To bring that special Wanderers Grounds experience to fans who will be watching the Island Games back in Halifax, the Wanderers have released a new limited edition beer.

The idea behind ‘The Grounds’ beer by Wayfarers’ Ale Society, is it brings the taste of the grounds to the fans who are missing being up close to the action at our iconic stadium.

“It’s a product that promotes the idea of coming together,” said Wanderers Brand Manager Dylan Lawrence. “Not only did we want the design of the can to represent this, but also the process behind designing the can. We knew we had to create a campaign that had input from the people at the Grounds; staff, fans, and even players.”

Lawrence then put together a top team to bring some fizz to the campaign including drafting in graphic designer Carlos Benites, a Wanderers fan from the start.

“To really bring the grounds experience to the people I wanted to include the shipping containers as the visual element in the background to show we’re a port city,” Benites said. “We got the sound waves on there and I thought it would be good to have gaelic like our motto so we put ‘Ar Leann’ which means our beer!”

Benites included the coordinates of the grounds on the can and came up with a Wanderers blue hop flower with an anchor inside as a sort of seal for the beer.

“I wanted it to be minimalistic but something that screams Wanderers so I hope the fans like it.”

To help with marketing the message of the beer, Lawrence brought in defender Peter Schaale to bring his skills to the campaign.

With a degree in business, majoring in marketing from Cape Breton University, Schaale came up with the social media slogan.

“I started with the idea of bringing the taste of the grounds to you,” Schaale explained. “Cory and a few other players were throwing in ideas and then Mateo pointed out that you could just say ‘taste the grounds’ which is a nice short little slogan.”

Schaale made the message stand out by putting ‘taste the grounds’ in a different colour.

“Sometimes it’s better to keep things simple like in football and I was happy to get this insight from Dylan, because after my playing career I’d love to stay involved in the football business in some way.”

Developing players off the pitch is another goal of the club.

“Ultimately what we’re trying to achieve is create an environment that players are attracted to coming to Halifax because of the all round experience being here and opportunities that are available,” explained Wanderers VP of Football Operations Matt Fegan. “We know all of this will bring us better results onto the pitch with players feeling at home in Halifax.”

The club has set up a mentorship program that helps connect players with local businesses in fields that they are interested in exploring.

That’s something else for Benites to toast.

“I just discovered Peter had these skills and it’s a good idea to have the players involved, because it’s all about unity in the club and us being Together From Aways, so it’s great for what the club means.”

The Grounds beer is available now at Harvest Wines and Spirits, Westside Beer, Wine and Spirits and Rockhead Wine and Beer Market.

And if you are ordering online and want this beer in your hands for our match against Pacific this coming Saturday, order by Wednesday end of day here to guarantee delivery for outside of HRM and Thursday end of day to guarantee delivery for the metro area.

Come on you Wanderers!