With an exciting Sunday showdown for NFL fans across the country, I attempted to make good on a New Year’s resolution by watching football with other people….at a bar. Imagine that. Drinking beer, hanging out, high-fiving all over the place, who does that?

What had changed in the 24 hours since I had been at my local water hole was much more than coping with the disappointment of Villanova getting dismantled by Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse, the modern day Benedict Arnold of the Big East. While I had abstained from drinking for this matinee special (chalk it up to holiday home brews, mad elves and 12 year scotch in the previous 72 hours), I was rather easily convinced to try the seasonal Long Trail, a brewery I really didn’t know anything about.

Enter the Culmination Chocolate Porter, a beefy 9.3 % libation that calmed the nerves. Pouring out darker than the prospects of Dallas ever making it to the playoffs, the chocolate profile and roasted malt were the perfect paring with a Kyle Orton- Tony Romo impersonation. Per Long Trail, this porter combines coffee and licorice with a roasted cacao, a close relative of cocoa, to create this perfect mix of alcohol and flavor.

With this exciting finale to the regular season, and the epic return of Aaron Rodgers to overcome similar obstacles in a division rival at Soldier Field, it was the perfect way to ease into the overdone New Year’s celebration. Moving into 2014, this is certainly a beer I will be looking for in 22 oz of freedom to balance out some of the heavy hop hitters of next season (Nugget Nectar, Hopslam, Oh My!!).

To hear more about this beer from brewmaster Dave Hartmann, visit Long Trail’s YouTube channel.