Sports brews: CBA’s Wynwood Brewing is the official craft beer of the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are hot right now. Vet Jimmy Butler remastering his leadership groove. Young Bam Adebayo showing all-star potential. Dion Waiters overdosing on THC-infused gummies while in flight. The Heat are fun to watch again with an impressive 14-5 start, even with their soft opening schedule. It’s an ideal time for Wynwood Brewing Co., which claims Miami’s first craft brewery, founded in the heart of the Wynwood Arts District, to announce a three-year partnership to become the official craft beer of the Miami Heat.

Here’s a hot reminder: Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), a rollup beer, cider and beverage company, acquired the rest of Wynwood Brewing it did not own in 2018. Anheuser-Busch (AB) recently acquired the rest of CBA it did not already own last month, which basically makes Wynwood an AB brand.

With all this combined heat, Wynwood plans to offer a range of its most popular beers at the AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat’s home stadium located on the downtown Miami Biscayne Bay waterfront, including Wynwood’s flagship La Rubia Blonde Ale, Laces IPA and rotating seasonal beers on tap at four co-branded Wynwood Brewing and Miami Heat beer carts in sections 110, 114, 314 and 319. Pop’s Porter bottles, La Rubia bottles and La Rubia 16-oz cans will also be available throughout the arena. To the press release!

The connection to basketball runs deep at Wynwood Brewing. For starters, the grandfather of Wynwood Brewing’s co-founder Luis Brignoni was a professional basketball player, coach and captain in Puerto Rico and was inducted into the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. That legacy, combined with the fact that the entire Wynwood Brewing family are serious Heat fans, means Brignoni and his team are thrilled about the opportunity to partner with the Heat and share their craft beers with even more Miami fans. “Not only do we get to support our local team, but we get to do it with beers that were created in Miami, less than two-and-a-half miles from the stadium,” said Brignoni.

“The Miami Heat and Wynwood Brewing share a common bond — both are successful family-run businesses that draw inspiration from the vibrancy that is Miami,” said Glen Oskin, Miami Heat Vice President of Corporate Sales. “As Miami’s first craft production brewery, Wynwood Brewing is a local enterprise quite literally up the street from the Heat’s house and they, too, have established deep roots in South Florida. We’re delighted they’ve joined us as official craft beer partner and we’re excited to work together.”

In addition to the co-branded beer carts, the partnership includes additional sponsorship elements and in-stadium advertising for Wynwood Brewing — as pictured above.