Have Beer, Will Tackle! Every can of Huss Brewing Co. Devil’s Halo will put money in the pockets of ASU athletes.
Better athletics through beer? Since we’re talking about Arizona State University, which routinely topped Best Party School lists in the 1990s before embarking on its current phase of respectability under campus president Michael Crow, it makes perfect sense. Last spring, Huss Brewing Co. announced a partnership with ASU to brew Devil’s Halo Lager, the official craft beer of Sun Devils athletics. The charitable part? Each sale will benefit the Sun Angel Collective, which helps fund and broker Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals for ASU student athletes. It’s like what boosters used to do, but legal. Owner-brewer Jeff Huss, who started the brewery in a humble Tempe warehouse and built it into the third-largest beer producer in the state, asked a team member to coach us through his big summer release: Devil’s Halo Lager.
Looking for a crushable, hot-weather style for his Devil’s Halo flagship, Huss picked a German-style Helles lager, also known as a pale lager, made with a pilsner malt admired for its slightly sweet, bready profile.
To find the right yeast, Huss made test batches with three different strains and crowd-sourced. “Our whole team had a lot of fun sampling and voting on our favorite yeast,” Huss marketing director Shawn Weller says.
“In the end, [the] votes were unanimous,” Weller says. Settling on a Munich lager yeast and genteel 4.8 percent ABV, Huss was on track to bring the Devil’s Halo Lager to market just as this issue went to press – with plenty of time before the start of fall sports.
So, will Devil’s Halo NIL money get Sun Devil fans the 5-star quarterback recruit they’ve always wanted? “Our goal is to give back as much as possible [and support] ASU athletes in a meaningful way,” Weller says. Drink up, sports fans.
Huss Brewing Co.
Devil’s Halo Lager
hussbrewing.com
Available at Sun Devils games and venues, plus select retailers and restaurants.
Beer of the Month
Wren House Brewing Co. TBD
American Wheat Ale/5.1% ABV
We’ve never been particularly fond of the dictum that one must switch to lighter (read: less alcoholic) beers in the summer. If anything, summer is when we Phoenicians need to self-medicate the most. But the concept is certainly less off-putting when the beer in question is a gulpable little trickster like this wheat ale from Phoenix mainstay Wren House. Brewed cooler than typical ales, the beer is slowly warmed through fermentation, acquiring faintly spicy, gently funky esters with a dry, structured finish. TBD, by the way, is the beer’s real name, not an editorial place-holder. The only thing yet determined is how hot it will be outside when you drink it. wrenhousebrewing.com
