Right now, September 10th feels like a lifetime away. Sundays have become dull weekend punctuations filled with brunches and ‘family fun’. You feel your heart shrink without the thrill of picking your fantasy line up each week. You miss the days where your actions had real consequences. You feel empty and alone. You need to fill that void. You need to join a Fantasy Beer League.
Not sure what it is? Don’t be ashamed, you’ll pick it up quickly. All you have to do is grab a group of friends who love beer, look up a list of the craft breweries in your state, and draft.
Give each team about 6-8 roster spots depending on the league size and number of draftable options. Then, each month (or week if you are really dedicated) choose a theme like IPAs, Ales, or Stouts. Have each team owner pick an offering from one of the breweries on their squad that they think best represents the theme and tell them to bring it to the “game”. Have an impartial third party pour the drinks in unmarked cups and allow each owner to try every brew, ranking them from best to worst. The highest score wins the week.
There’s plenty of strategy here. Do you pick a brewery that is pretty good all around? Should you pick one only for it’s A+ stout? And don’t forget about the waiver wire. It’s up and running for any undrafted or new breweries that enter the picture post-draft. Some leagues even allow a Flex where an owner can take on an extra brewery just for a one week stint.
It’s the best way to keep the spirit of Fantasy sports alive without pretending to care about your Fantasy Baseball team all summer. The best part is, it never has to end. Re-draft 2 times a year to keep the magic alive. Happy Drinking.