Batter up! Baseball and softball seasons are stepping up to the plate ready to hit home runs.
With the MLB season opening up on April 7 and the amateur softball season already swinging into the spring, fans can quench their thirst with Dyke Beer and satisfy their hunger with Yeah Dawg‘s hot dogs.
“I love a good ball game. I love a good sporting event,” said Sarah Hallonquist, who founded and owns Dyke Beer with her friend, Loretta Andro Chung. Hallonquist told Gay City News they will be cheering on New York’s Resting Pitch Face, the queer women’s softball team that will be sponsored by the brewery this spring.
“I wish resting Resting Pitch Face good luck with their season this year,” she said.
To celebrate team wins (and just because Americans love bubbly), Dyke Beer recently released its latest brew, Go Down Under, an Australian sparkling style ale. Chung and Hallonquist are looking forward to releasing the latest season of Tall Girl for Pride Month.
Go Down Under is a fun post-game drink if you win and you want to celebrate.
“It is really festive when you see it in the glass,” she said about the brew.
Beyond the game, Hallonquist said, “It’s easy to drink on a summer’s day or outside dancing on a patio for Pride.”
Gay City News got to taste the light, bubbly, citrusy ale, Go Down Under, at a launch party at Wandering Barman last month. Like Hallonquist said, the beer is perfect for enjoying in the warm months ahead. The beer is bright, refreshing, and fun with its bubbles that dance on the tongue.
The beer was flowing from the tap for a full crowd of hipster queer women and gender variant people mixing and mingling as the DJ spun music in the background at the new cocktail “brewery” in East Williamsburg. Wandering Barman opened in October 2021.
The sparkling-style ale was also available in six-packs to take home. Dyke Beer can be found in restaurants, taprooms, and stores in about 80 different locations around New York and online ready to ship.
The Dyke Beer girls came up with the hard-to-find craft brew that originated in Australia to join the trend of sparkling alcohol beverages, Hallonquist said.
“We’ve always loved soda as a country,” she said, noting the popularity of colas to Champagne and Prosecco. “I think Americans in general really like bubbles.”
Being queer women brewers, Chung and Hallonquist are on a mission to be creative beyond the male-dominated IPA craft brews and to expand LGBTQ beer palates beyond typical beer choices. At the same time, they have always put their own twist on traditional beer recipes for their brews that are considered gateway beers in the craft brewing industry. Gateway beers introduce beer drinkers to craft brews.
“We should be doing things that are more creative,” Hallonquist said. “Everything we’ve made is a little bit different.”
For spending the day out at the ballpark along with other spring and summertime outdoor fun, Yeah Dawg’s loaded vegan hot dogs are the perfect companion with Dyke Beer’s brews.
“Classic kraut and relish are the best, honestly,” said Marino Benedetto, founder and owner of Yeah Dawg. However, when they are out at an event, Benedetto goes all out by loading up the dogs with the brand’s coconut bacon, sunflower cheese, and chives on a pretzel bun.
“I love a bacon cheese dog,” Benedetto said.
Benedetto joked that folks should not be surprised if there isn’t a Yeah Dawg cheese made from Dyke Beer in the future.
“We should do a beer cheese with Dyke Beer,” said Benedetto, who added that the beer would create a nice firmness and aged flavor for vegan cheese sauce. Hallonquist said Dyke Beer fans have made amazing things with their beer, from beer cocktails to bratwurst beer batter — and she welcomed the idea of adding a Dyke Beer vegan cheese to the list.
