Enter the Gold Rush: NC company brewed up a new beer — just in time for 49ers football
Niner Nation will have a new brew for tailgate and watch parties ahead of the 49ers’ college football season.
UNC Charlotte is joining N.C. State, Appalachian State and Wake Forest as one of few universities with their own co-branded craft beer.
The Gold Rush Gold Lager — with 4.9% alcohol content — is the culmination of a partnership between the school, Cabarrus Brewing Co. and collegiate sports marketing company Learfield.
“I think a lot of institutions look to better engage with their fans and alumni base, and craft beer is just one way to do it,” Cabarrus Brewing co-founder Steve Steinbacher told the Observer.
Cabarrus Brewing partnered as a sponsor of Charlotte athletics four years ago, but the idea of creating a beer didn’t gain momentum until Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 389 into law in June 2019, allowing alcohol sales at state university stadiums.
In early 2020, the school vetted Charlotte-area breweries to see how they’d approach creating a co-branded beer. At the time, Steinbacher’s company had previously worked on co-branded beers with Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers minor-league baseball team.
Cabarrus Brewing won the opportunity to create the 49ers’ beer, but then COVID-19 halted any progress.
“It was going forward and then COVID hit,” Steinbacher said. “Universities and athletic programs certainly had bigger challenges than what’s the best way to move forward on a craft beer.”
Cabarrus Brewing got another shot at creating the beer in the spring. Gold Rush will be available in four packs of 16-ounce cans at select Harris Teeter stores until Aug. 29. The beer will be available throughout the region and at 49ers athletic events after Aug. 30.
The beer will be sold on Harris Teeter shelves first because the Matthews-based grocery chain is a major sponsor of Charlotte 49ers athletics, Steinbacher said.
The 49ers will host Duke in their season opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 3.
‘Bleed the same colors’
A majority of Cabarrus Brewing’s core staff and team members are UNC Charlotte alumni, including Jason McKnight, the Concord company’s co-owner and founding brewer.
“We appreciate the ongoing support and commitment from Cabarrus Brewing Company, right here in our own backyard,” Jacob Powers, general manager for Learfield’s Charlotte Sports Properties, said in a news release. Charlotte Sports Properties represents the university’s athletics program. “It’s even more special to work with corporate partners that bleed the same colors.”
Learfield and Cabarrus Brewing have a sponsorship agreement, which Steinbacher said is “standard procedure” considering the exposure the company will receive in the stadium and on campus.
“It’s no different than what it would be if we were doing something with the speedway or minor league baseball teams,” he said.
Steinbacher described the gold lager as a “light beer” that’s not hoppy or sour.
“The goal here was to create an approachable beer to a very broad group of consumers that would be appropriate drinking in 90-degree weather before a football game in September,” he said.
Craft beer sales in the U.S. were over $22 billion in 2020, just under 24% of the $94 billion U.S. beer market, according to the Brewers Association. In 2020, the 359 craft breweries in North Carolina had an economic impact of over $1.8 billion.
Other collegiate co-branded alcohols
▪ N.C. State: New Belgium Brewing collaborated with N.C. State to create “Old Tuffy,” a craft malt beer, in 2019.
▪ Wake Forest: Earlier this month, Wake Forest teamed up with R&D brewing to release the “Deacon Brew” craft beer.
▪ Appalachian State: In Aug. 2019, Appalachian State entered into an agreement with Appalachian Mountain Brewery to license AMB’s newest product, the “Yosef Golden Ale” craft beer. Yosef is the name of the Mountaineers’ mascot.
▪ New Mexico State: The “Pistol Pete’s Six-Shooter” is New Mexico State and distillery Dry Point’s collegiate-licensed whiskey announced in 2020.
▪ Louisiana-Lafayette: The “Ragin’ Cajuns Genuine Louisiana Ale” was created in partnership with Bayou Teche Brewing and UL Lafayette in 2015.
▪ Louisiana State: LSU and Tin Roof Brewing Company partnered in 2016 to create the “Bayou Bengal beer.”
▪ Tulane: The Green Wave beer was released in 2017 and is in partnership with Tulane and NOLA Brewing Company.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 3:27 PM.
