Widmer Brothers Brewing is kicking off the Portland Timbers campaign to repeat as MLS champions by creating two new beers for the team.
First is “First Star”, “a small-batch collaboration with Head Coach Caleb Porter and the Portland Timbers coaching staff. Named for the gold star worn by MLS Cup champion teams to signify their title wins, this being the Timbers’ first, First Star is a rye altbier that is dry hopped with Ella hops, an Australian varietal with tropical fruit notes that balance the robust maltiness of the rye altbier.” An Altbier gone hoppy sounds like a good pairing to me.
Second is Thrill of Victory Cascadian Dark Ale. Here are the details on how this beer came about – “which is the promised collaboration with Columbus Brewing that came about after a bet between the two breweries before last year’s MLS Championship game between the Timbers and the Columbus Crew. Thrill of Victory is brewed with white and chocolate wheat malts and Azacca hops and experimental X-438 hops, which give the beer a slight roastiness with notes of passion fruit and juicy fruit.”
On draft only though. But could serve as a template for the LA Galaxy for the new LAFC clubs in town.