Stone Cold Steve Austin's beer brand and the love for it
Stone Cold Steve Austin is perhaps the single most pivotal superstar that took the WWE out of the Monday Night Wars. The ‘Texas Rattlesnake’ with his beer guzzling and ‘ass whooping’ ways, would end up ‘stomping mudholes’ in anyone who dared to step into the ring with him.
Stone Cold started his career at the Dallas Sportatorium in the Fritz Von Erich owned promotion of World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Austin joined WCW in 1991 and started making regular appearances in WCW. After a brief stint with Paul E. Dangerously’s Dangerous Alliance, Austin went on to team with Brain Pillman. Austin and Pillman became known as the Hollywood Blondes and they won the WCW Tag Team titles and held it for five months.
Also read: The 10 best episodes from Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast
Austin left WCW after a fallout with Eric Bischoff. He was fired by Bischoff over the phone. Bischoff felt that Austin was not a marketable wrestler, a mistake that would ultimately ensure the loss of WCW in the Monday Night Wars.
Austin then moved to ECW where Paul Heyman allowed him do promos while Austin recovered from his injuries. After a brief time with the promotion, Austin left for the WWE and the rest is history.
Austin debuted as the Ringmaster with the Million Dollar Man, Ted Dibiase as his manager. Austin’s rise to the top of the WWE roster started during the King of the Ring tournament in 1996. After defeating Jake the Snake Roberts and winning the tournament, Austin dropped the 3:16 promo and ignited a spark that would soon turn into a raging inferno that swept across the landscape of wrestling.
Stone Cold made his way to the top of the WWE at the back of engaging rivalries with the likes of Bret Hart, the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and the Rock.
Once he was done, Stone Cold would throw a couple of beers and drink it right there in the middle of the ring. Stone Cold Steve Austin and beer have become synonymous in the history books of WWE.
Austin’s feud with Mr. McMahon is one of the biggest rivalries in WWE history. It establish Mr. McMahon as an evil, tyrannical boss and Austin as the anti-establishment champion. Austin took the feud to new heights as he gave the corporation a beer bath in the middle of the ring. Just a few days away from WrestleMania XV, Austin drove a beer truck into the arena and drenched the likes of Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and The Rock.
Even after retiring from in ring action, Austin continued to appear in the WWE in managerial roles. He was the special guest referee in the WrestleMania XX clash between Goldberg and Lesnar where he gave Stone Cold Stunners to both men after the match.
Austin also refereed the WrestleMania XXIII clash termed as the ‘Battle of the Billionaires’ between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. Stone Cold ended the night with successive Stunners on Umaga, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Donald Trump.
Austin was also on the cover of WWE 2K16 video game. The showcase mode of the game allowed the player to play as Stone Cold as ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ made his way up the ranks in WWE.
Austin is the only man to win the Royal Rumble match three times in his career. He is a multiple time WWE Champion, King of the Ring winner, former tag team champion and Hall of Famer.
Austin, who lives part-time in the South Bay, when he’s not at his Broken Skull Ranch, in Texas, became a regular at the El Segundo Brewing Co. tasting room, over the last couple of years. He is especially fond of the brewery’s Citra Pale ale and Mayberry India Pale Ale (IPA). Stone Cold was once asked about his fondness for IPA and he replied:
“I started drinking pale ales first, and then I tried my first IPA. When I took my first sip of that, I was like, “Whoa, this is a little too hoppy for me.” So I went back to my pale ale, but then I thought, There aren’t enough hops in here! I had to go back to the IPA and that’s when I got stuck, but stuck in a good way.”
Austin recounted his feelings before he started brewing his own IPA, and getting his own brew developed in collaboration with EL Segundo Brewing Co. of Southern California. The iconic WWE wrestler made it clear that his brew was made to reflect his current personal taste in beer. It was announced in October last year.
Austin says that he would rather sip on 3-4 IPAs than chug down 6-8 light beers to get buzzed.
Man, I just wanted a badass beer. I’ve been drinking light beer for 30 years. And then I started hearing about all of these craft beers. So I was like, “What the f*ck is this all about?” So I started trying them all out.
In fact, the first batch of Broken Skull IPA was slated to receive El Segundo Brewing’s normal limited distribution, exclusive to Southern California. But Croxall, EBSC founder and brew master, said that there were plans in the works for wider distribution, as there’s been high demand from around the country and internationally.
They have also explored mail-order distribution options.
Stone Cold personally has no specific favourite brands, when it comes to drinking beer in the ring. Although it is worth mentioning here that the ‘Texas Rattlesnake’ did chug down a few Budweisers to open WrestleMania XXX with his buddies The Rock and Hulk Hogan.
Back in his heydey at WWE, Stone Cold Steve Austin made a show of chugging cans of beer and drenching Mr McMahon, and his cronies, with the occasional beer bath in and around the ring.
He would dramatically crack open cans in a style unique only to Stone Cold and spray foam everywhere, pouring beer in his mouth, on his head and all over the ring. In an interview with Munchies, Stone Cold was asked about his unique style of drinking beer inside the ring. He quoted:
I’m in show business—I’m putting on a show. If I just drink one beer in the center of 20,000 people, that’s not a very good visual. But when I pour that son of a bitch all over my face, double-fisting, now that’s something that you go home and remember.
It is obvious that the retired pro wrestler loves his beer and is willing to go the distance to improve the taste of his brewed IPA.
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