Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor.

Yes, it is once again upon us, the gladiatorial apex of American sports, the most exciting game of the year (well, not usually, but it's supposed to be), the day that drives sales of more than 51 million cases of beer (not to mention 53 million pounds of avocados, which brings to mind a disconcerting image of millions of Americans sitting in front of their TV with a Bud in one hand and an avocado in the other).

Yes, that day, the day of days, the Super Bowl. And when it comes to wine pairings for the Super Bowl, well, forget that craziness. The Super Bowl means beer.

Now, you could drink some sort of generic "lite" hogwash, but why would you do that when the two competing teams come from places that are littered with terrific regional breweries? Show some support! Drink your team's hometown -- or home pretty-much-the-same-region -- brew. Here's a selection of excellent Patriots or Giants-oriented possibilities. New England

The Boston Beer Company/Sam Adams

You can't exactly pass up this one, as it's America's largest craft brewer. The classic Boston Lager is always a fine option, but the more full-bodied, spicy Winter Lager would be an excellent accompaniment for spicy wings.

Harpoon Brewery

Another Boston-based stalwart (they now have a brewery in Vermont as well), these guys have been around since 1986 (more or less the dawn of time in craft beer terms) making tasty beers like the appealingly hoppy Harpoon I.P.A.

Smuttynose Brewing Company

New Hampshire-based Smuttynose - the name is taken from the name of an island off the New Hampshire/Maine coast - makes a very fine, substantial brown ale called Old Brown Dog Ale, which, as one might expect, has a brown dog on the label. There's also the supercharged (9.7% alcohol) Big A IPA, which should do an excellent job of killing the pain for New England fans if things don't go their way.

Allagash Brewing Co.

Portland, Maine, is a great beer town, partly thanks to the presence of Allagash, a top specialist in Belgian beer styles. Their mainstay is the eminently drinkable Allagash White, a Belgian-style wheat beer spiced with coriander and orange peel, but the Allagash Dubbel - reddish in color, nutty-malty in flavor, and entirely delicious - is also well worth seeking out.

New York

Brewery Ommegang

Another top specialist in Belgian-style ales, Ommegang is located in Cooperstown, New York. Admittedly, that's kind of a baseball-centric place, but surely they must watch football there too? Right? Regardless, Ommegang's Rare VOS, an orange-hued, fruity Belgian ale, would be a great partner for a halftime bacon cheeseburger.

Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn-based brewmaster Garret Oliver is a beer scholar (editor-in-chief of the new Oxford Companion to Beer) and a man with a deft hand at fermentation. His widely available Brown Ale is rich and malty; if you can track it down, his limited-production Brooklyn Local #2, a dark Belgian ale in a cork-sealed bottle, is even better.

Saranac

This family-owned, regional brewery has been in business since the 1800s, and it's still rolling right along under the direction of third and fourth generation family members Nick and Fred Matt. Go for the Saranac IPA, with its light pine/citrus scent; an excellent option for that pizza you and the gang just ordered.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company