Combining one Minnesota great with another, St. Paul brewery rebrands beloved pilsner to be named after Minnesota Twins
ST PAUL, Minn. – Summit Brewing Co. has been a craft beer pioneer since 1986. The next year, the Minnesota Twins won the World Series. Coincidence? We think not. It’s what happens when two of Minnesota’s most revered brands come together. So let’s do it again. Nearly a year after announcing its monumental partnership with the Minnesota Twins, Summit Brewing Co. is releasing a new beer named in honor of its hometown team. Summit Twins Pils is stepping up to the plate and showing how Minnesota baseball has never beer’d so good.
In April 2021, the two beloved Minnesota brands announced they were joining together in a partnership that named Summit Brewing Co. an “Official Craft Beer” and the “Official Hometown Craft Beer” of the Minnesota Twins. Additionally, as part of the agreement Summit secured the naming rights to an open-air bar adjacent to the leftfield foul pole, the “Summit Brewing Pub,” and acquired the rights to use the Twins trademarks across the team’s multi-state territory. This paved the way for Summit to craft its own official Twins beer.
Inspired by the throwback Twins’ jerseys from the 1980s, the era Summit first came about, the Twins Pils can will feature the team’s iconic logo on a backdrop of baby blue trimmed with navy. Periscope, the Minneapolis agency that helped with the design, is creating a promotion campaign that also builds off the love of the game with the love of beer. Its rally-cry like theme is titled “Beer we go, Twins. Beer we go.” The beer itself will also embody classic, traditional flavors of a German pilsner. In fact, fans of our Keller Pils may notice it tastes quite similar. As a way to broaden the award-winning beer’s reach, it has been rebranded to don the Twins’ iconic name and emblem. By combining this quintessential Summit brew with the Twins logo and throwback baby blue color scheme, it truly embodies the saying of “One Team. One Territory.” The unfiltered pilsner features sweet, honey malt notes balanced with citrus hop flavors. It finishes crisp and clean.
“Since its introduction, Keller Pils has been a Summit fan favorite that has gone on to garner attention from beer drinkers and world-wide beer competitions alike. So much so, what started out as a limited release became a core brand due to continual requests for us to make it more available,” Brandon Bland, Director of Sales, said. “After years of knowing how good the beer itself was, we knew we had to find a way to get it out to a wider audience. After we were able to partner with the Minnesota Twins and become the “Official Hometown Craft Beer of the Minnesota Twins,” we knew it made sense to pair one of our top beers with this top partner. Over the past year, we have seen time and time again that the core values and the belief in relationships that we have long-had at Summit align strongly with those of the Twins organization as well. We couldn’t be more excited to bring this freshly re-branded-on-the-outside beer to even more Summit and Twins fans throughout our distribution territory.”
“From the beginning, I never would have imagined Summit would be able to support the Twins on this higher level. There’s no better way to celebrate this beautiful partnership than by having one of my favorite beers, one of the best beers we produce here at Summit, in Twins branded packaging,” Founder & President Mark O. Stutrud said. “From my point of view, we’re just really starting to celebrate this partnership. This is just one of many ways we’re going to really expand on having a lot more fun in the future.”
“The Twins and our partners at Summit each have a long and proud tradition of bringing Minnesotans together around the joy of a shared experience,” club President & CEO Dave St. Peter said. “Having our logo – along with our beloved baby blue color scheme – on the can of Summit Twins Pils is a terrific way to celebrate the return of baseball. I look forward to joining Twins fans in raising a glass at Target Field this season!”
Twins Pils will be available in 12-packs of 12oz cans and on draught at select bars, pubs, restaurants and liquor stores. It will also be available on draught and in 16oz cans throughout Target Field, including the Summit Brewing Pub. Find it at a store near you beginning March 21, 2022.
About the Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a Major League Baseball team competing in the Central Division of the American League. The franchise has been a staple of the Minnesota sports and philanthropy scene since moving to the state in 1961. In addition to two World Series titles (1987 and 1991), the Twins have won 12 Division Championships (1969, 1987, 1970, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2019 and 2020) and three American League pennants (1965, 1987 and 1991). Since 2010, the Twins have played their home games at the award-winning Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. In addition, the Minnesota Twins Community Fund donates more than $1 million annually to benefit youth baseball and softball across Twins Territory. For additional information on the Minnesota Twins, please visit: twinsbaseball.com.
About Summit Brewing Company
Founded in St. Paul, Minn. in 1986, Summit Brewing Company has a long-standing history of crafting award-winning ales and lagers. Summit has stayed close to its roots, serving the Upper Midwest. Summit’s beers are currently available in five states including Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Summit produces seven year-round premium craft beers, four seasonal beers and numerous limited-release beers throughout the year. Since its inception, the brewery has been a consistent pioneer in the craft beer movement, blending traditional brewing techniques with experimental ingredients to create tried-and-true brews. For everything Summit Brewing, visit summitbrewing.com.