Ten beers to accompany the Lions Series

It’s prep time. The big game is just hours away. You’ve laid out your Wallabies jersey, you’ve cleaned out your Wallabies esky, your little one is fast asleep under her Wallabies cot mobile and yet you feel there’s something missing. BEER.

Fret not. We’ve scoured the globe to fine ten beers with connections, albeit tenuous at times, to Wallaby squad members so you can show your full support while downing a cold one.

So here we go:

	Badger (Flyer) Beer – Nick Cummins The Honey Badger won’t be gracing the field tonight but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little bit of him inside you (you may want to rephrase that when explaining this to your significant other). Like Cummins, the beer is a blond with a hint of ginger. For those with a culinary bent (or if you know how to order Chinese) it goes well with spicy crispy chilli beef.
	Seeing Double IPA – Berrick Barnes Suffering more concussions than is medically advisable, Barnes epitomises what it means to be a Wallaby. A word of warning, the side-effects of drinking just a few of these 9.5% Double IPAs are eerily similar to the symptoms of concussion – Headache, temporary loss of consciousness, fogginess, vomiting, slurred speech, uncontrollable urge to visit Karaoke bars and to eat doner kebabs. Honourable mention: Mo Beer.
	JOC’s Norfolk Ale – James O’Connor JBieber has been a busy boy. In between taking a crash course in the fine-art of playing number 10 at test level, he’s also been brewing his own beer. In Norfolk of all places. He even pays homage to his roots with the easy drinking JOC Norfolk Kiwi. I highly recommend a visit to his website where you’ll be greeted by his mum.
	Little Creatures Bright Ale – Will Genia If the Wallabies are to win this series our little general will need to be outwitting the Lions at every turn with his rugby smarts. Drink a number of these and you’ll be half-witting it at every turn. Honourable mention: Sanchez Beer in honour of Genia’s actual first name.
	Hop Hog – Digby Ioane To be fair to Ioane, one of the things he’s learnt to do this year, apart from mastering French, is to pass. That said, hogging the ball is one of Ioane’s great strengths. There’s nothing better than seeing him, with oodles of support, stepping off his left foot and going it alone.
	Last Chance IPA – Robbie Deans (coach)  This is it Dingo. Three games. Lose and you’re out. Win and you may just be given one last reprieve. This beer has made the list not just for its name but so too its description, which reads: “full-flavoured hop assault delightfully lacking in balance.” Some astute commentators have argued that tonight’s Wallaby team also lacks balance. Whether it’s delightfully so or not remains to be seen.
	Pliny the Elder– Wycliff Palu Palu is the oldest member in the Wallabies team to run out tonight and is looking every bit his 30 years. His beer namesake, a big and bold Double IPA, instructs its drinkers to “enjoyed it FRESH”. The same could be said of Cliffy. Expect no more than 50 to 60 min from him tonight.
	The Third Switch– Israel Folau What a time to make your debut. First Test against the Lions at the cauldron he knows so well. Let’s hope for Folau’s and the Wallabies’ sake that it’s a case of third time’s the charm. Honourable mention: Red Hill Imperial Stout in honour of his Brisbane Broncos beginnings.
	Lucky Bastard Porter – Pat McCabe I think it’s safe to say that Pat McCabe wouldn’t feature tonight if the Wallabies were coached by any one of the Australian provincial coaches (even Jake White). So drink this beer long into the night and maybe you too will get a call up for Game two…you lucky bastard!
	Beer unavailable due to a few kinks being ironed out – Kurtley Beale Too soon?

Did I miss any? Would love to hear more ideas in the comments.