Photo: Getty Images
Tampa Bay Lightning fans will soon be able to literally drink in their team's second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
Coors Light, an official beer partner of the Lightning, announced its plans to make the first-ever beer with actual ice from the Stanley Cup Final called "Champions Ice," ESPN reports.
The limited-edition beer will be available on tap in Tampa-area bars and in 32-ounce collectable growlers beginning on July 12, just in time for the Bolts' championship parade.
Coors used ice shavings collected by the Lightning Ice Crew during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens and put the shavings in stainless steel hydro-flasks to be shipped over night to their brewery in Golden, Colorado.
The Lightning approved the American brewing company's decision to use their rink ice for the limited-edition beer.
"We thought it'd be awesome to celebrate with the people in Tampa by creating a special batch of Coors Light for them to enjoy, created from the ice where the Lightning put all of their blood, sweat and tears into winning the championship," Chris Steele, marketing director for Coors Light, told ESPN on Wednesday.
Steele also confirmed that the water used to create "Champions Ice" has been processed and cleansed as blood, sweat and other substances tend to be found on the ice during NHL games.
"We did an official de-ick-ifying," Steele said. "But in all seriousness, what is being shipped to Tampa Bay has gone through all our food and safety requirements. We took the ice, passed it though several different, incredibly effective filters. We filtered out the unhealthy stuff. But the magic and the spirit of the Tampa Bay Lightning are still in it."
Steele said Coors brewed "a high gravity version of Coors Light" with between 7% and 8% alcohol that was then blended down to 4.2% using the water collected from Amalie Arena's ice rink in order to quickly produce the limited-edition beer.
Coors produced a run of 55 half-barrels of beer that it plans to distribute to its accounts around the Tampa area.
Steele said he hopes the promotion will provide an economic boost to local bars that took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NHL teams had previously repurposed rink ice including the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks, both of whom bottled the ice and sold it for charity.
Rink ice was also made into ice pops during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs by a broadcast partner.
However, Coors Light is staking the claim of being the first to use actual ice from a Stanley Cup Final Game.