Goose Island Beer Will No Longer Brew White Sox Golden Ale

The Chicago White Sox have yet to unveil the club’s food vendor lineup for the upcoming 2022 Major League Baseball season, but there’s been one unofficial announcement, via social media: Goose Island Beer Co., which held naming rights to the right field stadium seating section — called the Goose Island — and brewed a special beer for the team, is out as a sponsor.

Baseball is a business, and it appears Goose Island (a subsidiary of Budweiser parent Anheuser-Busch InBev) was outbid for the rights as one of the team’s many beer sponsors. Goose Island took a fun approach to their relationship with the South Siders. The ad team — the same folks who came up with gimmicks like the Cody Parkey Field Goal Challenge — produced video with team personnel, and the brewers made a beer. White Sox Golden Ale debuted in 2020 and was a hit in and outside of the stadium. Fans particularly loved the design on the cans, which played off current and vintage team logos. It felt like someone who actually cared about the White Sox was responsible for the art.

Goose Island President Todd Ahsmann, in a statement, confirms that the brewery will no longer make White Sox Golden Ale: “We are very proud of everything we accomplished together over the last few years, and we look forward to more ways to connect with Chicago fans,” he says.

Goose Island isn’t the only departure from Guaranteed Rate Field. Revolution Brewing’s four-year contract with the White Sox has expired. A Rev spokesperson says instead of renewing the deal, the Sox elected to go in another direction. Revolution has a section above the left field concourse, the Rev Brewing #SoxSocial Tap Room.

The speculation, on Twitter and in the beer world, is that Molson Coors, the parent of Miller, was the high bidder and that the section will now get Miller Lite branding. A message to the White Sox wasn’t returned. The team is planning on making a bevy of announcement this week and in early April. The Sox home opener is on Tuesday, April 12.

Sox fans are a thirsty bunch. A highly unscientific poll released last year claimed they drank the most beer of all baseball fans.