the same roof after all. Get the recipe.

Leftover Chili Pie

Glue And Glitter

Shake up chili’s encore performance by reconceiving it as the base for a southwestern version of the pub grub classic, Shepherd’s Pie. With half the work done the day before, all you have to do to take this dish to the end zone is quickly whip up some mashed potatoes, layer the two in a casserole dish and pop it into the oven. Get the recipe.

Pot Roast with Porcini and Beer

Chowhound

Now, I’ll be honest, I have a hard time imagining a scenario in which the party ends before all the beer is finished. But in case you and your friends are capable of exercising more restraint, put that leftover bottle of pale ale to good use in this hearty, umami-rich pot roast. Get our Pot Roast with Porcini and Beer recipe.

Chicken Chilaquiles

A Pretty Life In The Suburbs

If pigging out on wings and chips and salsa didn’t stop your good buddy Hangover from showing up and knocking on the door the next morning, you can at least take comfort in knowing that those leftover can be put towards making a perfect post-party breakfast. Now, because you’re hurting, we going to keep this real simple: Toss the shredded chicken with salsa, chicken broth, and a little sour cream, and stack the mixture between layers of cheese and tortilla chips; bake for a half hour. And if you’re thinking that throwing a fried egg on top of there would make this situation even better, well then you’d be absolutely right. Get the recipe.

Tater Tot Waffles

Damn Delicious

Just in case you ever doubted the versatility of the glorious tater tot (shame on you, where’s your faith?), this recipe proves just how seamlessly the crispy potato puff can transition from evening look to morning look. Like a kind of mash-up between waffle and hashbrown, these Cajun seasoning-spiked mad genius creations are brunch time gold. Get the recipe.

Salted Caramel Popcorn Balls

Chowhound

Save that leftover bowl of popcorn from going stale by giving the snack a sweet little makeover. All it really takes is whisking up a quick and easy caramel sauce and the ability to form things into a ball, and you’ve got a sweet-salty-crunchy treat to carry you all the way into next week’s game. Get our Salted Caramel Popcorn Balls recipe.

Potato Chip Cookies

Tastes Of Lizzy T

Take those broken, bottom-of-the-bag stragglers and give them new life as the salty yin to chocolate chip’s sweet yang in these dangerously addictive cookies. That’s right, dip, you’ve got some serious competition as potato chip’s perfect partner. Get the recipe.

Related Video: What You Need to Know About Storing Hot Leftovers

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Homemade Klondike Bars

Swiss meringue. Cut with milk and cream, it becomes a light and airy no-churn ice cream that's easy to slice into bars for dipping. Thanks to a generous helping of refined coconut oil, the milk chocolate coating is crisp, glossy, and whisper-thin. Get Recipe!

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Keeping Up with the Latest IPA Trends

Beer and Pizza Pairings Perfect for Sunday Football

Adam Richman’s Tips for Hosting an Epic Football-Viewing Feast

TV personality, cook, and author Adam Richman has wolfed down a 7-pound burrito, violently spicy suicide wings, and a towering 12-patty cheeseburger on the hit Travel Channel show “Man v Food,” which he hosted from 2008 to 2012.

But Richman has posed as more than a glutton for our entertainment before that time and since then. And our football parties can benefit.The Brooklyn-born graduate of Emory University and the Yale School of Drama possesses the skills, talent, and charm that enabled to do other projects since then — such as NBC’s food competition show “Food Fighters” in 2014. Richman has authored America the Edible by Rodale Publishing in 2011, and Straight-Up Tasty by Clarkson Potter in 2015.

From this last book of Richman’s, we pulled two recipes that will make your tastebuds cheer as you watch the game with your friends and family this football season. But you need more in your game plan than those two decadent dishes. Passionate about food and entertaining in his personal life as well as professional career, it’s no surprise Richman is expert enough to give us a bunch of winning pointers to up our party-hosting game.

Remember, it’s not just about the food (or the game! Yes, we said it). When people come your home to watch a football game, it’s a gathering at the end of the day, he says. “You can’t lose sight that while it may not be a hearth — it’s a flickering box with a bunch of guys smashing each other on the grid iron — you still have to be the hostess with the mostess,” Richman says.

1. Know your crowd.

Angie’s List/iStock

Plan according to the vibe you expect. You could have a crowd of calm, civilized, married couples or a bunch of jersey-clad bros, pacing, betting and talking smack.

For the calm crowd, you can have a potluck-buffet-style table so guests can go in the kitchen to fill their plates. But you still should have something for snacking in front of the TV. You can do a little more food that requires a fork and knife, or save that for half time. “You can ask more from your viewing experience than most people do,” Richman says, who once brought his grandma’s sweet and sour meatballs to a football-focused potluck. Pasta salad is another good idea.

For the rowdy crowd, focus more on finger food and communal dishes. Use disposable plates, utensils, and plastic table cloths. Set out an additional trash can within arm’s reach of the coffee table and couch. “People are more protective of their seat when they watch the Super Bowl,” so they’ll be more reluctant to leave their viewing spot, Richman says. “I’ve seen a friend demonstrate a tackle while holding wings with a dollop of blue cheese dip.” With that in mind, have easy-to-eat dishes for the guys who stand and pace the whole time, as well food for the guys who sit and relax and socialize during the game.

2. Make everything obvious and easy to eat.

Getty

Put everything out, including your disposable utensils nestled in Solo cups. You can get a big sandwich loaf and pre-cut the slices, marking them with toothpicks. But remember to make a big sign that says “Remove toothpicks.” It’s not as obvious as you think when all your attention is zeroed in on the action onscreen. “I’ve had to tell guys that,” Richman says, laughing.

Remember, people are multi-tasking. Most people are watching the screen and gesticulating wildly while eating and drinking. “There’s something to be said for acknowledging that ahead of time,” Richman says, and creating for your guests “the ability to absentmindedly pop something in your mouth while watching television and have a flavor bomb.” If you make a pizza at home, slice the crust so people can just grab it and eat. Do that with everything.

3. Put more thought into the drink situation.

Getty

“There’s this classic idea of beer and wings, and that’s great,” he says. But do more. “I’ll mix in with the alcoholic beverages some nonalcoholic beverages so the guy who doesn’t want to drink doesn’t have to go somewhere else and feel ostracized.”

Richman recommends a cool bourbon drink in a pitcher, a peach sangria, or spiked Arnold Palmer (lemonade-tea mix). “For people who want an alcoholic option that’s not beer, they appreciate it,” he says. “Again, know your crowd. If you know guys are into craft beers, you’ll drink it from bottles, or maybe they want a case of Coronas.”

Tie in the drinks with who’s playing on the field. “It’s a chance to customize the experience to that particular game,” Richman says. If it’s Cincinnati versus ‘Nola, consider offering Fat Head beer v. Abita beer or pitcher of Hurricanes.

4. Prevent a mess with good strategy.

Getty/Burlingham

You need to seriously consider the logistics of the event. Be a true entertainer: Let people know where the bathroom is, what towels to use, and where the trash is. Make everything self-explanatory. If it’s snowy or wet out, have a clear, designated place for people to take their shoes off so they’re not stepping on wet stuff the whole time.

Create a specific spot to go for beverages that’s not the fridge. Use a metal tub or cooler filled with ice and beer. If you’re doing the tub or cooler in the living room, spread out a vinyl, disposable tablecloth, or lawn-leaf bag underneath to protect the floor. “When people reach in this ice thing to get a drink, they’re bound to drip, and ice shifts and melts,” Richman says. “It’s a great way to avoid spillage ahead of time and prevent people from slipping or ruining your floors.”

Use a completely separate container, lined with a bag, for ice. A red Solo cup can be the ice scoop, and “literally take a black Sharpie and write on it ‘ice scoop’ because you don’t want people digging with their hands where ever they’ve been been, scratching and all,” Richman says. Or use a kids’s sand-sculpting shovel.

You probably want to recycle the bottles and cans. Richman lines one trash can with blue liner for recycling bottles and cans. “I always make it clear this is where the bottles go,” he says. It’s important to make this bin easy to reach from the TV viewing area, because you don’t want everyone to leave empty glass bottles on the edge of the coffee table where it could break with all the commotion, kids, and pets.

Provide antibacterial soap or hand sanitizer. “I’m not above getting a Purell and putting it on the edge of the table next to the Solo cups full of silverware,” Richman says. If people are going to reach in to get chips from the communal bowl, they’re more likely to wash their hands beforehand if it’s right there.

As for the bathroom, make sure you have backup toilet tissue and provide air freshener to keep your guests from being embarrassed or compromised.

5. Elevate the classics.

Tangy horseradish roast beef sliders on Hawaiian sweet rolls. Image: Getty/Msaandy033

A big sandwich doesn’t have to be a cold-cut submarine like you get at corporate affairs. Your massive sandwich be a salmon steak BLT.  Make wings, but flavor them with lemon pepper and Champagne. “You can play with elevated flavor profiles on the most mundane dishes,” he says.  Place four cheeses in your grilled cheese, make your own tortilla chips for nachos, and top your pizza with Fontina cheese, speck, arugula, and truffle oil.

If you’re doing a buffet, create pasta dishes studded with big flavor, such as sausage and shrimp. The bulk of the dish is pasta, so you can feed a crowd with less expense.

Set up a charcuterie plate, with good local bread, cheeses, and olives. “People can find the combinations they like. It’s a customizable experience,” Richman says. “You can put it out in the first quarter, and it’ll still be good hours later; the meat might sweat a bit but it won’t go bad by the fourth quarter.”

People love dips and intense, crunchy foods when they’re anxious. That’s partly why fried food works so well as sports bar fare. Cut chicken breast into tenders, bread them, fry them, and serve with honey mustard and ranch dressing.

People love spring rolls and egg rolls, but you can be even more creative, combining those with everyone’s love of Southern barbecue: Crunchy, pulled pork egg rolls with dipping sauce.

“In the winter and at these games, you want something hearty and stick-to-your-ribs,” he says. Richman made both the recipes below for his friends, and they’re included in his Straight-Up Tasty cookbook.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwich Dumplings

Chowhound

White Wonder Bread, waxy slices of American cheese, and comfort food classics don’t conjure images of sophistication, and they’re not supposed to anyway. But this technique that puts a twist on this simple American comfort meal is impressive — and still easy to do. Get our Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwich Dumplings recipe.

Baked Gouda with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Chowhound

Serve an “ooey-gooey melted cheese and a nice crust” with a technique that’s not hard at all, Richman says. But it produces a wow-worthy result that will have guests digging in with appreciation. The creamy Gouda with the fresh herbs and acidic bite of the sun-dried tomatoes creates a winning appetizer that can work for an elegant dinner party as well as a rowdy football-viewing afternoon. Get our Baked Gouda with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto recipe.

Related Video: How to Make Mini Football Potatoes

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Apple Cobbler

BEST apple cobbler! How to make apple cobbler packed with apples, not too sweet, with a ginger cobbler topping. This easy apple cobbler is sure to be a family favorite.

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