Killebrew Root Beer

Killebrew Root Beer is a root beer beverage produced with the endorsement of former Minnesota Twins and Washington Senators baseball player Harmon Killebrew and is currently sold by RJM Distributing.^[1] The beverage is sold in 12 fl-oz glass bottles and tallboy 16 fl-oz cans covered in flat retro branding featuring a baseball diamond, a reproduction of Killebrew's signature, his retired number 3, "Old-Fashioned" branding,^[2] and the slogan, "With the Hall of Fame Taste", alluding to Killebrew's 1984 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.^[3] The pinstripes pay homage to the pattern's presence on home uniforms for the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins worn during the majority of Killebrew's MLB career, until a redesign in 1972.^[4] The company also sells a cream soda under similar branding.^[1]

Killebrew Root Beer

Type	Root Beer
Manufacturer	Cold Spring Brewing Company
Distributor	RJM Distributing
Introduced	1996
Ingredients	carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, honey, caramel color, natural & artificial colors, citric acid

Killebrew Root Beer and Cream Soda in tallboy cans

Killebrew Root Beer is advertised as being sweetened with Minnesota honey.^[3][5] The beverages are sold at concessions stands and by roving vendors in the Twins' Target Field,^[5][4][6] at Hammond Stadium, the Twins' spring training home in Fort Myers, Florida,^[7] and at CHS Field, the home of the St. Paul Saints.^[7][8] At Target Field, Killebrew Root Beer is also used in root beer floats at Townball Tavern.^[5][9] In addition, it is sold in several restaurants, grocers, department stores, and convenience stores in Minnesota and the wider Midwest, notably Target, Hy-Vee, Lunds & Byerly's, and Cub Foods.^[10]

History

Killebrew has been in production since at least 1996 by Cold Spring Brewing Company in Cold Spring, Minnesota.^[11][12] In 2003, a website was launched for Killebrew Beverages, a company based in Burnsville, Minnesota that offered three flavors: 'Rootbeer' [sic], 'Honey Cream', and 'Honey Lemon'.^[13]

According to the 2003 site, the idea of launching a root beer brand can be traced back to 1984, when Harmon Killebrew supposedly received a "commemorative soda can" for being entered into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His son, Ken Killebrew, then "heard him joke, 'We ought to put a brew in this and sell it!'". The old website also claims that Ken started producing the beverage in 1993 based on "an old family recipe for root beer".^[13]

Later, Killebrew Root Beer was absorbed into RJM Distributing, based in Ramsey, Minnesota.^[3] Cold Spring Brewing Company was sold to a private equity firm in 2017 called Brynwood Partners.^[14] The branding relationship with RJM is handled by Ken Killebrew,^[15] especially now after his father's death in 2011.^[2][6]

In 2015, RJM Distributing ran a contest campaign to cross-promote the creation of a Harmon Killebrew US postage stamp by offering a chance to win a free year of root beer.^[7]