Kansas City and San Francisco Brewers Place Wager on Super Bowl LIV

The Super Bowl transcends football. The commercials and halftime show are often as talked about as the game. Restaurants offer Super Bowl specials; food and wine sites roll out our Super Bowl recipes. And heck, this year’s event has even inspired the world’s largest chocolate nut bar and the world’s largest layer dip.

Another tangential Super Bowl tradition is the brewery wager, where beer makers from each of the competing team’s cities find a way to bet on which of their home squads will win. And this year, once again, two well-known crafter brewers are putting their charity money where their mouth is. On Friday, San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery and Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing Company announced their self-professed “friendly” wager—including beer, a bit of embarrassment, a $1,000 donation.

“The losing city's brewery will send a couple of cases of beer to the winner and, most importantly, donate $1,000 to a local charity of the winner's choice,” the announcement states. “To cap it off, the loser's Head Brewer must wear the winning team's jersey, snap a picture, and post it to social media.” Boulevard chose the Kansas City-based veteran support organization Veterans Community Project as their non-profit, while 21st Amendment chose Project Night Night, a San Francisco-based charity “helping homeless children have sweeter dreams.”

“There is nothing more Kansas City than cheering on your favorite team with your favorite local beer, and we've been honored to be a part of those celebrations for three decades,” Natalie Gershon, Boulevard’s VP of Marketing, stated. “Now we look forward to the biggest moment, on the biggest stage. This is our year. This is a #KingdomWithoutBorders, and we hope the country joins us in raising a toast to the city that has waited 50 years to bring home an NFL championship.”

Meanwhile, unlike the Chiefs—who haven’t been in a Super Bowl since you could count them on one hand—the 49ers know a thing or two (or five) about winning these big games. “Bay Area football and craft beer have a long-standing tradition of excellence,” began Shaun O'Sullivan, co-founder and brewmaster of 21st Amendment. “The 21st Amendment Brewery is excited to be part of the Bay Area's enthusiasm cheering on our beloved San Francisco 49ers in this year's Super Bowl.”

Of course, these guys are brewers first and handicappers second, so both brands say they are also brewing up a special beer for the game. 21st Amendment will be serving the limited-edition Kittle Kraze Hazy IPA at its San Leandro taproom and San Francisco brewpub in the lead up to this weekend’s matchup. And looking to the Midwest, Boulevard says they plan to release a commemorative Super Bowl beer after the fact—hopefully in celebration of a ring, you have to assume.