Top 10 New Craft Beers You Need to Try Before the 2019 NHL Draft
With the NHL Draft just around the corner, JustBeer has done the dirty work for the worst NHL teams (let’s face it, they need the help) and selected the Top 10 Craft Beer draft picks for 2019.
By Alex St Cyr on Jun. 20, 2019
In honour of the 2019 NHL Draft, where the newest hockey players take their first steps before becoming stars in the NHL, we have hand-selected the Top 10 Craft Beers each team should select with their first round picks!
Your 2019 Top 10 Craft Beer Draft Picks
1. New Jersey Devils – Lil Devil
With the first pick in the 2019 Craft Beer Draft, the New Jersey Devils select AleSmith Brewing Company’s Lil Devil. While Lil Devil comes from California, something about this pick feels like a homecoming (and a little devilish).
2019 Stats: 5.75% ABV • IBU 24
2. New York Rangers – Ranger 
If there was ever a beer born to be the #2 draft pick to the New York Rangers, it’s the New Belgium Brewing Company’s aptly named Ranger. Speed is the name of the game in the NHL, and Ranger has all the hops to take on New York.
2019 Stats: 6.5% ABV • IBU 70
3. Chicago Blackhawks – Sun Crusher 
The re-release of Revolution Brewing’s Sun Crusher should excite the Chicago Blackhawks. Not only is it a local Chicago product, the dry-hop blend of Crystal, Amarillo, and Mosaic should insert a new element into their lineup next season!
2019 Stats: 5.3% ABV • IBU 25
4. Colorado Avalanche – Blackberry Lemon Sour Ale 
The Colorado Avalanche are in great shape going into next season, but when they were knocked out of playoffs this year it seemed like they were missing an X-factor. Upslope Brewing Company’s Blackberry Lemon Sour Ale is the perfect jolt for the Avalanche to get over the hump! Not to mention, if they need more, it’s just in their backyard.
2019 Stats: 4.5% ABV • IBU 17
5. Los Angeles Kings – Bel Air Sour Ale 
It’s not a homegrown selection, but oh boy does this beer ever have some LA flavour. The Brooklyn Brewery’s Bel Air Sour Ale is the perfect infusion of youth and kick into the old, stale Los Angeles Kings lineup.
2019 Stats: 5.8% ABV
6. Detroit Red Wings – Single Engine Red 
The Detroit Red Wings need a hardworking beer, and that’s exactly what they’ll take with the #5 draft pick. Denali Brewing Company’s Single Engine Red will huff and puff all the way, but it is going to get the job done. Is the Single Engine Red enough for the Motor City, though? We will see…
2019 Stats: 5.9% ABV • IBU 46
7. Buffalo Sabres – Bison Mécanique 
The Buffalo Sabres are trying to become a more sophisticated hockey team, and I’m not sure there’s a better option for them than Brasseurs du Monde’s Bison Mécanique. Not only does the can fulfil all philosophical and logo-related needs, the French flair just might be enough to get them back into the NHL Playoffs!
2019 Stats: 5.5% ABV
8. Edmonton Oilers – Bomb! 
For the past 14 years, the Edmonton Oilers have had a distinct strategy – bomb in the NHL standings. This year, they can make the draft pick of the beer that was made for them, Bomb! from Prairie Artisan Ales. It’s good for cold weather (Edmonton is freezing), it’s prairie-based (basically local) and it’s the Bomb! (same word, two meanings).
2019 Stats: 13% ABV
9. Anaheim Ducks – Tropical Luxure 
With their year-round sweltering temperatures, the Anaheim Ducks need a beer that won’t crack under the pressure and succumb to the heat. That’s why, with the 9th overall pick in the draft, the Ducks select Three Taverns’ Tropical Luxure Sour Ale. This is a beer that won’t only survive the heat, it’ll thrive in it.
2019 Stats: 5% ABV
10. Vancouver Canucks – Pacific Wonderland Lager 
The Vancouver Canucks are in desperate need of some talent right now, and is there a better pick than one already repping the Pacific coast? Deschutes Brewery’s Pacific Wonderland Lager is a great addition for the Canucks, mostly because, with a name like that, where else could it go?
2019 Stats: 5.5% ABV • IBU 40
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