The Boston Red Sox may have had to watch the Yankees acquire slugger Giancarlo Stanton this winter, but not to worry, they’ve been busy inking a deal with….Sam Adams. Cheers! The Red Sox signed a new marketing agreement with Boston’s craft beer giant, making Sam Adams the official beer of the Red Sox. Move aside Budweiser, the sign you’ll see in right field at Fenway Park is now Sam Adams.
“Both the Red Sox and Sam Adams are rooted in Boston tradition and history, and Jim Koch and the entire team are as passionate about beer as we are about baseball,” said Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy (pictured above on the right with Sam Adams founder Jim Koch.) “We are excited for this long-term partnership, and look forward to working collaboratively to represent Boston through our two brands.”
According to a Sam Adams press release, the beer makers are the first American craft brewer to enter into a partnership with a Major League Baseball franchise, for this length of time and at this level – a move which highlights a cultural shift as the popularity of American craft beer provides new opportunities for Independent craft brewers.
So now fans will be able to sip on Boston Lager and Summer Ale in the “Sam Deck” on the right field roof deck, and taste the long-awaited “Sam ’76” – which will be launched in 2018 – in an “experiential” bar area below the third base stands called “Sammy’s On Third.”