The Carolina Hurricanes announced a partnership with R&D Brewing, a local brewery in Raleigh, to produce a 97-calorie lager style beer called "Storm Brew" in August. The beer will be available at PNC Arena, area bottle shops, and grocery stores year round.
Ian Van Gundy, head brewer at R&D Brewing, and Mike Forman, VP of Marketing for the Carolina Hurricanes, joined the 919 Beer Podcast to discuss how the partnership came together and what fans can expect when they grab a glass during games.
Forman on when the Hurricanes began thinking about their own beer: Honest answer? Years ago. Jim Ballweg, who is our VP of Corporate Sponsorships, I've been knocking on his door for years saying this is something we should be looking at and to his credit he said we'd need to find the right partner. We would need to find someone who is just as invested, if not more invested, as we are and someone that's local. We found that in R&D Brewing.
Van Gundy on what they wanted to accomplish with the beer: We feel that where beer is going is that it'll eventually go to just being beer and not necessarily this boutique specialty product. We also wanted to see our beer being part of the community in more ways, and putting local fresh beer for many people with the Carolina Hurricanes is exactly that. When the Carolina Hurricanes came to us, there were a ton of bullet points to hit. It had to be distinctive, yet appeal to as many people as possible. In order to do that, it has to be light. It's distinctive in that it's local and fresh. The appeal comes in with the beer being 4.2% ABV and only 97 calories (a play on the year the Hurricanes were established).
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