Football is back, the Buffalo Bills won their first game (preseason, yes, but a win is a win), and Josh Allen played well (6-11, 66 yards), so where else would you rather be than right here, right now (I miss you Marv)? Well, perhaps one answer would be in Lewiston at Brickyard Brewing, who have released a beery tribute to the new savior of Buffalo football, Number 17, a West Coast-style IPA that packs as much hops as our hurdling quarterback (see what I did there?).

Number 17, which is on tap at the brewery right now, is an old school hoppy IPA that features El Dorado and Summit hops for notes of pine, citrus and melon. The beer is a tweaked homebrew recipe of BBC Home Brewer John Paul Meteer.

“We say hello again to number 17 on the field, and at the BBC! Introducing Number 17, our new Josh Allen inspired West Coast IPA,” Brickyard says. “Born in California, but with a decidedly Buffalo feel. [It features] a firm malt body, without sticky sweetness, is balanced by nuanced bitterness and a clean finish. Dangerously drinkable. El Dorado and Summit hops provide subtle bitterness, and push strong notes of orange peel, honeysuckle, melon, and dank, piney goodness.”

Meteer says that the original Number 17 IPA was born out of homebrew experimentation in hopbursting, back before New England was officially a recognized beer style.

“I wanted something with a West Coast IPA vibe, because Josh is a Cali boy,” Meteer says. “But he seems to fit so well in Western New York that I wanted to soften the bitterness. It’s kind of a hybrid East-West Coast IPA.”

As for why he decided to honor Josh Allen with a beer in the first place, Meteer simply says, ‘because he’s the fucking man.’

“I hear a lot of bad stories about athletes,” he continues. “All I ever hear about him is good stories. And I’m excited for this season. I think that the all of the ‘experts’ predicting a lousy [Bills] season will be eating crow his year.”

Number 17 is on tap now at Brickyard Brewing and is available for a limited time.

Brian Campbell is a co-founder/Brand Manager of the BNBA’s enthusiast arm, Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column for Step Out Buffalo. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at buffalobeerleague@aol.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram (@buffalobeerleague) and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).