Yards Brewery puts their beer on the line for the Eagles

After the Eagles destroyed the Vikings last week, Yards founder and brewmaster, Tom Kehoe, received an email from Harpoon Brewery in Boston, asking if the Philadelphia-based brewery would be interested in participating in a wager on the outcome of the Super Bowl.

A longtime season ticket holder for the Philadelphia Eagles, Kehoe couldn’t refuse.

“We’ve been apart of wagers in the past and said, ‘Absolutely.’ The minute we got on the phone they started trash talking, saying things like, ‘We don’t want to burden you with your loss’ and ‘Since you lost your real quarterback.’ It was so much fun,” he says.

In addition to earning bragging rights, the losing brewery will have to pour the winning brewery’s beer for a full day, with the staff wearing the colors and jerseys of the winning team.

“To our friends at Harpoon: Get ready to wear some green, a very dynamic and blue-collar kind of color – and it looks great on everyone, from casual fans to pretty boy quarterbacks,” Kehoe adds.  “The last time we moved our brewery, the Phillies won the World Series, and we handed out free Philly Pale Ale to fans celebrating in the streets. Now, after once again opening a new facility, we are hoping some of that Yards good luck will rub off on our high-flying NFC champs.  Let’s go Birds!”

There’s even a charity component to the wager, which is a win-win for both breweries.

Yards will donate $1 for every pint of Philadelphia Pale Ale sold in their taproom from now through Feb. 4 to Prevention Point, a local organization dedicated to fighting the opioid epidemic. What’s more, $10 from every Philadelphia Pale Ale keg sold across the region will also be donated during the same timeframe.

“The opioid epidemic has affected numerous members of the Yards family just like our greater community,” says Trevor Prichett, Chief Operating Officer of Yards. “Addiction is a terrible disease and we are grateful to have incredible organizations like Prevention Point working to prevent these tragic and unnecessary deaths.”

So how does the Yards staff feel about the wager? They’re having a lot of fun with it.

“We did a skit on the roof of the staff playing football with the dog masks,” Kehoe says. “The staff is all into it. They want to win so bad. It’s a great wager because of the charity ties and its two great local breweries that really love what they’re doing.”

If the timing works out, Kehoe plans to be at Harpoon Brewery in Boston to order a Yards on the day of the taproom takeover.

“The great thing is we’re all good friends. It will mean something down the road,” he says.

And if you were planning on going to Yards to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, you might want to make other plans because  they won’t be open to the public.

“We want people to go out and drink Philadelphia Pale Ale at their local bars with their neighbors,” Kehoe says.

For more information on Yards, visit: yardsbrewing.com.