Type | Root Beer |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Cold Spring Brewing Company |
Distributor | RJM Distributing |
Introduced | 1996 |
Ingredients | carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, honey, caramel color, natural & artificial colors, citric acid |
Killebrew Root Beer is a root beer beverage produced with the endorsement of former Minnesota Twins baseball player Harmon Killebrew and currently sold by RJM Distributing. [1] The product is sold in 12 fl-oz glass bottles and tallboy 16 fl-oz cans covered in flat retro branding featuring a baseball diamond, a reproduction of Killebrew's signature, his retired number 3, a vertical stripe pattern reminiscent of Twins uniforms during his time playing, "Old-Fashioned" branding, [2] and the slogan, "With the Hall of Fame Taste", alluding to Killebrew's 1984 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. [3] The company also sells a cream soda under similar branding. [1]
Killebrew Root Beer is advertised as being sweetened with Minnesota honey. [3] [4] The beverages are sold at concessions stands and by roving vendors in the Twins' Target Field, [4] [5] [6] at Hammond Stadium, the Twins' spring training home in Fort Myers, Florida, [7] and at CHS Field, the home of the St. Paul Saints. [7] [8] At Target Field, Killebrew Root Beer is also used in root beer floats at Townball Tavern. [4] [9] In addition, it is sold in several restaurants, grocers, department stores, and convenience stores in Minnesota and the wider Midwest, notably Target, Hy-Vee, Lunds & Byerly's, and Cub Foods. [10]
Killebrew has been in production since at least 1996 by Cold Spring Brewing Company in Cold Spring, Minnesota. [11] [12] In 2003, a website was launched for Killebrew Beverages, a company based in Burnsville, Minnesota that offered three flavors: 'Rootbeer' [sic], 'Honey Cream', and 'Honey Lemon'. [13]
According to the 2003 site, the idea of launching a root beer brand can be traced back to 1984, when Harmon Killebrew supposedly received a "commemorative soda can" for being entered into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His son, Ken Killebrew, then "heard him joke, 'We ought to put a brew in this and sell it!'". The old website also claims that Ken started producing the beverage in 1993 based on "an old family recipe for root beer". [13]
Later, Killebrew Root Beer was absorbed into RJM Distributing, based in Ramsey, Minnesota. [3] Cold Spring Brewing Company was sold to a private equity firm in 2017 called Brynwood Partners. [14] The branding relationship with RJM is handled by Ken Killebrew, [15] especially now after his father's death in 2011. [2] [6]
In 2015, RJM Distributing ran a contest campaign to cross-promote the creation of a Harmon Killebrew US postage stamp by offering a free year of root beer. [7]
Type | Root Beer |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Cold Spring Brewing Company |
Distributor | RJM Distributing |
Introduced | 1996 |
Ingredients | carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, honey, caramel color, natural & artificial colors, citric acid |
Killebrew Root Beer is a root beer beverage produced with the endorsement of former Minnesota Twins baseball player Harmon Killebrew and currently sold by RJM Distributing. [1] The product is sold in 12 fl-oz glass bottles and tallboy 16 fl-oz cans covered in flat retro branding featuring a baseball diamond, a reproduction of Killebrew's signature, his retired number 3, a vertical stripe pattern reminiscent of Twins uniforms during his time playing, "Old-Fashioned" branding, [2] and the slogan, "With the Hall of Fame Taste", alluding to Killebrew's 1984 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. [3] The company also sells a cream soda under similar branding. [1]
Killebrew Root Beer is advertised as being sweetened with Minnesota honey. [3] [4] The beverages are sold at concessions stands and by roving vendors in the Twins' Target Field, [4] [5] [6] at Hammond Stadium, the Twins' spring training home in Fort Myers, Florida, [7] and at CHS Field, the home of the St. Paul Saints. [7] [8] At Target Field, Killebrew Root Beer is also used in root beer floats at Townball Tavern. [4] [9] In addition, it is sold in several restaurants, grocers, department stores, and convenience stores in Minnesota and the wider Midwest, notably Target, Hy-Vee, Lunds & Byerly's, and Cub Foods. [10]
Killebrew has been in production since at least 1996 by Cold Spring Brewing Company in Cold Spring, Minnesota. [11] [12] In 2003, a website was launched for Killebrew Beverages, a company based in Burnsville, Minnesota that offered three flavors: 'Rootbeer' [sic], 'Honey Cream', and 'Honey Lemon'. [13]
According to the 2003 site, the idea of launching a root beer brand can be traced back to 1984, when Harmon Killebrew supposedly received a "commemorative soda can" for being entered into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His son, Ken Killebrew, then "heard him joke, 'We ought to put a brew in this and sell it!'". The old website also claims that Ken started producing the beverage in 1993 based on "an old family recipe for root beer". [13]
Later, Killebrew Root Beer was absorbed into RJM Distributing, based in Ramsey, Minnesota. [3] Cold Spring Brewing Company was sold to a private equity firm in 2017 called Brynwood Partners. [14] The branding relationship with RJM is handled by Ken Killebrew, [15] especially now after his father's death in 2011. [2] [6]
In 2015, RJM Distributing ran a contest campaign to cross-promote the creation of a Harmon Killebrew US postage stamp by offering a free year of root beer. [7]