25 Drinks of Christmas Countdown – Day 23: Duff Beer at Duff Brewery
The Christmas season is my absolute favorite time of the year. Growing up, one of the little things I loved most was getting an Advent calendar and counting down the days until Santa would be coming down the chimney. As I grew older, I had to leave Advent calendars in the rear view mirror,* but I still miss that daily countdown building anticipation to the big day. So, we’re going to start a virtual Advent calendar here at TouringPlans. For 2014, we are going to countdown our favorite drinks at Walt Disney World and the Universal Orlando Resort.
Criteria: Drinks can be alcoholic or nonalcoholic. Drinks can come from any venue on property as well as the Disney Cruise Line. Bonus points awarded for atmosphere where drink is served. Any drink with glow cubes is immediately disqualified. Ready? Let’s go!
DAY TWENTY THREE: Duff Beer at Duff Brewery (Universal Studios Florida)
Just as Universal Studios Florida itself will celebrate its 25 year anniversary in 2015, The Simpsons television show celebrated its silver anniversary this year. Since 1989, Homer and the gang in Springfield, USA have been making us laugh with hilarious observations on American culture. One of the longest running gags of the series is Duff Beer, Homer’s favorite drink of choice. Universal made Duff Beer a reality in 2013 when it expanded its own Springfield area of the park with Fast Food Blvd, Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck, Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl, and Duff Brewery.
Duff Brewery has seating around the bar along with many tables nearby facing the Universal lagoon and the London Waterfront facade of Diagon Alley. In trademark Simpsons fashion, Duff Brewery has hilarious mock beer ads, along with nods to the iconic show itself, such as full size topiaries of the “Seven Duffs” (a takeoff on Disney’s Seven Dwarfs.) Duff Brewery offers Duff, Duff Lite, and Duff dry in bottles, along with Duff and Duff Lite on draught. For people of a certain age, Duff Beer is synonymous with growing up as Aunt Beru’s Blue Milk on Tatooine or Butterbeer in Hogsmeade village.
PREVIOUS DRINKS OF CHRISTMAS:
DAY ONE: Shark Attack at Chez Alcatraz
DAY TWO: Grand Marnier Slush at Epcot
DAY THREE: Flaming Moe at Moe’s Tavern
DAY FOUR: Sunken Treasure on the Disney Cruise Line
DAY FIVE: Mai Tai at Emeri’s Tchoup Chop
DAY SIX: Avocado Margarita at La Cava del Tequila
DAY SEVEN: Pumpkin Fizz at the Three Broomsticks
DAY EIGHT: Old Fashioned at Belle Vue Lounge
DAY NINE: PBR in a Paper Bay at Cabana Bay Beach Resort
DAY TEN: Bay Lake Sunset at Top of the World Lounge
DAY ELEVEN: Tongue Tying Lemon Squash at the Leaky Cauldron
DAY TWELVE: Sugar Cane Mojito at Dawa Bar
DAY THIRTEEN: Pint of Guinness at Raglan Road
DAY FOURTEEN: Hog’s Head Brew at the Hog’s Head
DAY FIFTEEN: Burnt Orange at Todd English’s bluezoo
DAY SIXTEEN: Fishy Green Ale at Fountain of Fair Fortune
DAY SEVENTEEN: Balsamic Grand at Palo
DAY EIGHTEEN: Buffalos and Bacon at The Cowfish
DAY NINETEEN: La Fin du Monde at Epcot
DAY TWENTY: Dragon Scale at the Hopping Pot
DAY TWENTY ONE: Maelstrom Margarita at La Cava del Tequila
DAY TWENTY TWO: Carl’s Combo at Rose & Crown
See you tomorrow for the next entry into the 25 Drinks of Christmas Countdown, where we are going to head into Epcot’s World Showcase. If you had fun, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! and Saturday Six articles, or, for your listening pleasure, check out the Pardon the Pixie Dust podcast. Your humble author can also be seen producing typos at an inhuman rate on Twitter: @derekburgan
Interested in theme park drinks? Then do we have a eBook for you! The Walt Disney World Bars and Lounges eGuide by Brian McNichols. Over 250 pages and containing well over 400 photos, this eGuide takes you through EVERY bar and lounge on WDW property (trust me, Brian has the kidneys problems to prove it!) Also included? Recipes for some of your favorite WDW drinks. Ratings, descriptions, and photos for each of the 70+ bars and lounges. Talk about the perfect Christmas present!
Special thanks to crack staff photographer Brandon Glover and Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Be sure to also check out Brandon on The Park Blogger podcast with co-hosts Aengus Mackenzie and Brian Carey.
*That is an absolutely lie. I still buy an advent calendar every year with chocolates in it, and I also buy an annual box of Christmas Crunch, but we’ll keep that between us.
Sounds like the area is a nice nod to Springfield. But, umm, what about the beer? Is it any good, or is it just a bland Bud/Miller Lite knock-off?
I would say Duff’s closest equivalent would be a Yeungling, Duff Lite a Miller Lite, and Duff Dry a Guinness, although there are definitely differences.
I wouldn’t equate dd to guinness, but it is a darker beer. The best of the lot. I thoght duff was pretty bud-esque