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This is how you start off the last real work week before the city shuts down for Christmas and New Year's: D.C. United and local brewery DC Brau announced this morning that the beer they collaborated to create earlier this year, The Tradition, is going to get a new production run. More than that, DC Brau is going to be canning the beer, not just kegging it for service at the team's many area bar partners. And they're going to be selling it at retail outlets and at RFK Stadium. All of which means that you - and, more importantly to me, I - will be able to tailgate with The Tradition next season.
2014 is already better than 2013, for this news alone. I personally really enjoyed The Tradition when I got it at the brewery's growler hours or at a place like the Pug, so being able to just grab it on my way home from work is definitely a positive development for me. For those of you who haven't tried it yet, the beer is a golden ale that's perhaps a little more aggressively hopped than some other beers in the style (because that's how DC Brau typically rolls). The hoppiness isn't too heavy-handed, though, and it's not a gimmick addition the way some other brewers go over-the-top with their hops. It's just enough to keep things crisp and remind you that it really is a good craft beer you're drinking. It's very well balanced and hit the target they were aiming for: hot summer day refreshing beer-drinker's beer.
So, here's the cherry on top: As they did with the name, the can design will be decided with major input from fans. While the name was decided by a player panel after fans suggested options - it was reader Donald Wine II who originally nominated the eventual winner - this time around the team and brewery have given us three label options to choose from in a fan vote. I dig them all, personally, so I won't try to sway you toward any of them in particular.
If you couldn't tell - I run a D.C. United blog and host a podcast that has been called a drinking show with a soccer problem - I'm pretty stoked about this partnership's newest result.
