Six Packs of Dick's 12 Man Pale Ale sit on pallets at the Centralia brewery waiting to be shipped out on Friday afternoon. The new beer will go on sale today.
A six-pack of Dick's 12 Man Pale Ale sits in cold storage at the Centralia Brewery on Friday.
A pint of Dick's 12 Man Pale Ale is poured at the Centralia Brewery on Friday afternoon. Dick's created the pale ale in honor of the Seattle football fan. Six-pack cans go on sale today, while it can also be found on tap at Northwest Sausage and Deli, Dick's Brewery, and O'Blarney's, among other watering holes around Lewis County.
Dick’s Brewing Company’s latest beer, 12 Man Pale Ale, is making noise around the Pacific Northwest.
The 12 Man Pale Ale will not be on grocery store shelves until next week, but it already has its own Facebook page, generating interest from beer drinkers around the region.
Julie Young, owner of Dick’s Brewing, said many people are curious about the sports-inspired beer, which was thought up by Norm Johnson, the former Seattle Seahawks kicker, and his business partner Neal Nilsen, owner of Jersey’s Sports Bar in Federal Way.
“The whole concept would be for the fan of any sport; football, soccer, hockey,” Young said. “It’s beer for the fan that celebrates the sports that they love.”
Young said the pale ale is not necessarily connected to “The 12th Man,” the term used for Seattle Seahawks fans, known for being the loudest in the NFL. Texas A&M, which coined “The 12th Man” in 1922, has the ownership rights of the trademarked phrase and the Seahawks use it under license.
Dick’s Brewing does not want to violate the trademark or licensing, Young said.
“It obviously goes well with the Seahawks,” Young said.
Starting next week, 12 Man Pale Ale will be available around the state in QFC, Haggen Food & Pharmacy, Thriftway, Town & Country Market, BevMo and Total Wine and More.
The beer is already on tap at Dick’s Brewery in Centralia.
“We are just focusing on the local market but we hope to take it nationally in the future,” Dick’s Brewery wrote on its Facebook page. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the capability to ship yet, but we are looking into it.”
Dick’s Brewing partnered with distributor Bevlink to can and keg the beer. The 12 Man Pale Ale is the first beer ever canned at Dick’s, Young said.
“We were not sure how it was going to work,” Young said. “Canning is a more popular thing that breweries are trying to do.”
The 12 Man Pale Ale will be on tap along with other Dick’s beers at the second annual Dickmas Ugly Sweater Party at the brewery Saturday, Dec. 21 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Dick’s will be collecting gifts for Toys for Tots and non-perishable food for the local food banks at the ugly sweater party.
Conversations about the beer started last year, Young said, while work on the recipe and logo started in the past six months.
Johnson and Nilsen approached Dick’s about brewing the 12 Man Pale Ale, Young said.
“They looked at multiple breweries,” Young said. “(Johnson) likes our beer.”
The 12 Man Pale Ale is not seasonal and will be available throughout the year.
“We will probably rotate it through our taps,” Young said. “We anticipate a larger push during the football season.”
