Milwaukee Brewers players to create unique beer for Miller Park
Milwaukee Brewers players Eric Thames, Corey Knebel, and Oliver Drake are creating a unique beer to be sold at Miller Park.
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Eric Thames took a liking to the city of Milwaukee right from the beginning. After spending three year utterly destroying baseballs in Korea, Thames returned to the states looking to sign a contract with a major league team. Before he signed with the Brewers, he checked out Milwaukee and loved the city. As he told USA Today in April, “…after an hour I knew it was where I wanted to be. I love the Midwest. I love the hospitality of people. And Milwaukee has great beer. I love beer.”
Milwaukee, of course, is famous for beer. According to BeerHistory.com, Milwaukee is the Beer Capital of the World. The site attributes Milwaukee’s status in part to “the aggressive business styles of many of its brewers” that goes back well more than a century. This aggressiveness showed itself after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. With much of the city destroyed by fire, Milwaukee took advantage of the situation by sending repeated deliveries of Schlitz beer to Chicago. Sales doubled and the Schlitz slogan, “The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous” was born.
The current Milwaukee Brewers franchise began as the 1969 Seattle Pilots before Bud Selig bought the team and moved it to Milwaukee shortly before the 1970 season. The name Brewers was a no-brainer. Baseball teams based in Milwaukee had been named Brewers going as far back as 1878. The team’s stadium is named Miller Park and their mascot is Bernie Brewer, who is known for going down a slide after Brewer home runs. Here he is with his mother on Mother’s Day in 2014.
With beer being such an important part of the Milwaukee experience, it’s fitting that a trio of current Milwaukee Brewers players, including the beer-loving Eric Thames, are teaming up to create a unique beer to be served exclusively at Miller Park. Thames, Corey Knebel and Oliver Drake will get to work at the pilot brewery of MillerCoors on Monday, where they’ll work with the company’s Master Brewers to create a distinctive beer.
When it comes to creating a beer, the true connoisseur of suds has to start with the basics: style, taste, appearance, and aroma. Reportedly, Eric Thames has submitted his personal “wish list” for these characteristics, but it has not been revealed to the public. Does Thames seem like the type of guy who would prefer an Amber beer or a Dark beer? Does he like a fruity beer? A hoppy beer? A bitter IPA? Do you think a guy who launches baseballs would prefer a lager or an ale?
Thames, Knebel, and Drake will appear before the media on Monday to kick off the making of their new beer. Along with the style and taste of the beer, the three players will need to come up with a name. Once the beer has been created, Milwaukee fans can enjoy it this summer during a limited run at Miller Park.
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If the Milwaukee Brewers can continue their early-season success—they currently lead the NL Central by two games and have the best run differential in the division—fans can toast the team’s success with the new beer. And if they drop in the standings, they can drown their sorrows. Either way, there’s beer.