You just can’t keep craft beer and soccer apart. Like Leo Messi and out-of-this-world foot skills, the two go hand in hand. The latest in the long line of beer and sports partnerships involves a storied northeastern brewery and Maine’s first professional soccer club.
Allagash Brewing is backing Portland Hearts of Pine, the Pine Tree State’s first pro soccer club. The team will compete in the USL, the division just below Major League Soccer and the USL Championship. The pioneering craft brewery, launched in Portland back in 1995, is working on a special beer to be served at home matches. Kick off for the brand new club begins in the spring of 2025.
Allagash brewmaster Jason Perkins is a known soccer fanatic and could not be more excited about his town getting a team. “Soccer is growing fast here in the U.S.,” he says. “On top of my personal love of the sport, this team shares our brewery’s values by being community-minded and bringing people together. We’re thrilled to partner with the team and are looking forward to joining fellow soccer fans at Fitzpatrick Stadium to cheer on the Hearts and enjoy some Allagash.”
The team’s crest features a host of Maine iconography, from the ocean and a pine tree to a scroll backdrop as an homage to the state’s literary prowess (think Stephen King’s horror and the work of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). The expansion team is holding tryouts this fall, should you feel like giving it a go. Otherwise, you can sip a beer and take in a game as they compete against the likes of Chattanooga Red Wolves, Richmond Kickers, and Spokane Velocity.
Here’s to growth in craft beer and the world’s most popular sport.
