Boulevard Honors Sporting Kansas City’s Historic Victory with Championship Ale
(Kansas City, MO) – Last December, our hometown became champions once again when Sporting Kansas City captured the MLS Cup in dramatic fashion. As a partner of the team, Boulevard Brewing Company has wanted to do something special to commemorate this achievement from the very moment the last penalty kick by Real Salt Lake caromed off the cross bar. Now, with a small opening in its brewing schedule, the Kansas City brewery will make Sporting Kansas City Championship Ale, a limited release beer from its Smokestack Series to honor Sporting KC’s hard work and victory. The beer will hit shelves in mid-June. More information on sampling opportunities will be announced in the coming weeks.
“We are excited to share this unique collaboration with fans of both the brewery and the team,” said Jeremy Ragonese, Boulevard’s director of marketing. “Despite a tight production schedule, everyone at Boulevard was committed to recognizing a remarkable season with a special release. Sporting KC has been a great hometown partner for us, and we look forward to celebrating their wins for years to come.”
Sporting Kansas City Championship Ale will be a crisp, refreshing Saison-style ale, featuring late hopping with Mandarina Bavaria, a new German hop with distinct tangerine and citrus flavors. Similar to other one-off releases in Boulevard’s Smokestack Series, only a limited amount of beer can be produced and released. The brewery plans to distribute about 2,000 cases of the 750mL bottles throughout the Kansas City area.
“We are extremely honored to have Boulevard celebrate our MLS Cup victory with the creation of Sporting Kansas City Championship Ale,” said Andy Tretiak, chief marketing officer at Sporting Club. “We felt pretty confident our mutual fans would love the idea of us doing a beer together. To see the bottles actually going through production is incredibly cool.”
About Boulevard Brewing Company
Boulevard Brewing Company has grown to become one of the largest specialty brewers in the Midwest, dedicated to the craft of producing fresh, flavorful beers using traditional ingredients and the best of both old and new brewing techniques. Earlier this year Boulevard became part of the Duvel Moortgat family of breweries. For more information, visit www.boulevard.com, boulevard.com/facebook, or follow us on Twitter at boulevard.com/twitter.
About Sporting Kansas City
Sporting KC is owned by a group of local Kansas City business and community leaders comprised of Neal Patterson, Cliff Illig, Pat Curran, Greg Maday and Robb Heineman. The club prides itself on its commitment and vision to provide high-performance entertainment and consumer experiences. Sporting Club purchased the team from the Hunt Sports Group in 2006, and under their direction have opened a world-class training center at Swope Park and state-of-the-art Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., while investing in the Sporting KC Academy for developing local youth into homegrown talent. Sporting KC was crowned MLS Cup champions in 2013, claiming a second league title in the team’s 18-year history as a charter member of Major League Soccer. The team is also a two-time winner of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and will represent Major League Soccer in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2014.
