Rochester, Minn. – Opening Day in the Northwoods League will feature the introduction of a new craft beer to baseball fans and beer drinkers in the Midwest. Five Tool ale, an American cream ale, is the Custom Beer of the Northwoods League and was developed specifically for the League through an agreement between K181 Enterprises, Inc., a Rochester, Minn. company, and Rustic Road Brewing Co. out of Kenosha, Wis.
“Baseball and beer have long been intertwined,” said Northwoods League President, Gary Hoover, “and with our League footprint covering some of the top states for craft beer production and consumption, it was a natural fit to pursue this unique opportunity.”
Five Tool, in name and flavor, is built for a night out at the ballpark. The smooth American cream ale, with a sweetness and texture that should play well on summer nights, is a nod to the rare and valuable five-tool player. It is the first beer brand offered by K181 Enterprises, whose name also pays homage to a baseball great – legendary Boston reliever from the 1960’s, Dick Radatz, who to this day holds the Major League record for strikeouts in a season by a reliever with 181.
Five Tool will be available at the following Northwoods League ballparks:
Carson Park (Eau Claire, WI) Warner Park (Madison, WI)
Herr-Baker Field at Marian University (Fond du Lac, WI) Rivets Stadium (Rockford, IL)
Joannes Stadium (Green Bay, WI) Athletic Park (Wausau, WI)
Historic Simmons Field (Kenosha, WI) Witter Field (Wisconsin Rapids, WI)
Copeland Park (La Crosse, WI)
For more information about Five Tool, please visit www.fivetoolale.com.
The 24th season of Northwoods League baseball gets underway tonight as all twenty teams will be in action. The spotlight will shine on the two new teams in the league as the Bismarck Larks will host the Eau Claire Express in their first ever home game. The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders will be in Madison to take on the Mallards for two games before returning home on Thursday for their first home game. The defending Northwoods League Summer Collegiate World Series Champion Wisconsin Rapids Rafters will host the Kenosha Kingfish at Witter Field.
The Rockford Rivets are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.rockfordrivets.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rivets as your favorite team.
