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Earlier today news came out that the Chiefs have recently filed trademarks for a new beer that will perhaps be coming to Arrowhead stadium in the future.
This filing is pretty interesting to me because it is unprecedented when it comes to the NFL. As far as my research has shown the Chiefs are the first team in the history of the league to apply for a trademark on an alcoholic beverage involving their team name, team logo and brand.
Honestly this was kind of shocking to me. For instance in 1969 the Chiefs had a commemorative bottle of McCormick Whiskey for their Super Bowl victory. I had just always figured there was a trademark attached to this type of partnership. Apparently that isn’t the case.
These are two separate trademarks though they appear to both be for a Blonde Ale, so I can only assume they are both for the same beer. The team is still likely hashing out the proper name.
If you are unfamiliar with beer or simply Blonde Ale here is a description of the American Blonde Ale style from Beer Advocate:
“More or less a creation from the craft-brewery movement, and also reminiscent of the German style Kölsch. Pale straw to deep gold for color. Usually an all malt brew, well attenuated with a lightly malty palate. Most have a subdued fruitiness. Hop character is of the noble variety, or similar, leaving a light to medium bitterness. A balanced beer, light bodied and sometimes lager like.”
Sounds pretty good to me at least compared to the typical fair you’d find at a Chiefs game.
The Chiefs have had a long-term partnership with Anheuser-Busch for the beer that comes through Arrowhead Stadium, which has led to products like the ‘Bud Light Gameday Pass‘. They’ve even had Anheuser-Busch produce a beer for them in the past. During 2014 the Chiefs unveiled Kingdom Red Ale which was only offered at home games and team related events. Catch the similarity in name there?
However, the Kingdom Red Ale was not trademarked by the team. Perhaps the trademark suggests the team is preparing for distribution beyond Arrowhead stadium?
This news follows recent partnerships between both the Kansas City Royals and SportingKC with local Kansas City Brewery, Boulevard Brewing Co., to create craft beers for the respective teams.
They’ve both seen success and great fan response from introducing ‘Vamos’ and ‘Stoppage Time Hoppy Saison’ to their beer-drinking fans at their respective stadiums.
We learned above that Blonde Ale is born of the craft-beer movement which got me a little curious. I reached out to Boulevard for comment to see if they were involved in the Chiefs new beer venture, either as brewers or distributors. Unfortunately for fans of the brewery, according to Marketing Communications Manager Julie Weeks, Boulevard is not involved with this project for the Chiefs.
I have also reached out to Anheuser-Busch to find out if they are involved in the project given their partnership and history with the team. As soon as they get back to me I will be sure to update you here.
How do you feel about potentially getting a new team-branded beer in Arrowhead stadium? Are you more likely to drink it because it is Chiefs themed beer? Would you prefer the Chiefs go with a local brewer, rather than a big company like Anheuser-Busch? Let us know what you think on social media.
