More often than not, the players on the Milwaukee Brewers roster have "Brewers" plastered on their chest almost every single day of the week, but MillerCoors gave them a tour of their own brewers’ workplace on Monday while some players prepare a new brew for their fans.
"It's a dream come true," said relief pitcher Corey Knebel. "Brew my own beer at MillerCoors. It's exciting. I'm ready for this."
Knebel, Eric Thames and Oliver Drake took a special tour of the brewery Monday; a chance for Milwaukee's best to see how Milwaukee's Best is packaged and how they go about creating beer for customers around the world.
"It's awesome," Thames said. "It was amazing. All of the machinery in there. It's crazy to think back in the day there were a line of people in there doing it by hand and packaging. It's awesome to see it."
After touring the loud, bustling packing plant, the trio hit a special room where "the magic happens." It's where the Brewers will help create their new brew.
"It's extremely cool," said Troy Rysewyk, brew manager at MillerCoors. "This is their day off and they're coming here to spend time with us. It's great. They love beer so this is an awesome day."
The idea stemmed from Thames' unabashed love for beer. The star first baseman has tweeted about his love of beer many times and the crew with MillerCoors was more than happy to get him involved.
"Eric really likes beer," Rysewyk said. "He likes IPAs. They can select some hops and pick their aroma and characteristics of the beer."
While Thames and Drake are big beer guys, they're not afraid to say they have no idea what they're doing.
However, Knebel has a little bit more expertise. He was a brewer before becoming a Brewer.
"I have brewed before," Knebel said. "I've been brewing for three to four years. I used to do it and then my dad wanted to try. He brewed on his own and did great. He continues it during the season and in the off-season we join up and do it together. Last year, we made a pilsner which was pretty good."
Knebel knows a bit but knows he's far from an expert. He hopes the masters at MillerCoors will take the players’ suggestions and run with it to make a special beer for fans.
"I hope we're not doing too much because if we were, it would all be on us and be pretty bad," Knebel said. "We got brewmasters coming in."
The trio agreed to use an experimental hop, known as "438." Rysewyk says they're looking to make something the guys would like, something between West Coast IPAs and East Coast IPAs, falling perfectly into a Midwest style IPA.
"They like it simple," Rysewyk said. "Eric said, hey, let's just do one hop. So they'll get to evaluate that hop."
But this is a big step for these Brewers becoming brewers. They've already produced on the diamond for their fans this season. The Brewers are in first place in the NL Central ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals and reigning World Series Champion Chicago Cubs.
However, now they may have an even taller task. Making beer for the residents of Brew City. They think they're up for it.
"I just hope it's one guys enjoy at the ballpark," Drake said. "I just hope it's one they sit down, watch a ball game and really enjoy the beer."
"Special," Knebel said. "Different. A different beer no one has ever had. Especially with the hops we're about to use. It's an experimental hops so no one has had it before."
"Good flavor," Thames said. "Good heavy beer with some flavor. Help them cheer on the Brewers a little louder."
The team will come up with a name for the beer and says it will be available with a special ticket package later in the summer. There are no details on when it will drop, since it will depend on the timeline for the brewing process.
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