When Anthony Precourt became investor-operator of Columbus' Major League Soccer franchise in 2013, he made it a point to bring the team and city closer together, particularly in fans’ eyes. After the rebrand in 2014, and the recent unveil of the new “For Columbus” kit, there’s one more step in the process: a special brew. Just in time for the 2016 season, Columbus Crew SC supporters have their own locally made beer, Land Grant Brewing’s American wheat Glory.
The story behind the suds starts with the 2015 season, when the team ramped up the local food and drink offerings at MAPFRE Stadium. That included a host of popular food trucks in the plaza, as well as a new local beer stand featuring several different Columbus-based breweries from the city’s thriving craft scene.
And one of those breweries the club invited was Land Grant. They operate out of Franklinton, just west of downtown Columbus, the baby of two Ohio State University alums, Adam Benner of Cleveland and Walt Keys of Cincinnati. They started the whole shebang in February 2012, with a quickly funded Kickstarter campaign. After a long struggle finding a suitable location, Benner and Keys managed to finally open their taproom in October 2014.
Photo by Kris Landis
Land Grant soon became one of Crew SC’s “Official Pub Partners,” showing every team match and hosting multiple official watch parties. But Glory takes it to another level—from the start, Benner and Keys say supporters stayed front and center in their minds.
“One big thing that we wanted to do was to develop it organically. A lot of times you see stuff like this it can be gimmicky: ‘Here's the beer you're supposed to drink,’” Benner says. “If we were going to do a beer for the supporters, we wanted them to feel some ownership of it, not just Twitter voting on a name.”
With so many factors going into making a beer, they decided to present fans with four options: two black beers (a black ale and a black witbeer) and two gold beers (a golden ale and an American wheat). They held a tasting party at the taproom, where fans could buy a flight—four small samples, one of each beer—and vote on their favorite.
Land Grant also included comment cards so supporters could weigh in on what they liked or didn't like about each offering, as well as suggest potential names. The winner of that first tasting? The American wheat beer.
“We kind of had a feeling it would be that one. I think it was all of our favorite,” Benner said.
But with so many different comments offered, he and his fellow brewers decided to refine the recipe further. So they then created four different variations on the American wheat chosen at the first tasting, and let fans vote on those. The best-liked version? The “hoppiest” one—not too surprising, considering the ubiquity of IPAs in Columbus.
The recipe, then, was set. But how about another important consideration in craft beer—the name?
“We didn't want to go too literal,” Benner said. “We wanted something that wouldn't just represent Crew SC, but also the fans, and still stay within our identity as well.”
They went with Glory, after the “Glory to Columbus” chant that can be heard from the Nordecke during every Crew SC home match. “It's a testament not only to the team and players, but to the fans that fill the stadium each week.”
Photo by Kris Landis
It's not a beer for supporters in name only, either. Besides the input on the actual recipe, the beer was designed with hot, summer days at MAPFRE Stadium in mind.
“All of the choices we presented for voting were under five percent ABV,” said Keys. “We don't want anyone passing out at tailgates.”
To say the beer proved a quick hit would be an understatement. An early release late last year became nearly impossible to find by the time MLS Cup came to Columbus in December 2015. The first “seasonal” beer Land Grant canned, it flew off the shelves.
But canning for the 2016 season is complete, and now everyone can re-up. As of this past opening Soccer Sunday, March 6, Glory is back in full supply.
At least, for now. “We hope to have it available from March all the way until hopefully December again,” Benner says.
Land Grant is also working to increase its footprint in stores, to get the cans on more shelves.
What else can we expect to see from Land Grant and their partnership with Crew SC this season? “We'll be in our usual spots, the Drink Local stand and above the stage, and the Star Lounge,” Benner says.
He also dropped another hint. “Potentially [there’s] a little bit more this year, but we're still working on the details.”
Whatever this “little bit more” ends up being, if it's anything like Glory, it will be a match made in heaven for Crew SC fans.
