House Divided Beer to represent the Hawkeyes in national beer bracket

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Ahead of the University of Iowa and Auburn NCAA tournament game, an Iowa brewery was getting national attention as the beer for the Hawkeyes.

For the last 3-years, “The Athletic” sports website reached out to breweries near all of the NCAA tournament teams and asked the brewer to pick the one beer they’d drink through the whole tournament as part of its NCAA Beer Guide”

Ely Nano-brewery House Divided was chosen in this year’s bracket of beers to represent the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The owner of the brewery, Cal Corrin, has been brewing beer in his home since the 1990s. He opened his “House Divided” storefront in 2019.

“I’m the brewer, the owner, and do everything,” he said.

The decorations on the well tell you all you have to know about where the name came from, his own household rivalry. Cal is a Cyclones fan, and Lisa, his wife, is a Hawkeyes fan. Between the two, the loser of the Cy-Hawk football game wears the winning team’s shirt to the city’s Fall Fest.

“I had to do it for 6 years straight until this last year,” he said. “She finally had to wear the t-shirt, and I was so happy.”

Last week he got that unexpected email saying he was chosen in this year’s “The Athletic NCAA Beer Guide” in its bracket of beers to represent the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“At first, I thought it was a hoax, but I looked it up, and it was legit,” he said.

He got to pick the beer and knew exactly which beer best fit the occasion, his favorite beer, Back in Black. It’s a fusion of an IPA and a porter. The national attention was something he never thought his nano-brewery would see.

“There are several bigger choices in Iowa city and even in Cedar Rapids,” he said. “We’re just a small nano-brewery here in the small town of Ely, Iowa. I was surprised.”

Cal’s beer represents one of his alma mater’s biggest rivalries, but in this instance, he said he doesn’t have a problem rooting for the Hawks.

“As long as the Hawkeyes aren’t playing the Cyclones, I’ll root for the Hawkeyes,” said Corrin.

The Athletic chose Alluvial Brewing in Ames for the Cyclones and Confluence Brewing for Drake.

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