Defending MLS Eastern Conference Champion Columbus Crew have plenty of promise heading into the new MLS campaign, despite losing to Portland on the opening day of the season. To celebrate, Land Grant Brewery, in combination with Crew supporters, have created a new beer in honor of the occasion: Glory.
The team revamped food and drink options at MAPFRE Stadium with the start of last season, and one of the local beer companies invited to partner with the Crew was Land Grant, now an “official pub partner”. But with this particular brew, everything was raised up a notch.
Adam Benner, one of the brewery’s founders, talked to MLS’s official website about the beer.
“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.”
While the beer itself is fairly emblematic of those around Columbus, the name was one of the more important aspects to get right.
“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.”
And so they chose Glory, named after the “Glory to Columbus” chant that can be heard from the Nordecke (main supporters section) during each Crew home match.
“It’s a testament not only to the team and players, but to the fans that fill the stadium each week.”
Glory is now readily available as the MLS campaign kicks off and the Crew get ready for their first home game of the season on Saturday. Young beer brewers and soccer: the future, everyone.
