Duke's Mayo and Champion Brewing Co. Release Collaboration Beer Perfect for Tailgating

Champion Brewing Co. in Charlottesville, Virginia has announced a second collaboration beer with Dukes' Mayonnaise that's perfect for tailgating. Full details are below.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Duke's Mayonnaise is partnering with Champion Brewing Company to produce the perfect brew to pair with their fan's favorite southern college football tradition – tailgating. This is the second collaboration between the two Virginia-based brands. In 2021, they launched Family Recipe, a lager that perfectly pairs with the south's favorite sandwich – a mouthwatering, Duke's-slathered BLT.

The new collab, an American pilsner aptly named Tailgate Twang! (4% ABV), pairs sublimely with game day dishes like sliders, dips, and potato salad – and is best enjoyed a couple of hours before kick-off with a cornhole bag in the other hand. It is light and refreshing with a soft biscuit flavored malt and hint of hops. The beer is available throughout college football season at Champion's taprooms, restaurants, webstore, and distributed via retailers across Virginia and North Carolina.

"It's not a southern tailgate without Duke's condiments and college football," said Duke's Brand Marketing Manager of Mayohem, Rebecca Lupesco. "Champion has again perfected the art of beer and food pairings with Tailgate Twang! – it's tailgate-friendly - light and highly crushable - and was made for drinking with game day spreads."

Since Duke's became the title sponsor of the Duke's Mayo Classic & Duke's Mayo Bowl in 2020, the brand has established itself as the Official Condiment of the Tailgate ™. Duke's achieved celebrity status when the visual of South Carolina coach Shane Beamer taking a mayonnaise bath went viral after leading his Gamecocks to victory in the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl. Stewart Mandel, editor at The Athletic, tweeted, "this has got to be the single greatest ROI a bowl sponsor has ever gotten during the broadcast."  Earlier this year, the brand was nominated for "Sports Sponsor of the Year" by Sports Business Journal for its sponsorship of college football's Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, NC.

Champion owner Hunter Smith said, "We're stoked to partner with Duke's on another collab. Not only is Duke's the only mayo we use in our restaurants, but the Champion crew knows how to tailgate."

Champion will release Tailgate Twang! at a Champion's Charlottesville taproom on Thursday, October 20, 5:30 – 8:30p. The Virginia Cavaliers vs Georgia Tech Yellowjackets game will play on a big screen, and fans can munch from the Duke's-slathered, tailgate-inspired menu developed by Champion's culinary team.

Duke's Mayonnaise was created in 1917 in Greenville, S.C. by Eugenia Duke. For over 100 years, Duke's has been adding southern flavors to make good things better. In addition to the flagship mayonnaise, which is still made according to its female founder's original recipe, Duke's offers light, olive oil, and flavored mayonnaises, tartar sauce, sandwich relish and regionally inspired Duke's Southern Sauces, dressings, and mustards. Duke's is the Official Condiment of the Tailgate and title sponsor of the Duke's Mayo Classic & Duke's Mayo Bowl. For more information, visit dukesmayo.com or follow @dukes_mayonnaise on Instagram.

Champion Brewing Company is a Charlottesville-based craft brewery with a three-barrel brewery and taproom Downtown, and our production brewery shared with Reason Beer, a 30-barrel production facility recently expanded to 15,000 barrels of capacity.