Watch the Portland Timbers’ goalkeeper make a beer with Widmer Brothers

Being out of the craft capital of Oregon, it’s only natural for Portland Timbers fans to love beer. And we figure there’s a pretty good chance that the sophisticates who like soccer also prefer craft beer, so it makes perfect sense that the franchise announced that the club has brewed a collab brewski to celebrate its 100th consecutive Portland Timbers regular season home sellout.

Widmer Brothers Brewing coaxed New Zealand-born Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson to brew a small-batch, commemorative beer called Centennial Celebration IPA — a pineapple rye India pale ale. Centennial Celebration IPA was tapped exclusively at Providence Park at the Timbers match on Saturday, September 10, as the team hosted Real Salt Lake.

Centennial Celebration is a fitting name for the Timbers’ impressive regular-season sellout streak, which spans every regular season home game dating back to the club’s inaugural MLS season in 2011. During that time more than 2 million fans have attended games. Gleeson, from Palmerston North in New Zealand has been with the Timbers since 2011 and worked on the recipe with the Widmer Brothers innovation team, led by brewmaster Tom Bleigh. The collaboration included a nod to Gleeson’s home country as it included New Zealand hop varietal Wakatu.

“This chance to collaborate with Widmer Brothers on such a bold and unique beer is very exciting,” said Gleeson. The combination of Wakatu, Citra and Mosiac hops with fresh pineapple highlights a tropical fruit profile in Centennial Celebration IPA.

“This is a fun, unique combination of ingredients that make for a flavorful, vibrant IPA, worthy of celebration,” said Bleigh. “When we first started talking to Jake about recipe ideas, we wanted to take inspiration from his background and taste preferences, as well as our innovation team’s creativity. The result is something we feel Timbers fans and beer fans alike will enjoy.”

While the beer sold out in short order at the September 10 match, fret not Timbers and Widmer Brothers fans. Centennial Celebration IPA will be tapped at the Widmer Brothers Pub in North Portland this Saturday, September 17, after the club’s match with the Philadephia Union. At 6 p.m. you can join members of the Portland Timbers at Widmer Brothers’ North Portland pub and enjoy a pint of the Centennial Celebration IPA or Widmer Brothers’ array of beers.

Let’s break down this beer

Centennial Celebration IPA

STYLE: Pineapple Rye IPA
To mark the occasion of the Timbers’ 100th consecutive sellout — which includes a whopping two million fans through Providence Park turnstiles — Widmer Brothers and Portland keeper Jake Gleeson made a small-batch tropical IPA whose flavor, as the New Zealanders might say, is Chocka. Gleeson chose to spice this IPA with rye malt, and complemented his choice of Citra, Mosaic and Wakatu (NZ) hops with some fresh pineapple — like the Timbers and the 2015 season, a winning combination.

MALT: 2 Row, Flaked Rye, Rye Malt and C-40
HOPS: Citra, Mosaic and Wakatu

ABV: 5.5 percent | IBU: 60