Baseball and beer. Is there anything that goes together better on those hot summer days?
The folks at Red Arrow Brewing and the Victoria HarbourCats are convinced they’ve come up with a partnership that will knock a new Duncan-brewed beer out of the park. A real dinger, you might say.
“We’ve designed a beer specifically for the team,”explains Travis Peterson, sales manager at Red Arrow.
The new beer will be called HarbourCats Ballpark Blonde, the newest branded beer from Red Arrow. Under an agreement between the HarbourCats and Red Arrow, it will be available in beer stores and on taps in the region by late May.
Red Arrow and the HarbourCats have entered into a multi-year agreement for Red Arrow to be the primary beer provider at Wilson’s Group Stadium, with the HarbourCats Ballpark Blonde, the Piggy Pale Ale and the Kustom Kolsch being featured at all HarbourCats games. The Harbourcats Ballpark Blonde is a lager style ale which will be the perfect stadium beer. Fans will also get the chance to take the ballpark home with them as it will be available for sale in liquor stores as well as on tap in select pubs and restaurants.
Peterson says the deal with the HarbourCats has been in the works for awhile and now that it’s coming together he couldn’t be happier.
“The HarbourCats do such a nice job of providing the best summer sports entertainment on Vancouver Island, and it’s going to be fun to work with them and see this Ballpark Blonde grow as a beer of choice for baseball fans and benefit the HarbourCats brand,” says Peterson.
“With great crowds in Victoria — they reached 78,000 in total last summer — we know it’s a good opportunity for people to get to know our beers even more. We take pride in our beer, our community and in our branding and merchandise, and that fits well with the strengths of the HarbourCats as well.”
“We’re very excited to be able to take our brand beyond our home field, Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP, and into stores across the Island and indeed across B.C.,” said Jim Swanson, GM and managing partner of the HarbourCats.
“This is a perfect baseball beer, one that we think sports teams and campers will enjoy on a summer day. It will go down well watching a West Coast League game, that’s for sure.”
The HarbourCats open their seventh season in the West Coast League on June 1, with the team’s first Alumni Classic.
The regular season home opener for the HarbourCats is Friday, June 7, against the defending WCL Champion Corvallis Knights.
The HarbourCats will also be bringing their game up-Island this summer, further promoting their brand and that of Red Arrow, with exhibition games slated for Friday, June 28 at Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo and then again on July 2 at Evans Park in Duncan against the Ladysmith Pilots.