Chicago Fire FC and Revolution Brewing return for another year of MLS action with Revolution as the official craft brewery of the Club. And as the Fire return to the classic look with this year's jerseys, we'll be cheering on the Men in Red with a hazy pale ale featuring the team's crest and colors.
If you're a Fire fan excited about the offseason moves, we're ready with your go-to matchday beer. If you're a Revolution fan who needs a Chicago team on the rise to get excited about, we're here to welcome you to the world's most popular sport. Vamos Fire!
Chicago Fire FC
A Team for All Chicago
A Team for All Chicago
Chicago Fire FC joined MLS in the first wave of expansion in 1997. They played their first MLS season in 1998, where they shocked everyone by winning both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup. It's arguably the most impressive expansion season in the history of major U.S. leagues.
In the intervening years, they've won three more Open Cups, appeared in two more MLS Cup finals, and won the 2003 Supporters Shield as the team that finished the regular season with the most points. Along the way, some giants of MLS and global soccer have played for the team. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, DaMarcus Beasley, Piotr Nowak, and more have played for Chicago.
The 2024 season is a momentous one for the Club. They're returning to red jerseys for the first time since 2019 and boast a massively overhauled roster. After drawing largest attendance in club history versus Inter Miami, they just missed the playoffs. This year, upgrades at key roster positions look to build on last season's late momentum.
Fire Players to Watch in 2024
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Xherdan Shaquiri - Midfield (#10)
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The Swiss national has won almost everything you can in club soccer – including the Premier League, Bundesliga, FIFA Club World Cup, and UEFA Champions League. And that's alongside his status as a player who always shows up big for the Switzerland national team. His tenure on the lakefront has seen periods of frustration alongside moments of brilliance that remind you why he's been a sought after part of so many championship clubs. Can he help the Fire find that next level they need to become a contender?
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Kellyn Acosta - Midfield (#23)
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The MLS and U.S. national team veteran was signed late in the offseason to provide something the Fire have sought for years now – a true box-to-box midfielder with elite free kick abilities. Acosta makes the team around him better, and if you're looking for a highlight to hype you up, check out his Cup-winning assist in the 2021 Gold Cup versus Mexico.
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Hugo Cuypers - Forward (#9)
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Fire supporters have, for years, clamored for a high-dollar goal-scoring striker to complete the offensive punch that the team has sometimes lacked in the final third. With Cuypers, they turned to Belgium to find their man. It took a club-record $12 million transfer fee, but the Fire are getting a striker who has scored 62 goals and 25 assists in 126 matches with KAA Gent. Cuypers was the Belgian Pro League's top scorer in 2022-23 with 34 goals. Now he just needs to do it in red.
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Brian Gutiérrez - Midfield (#17)
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Attacking talent can show up at an early age in soccer. And that's especially evident in a player who has appeared 88 times for the Fire and is still only 20 years old. Guti is a homegrown player, born in Berwyn, who came through the Fire academy and has become an indispensable piece of the attacking midfield. His free-flowing passing and fearless running give opponents fits when he and Shaquiri are moving in tandem.
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Chris Brady - Goalkeeper (#34)
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Naperville native and Fire Academy product Chris Brady is the next in a long line of high-ceiling goalkeepers who came up through Chicago's system. Club staff talk about him as potentially the best prospect that academy has produced. And that's big talk for the club of Zach Thornton, Gaga Slonina, and Sean Johnson.
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Chris Mueller - Forward (#8)
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Chris Mueller, a dangerous winger scooped up by the Fire on his return from the Scottish Premiership, is Fire through and through. You don't have to look hard to find pictures of him as a kid cheering on the Men in Red. And you don't have to watch a ton of soccer to recognize that he brings something to the attack that makes the Fire a threat in the final third.
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Fabian Herbers - Forward (#21)
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Every team with aspirations needs The Guy. They're the glue guy, the super sub, the depth piece whose big moments tend to foretell an important win. Herbers has been an integral piece of the puzzle over a couple of different roster iterations. And if he scores, there's historically an 85% chance that the Fire are picking up points.
He also sat with team Rev at a Fire function once and he was SUPER NICE. And to be honest, that's not a bad way to pick a favorite player.
Hazy Pitch
A Beer Brewed for 90 Minutes of Action
A Beer Brewed for 90 Minutes of Action
We started the Hazy Pitch project as a collection of soccer fans who also happened to operate a brewery. Every weekend, our crew is tuned to the Fire, their hometown teams, or adopted European clubs. And with that experience in mind, we considered the type of beer we wanted to be drinking during an important match. We love lagers, but lagers and soccer is a combination that's well covered by what's already out there.
Instead, our brewmaster Jim Cibak drew up a recipe that brought a lot of that same approachability and easy-drinking nature to an American Pale Ale built on new-school hops packed with tropical fruit aroma. El Dorado, Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Cryo Mosaic hops pack a beer that's long on citrus, soft on the palate, and refreshing enough to reach for the next can. We named it Hazy Pitch, because that name worked with us for a few reasons:
- The beer style is a Hazy Pale Ale, named for the specialized yeast which contributes the namesake haze
- A "pitch" is both the play area for a soccer match and what we call it when we add yeast to a batch to begin fermentation
- The pitch itself was hazy during one of the coolest goals in Fire history, courtesy of a rookie defender who wasn't afraid to take a big swing.
Most importantly, wanted this to be a beer dedicated to the Fire's supporters. Year in and year out, Fire fans show up to support their team win, lose, or draw. Players come and go, owners change, and even the stadium has changed several times. But the drum-beat of flag-waving Fire supporter passion never ebbs. When we look at the Fire, we see community and pride. When you look at a can of Hazy Pitch, we want you to see what we see.
Hazy Pitch is the first year-round beer offered in partnership with an MLS team. And as legends of the game like Leo Messi join a league growing at a tremendous pace, we think it's nice to remind everyone that at least in beer, Chicago came first.
Find it at Soldier Field
Both Hazy Pitch and Anti-Hero are available at select Soldier Field concession stands this season. Here's our latest list of placements.
Hazy Pitch Sections
106, 113, 123, 124, 140, 153, 241, Bar2 (the Dr. Pepper Zone), 207, 210
Anti Hero Sections:
106, 113, 124, 140, 153, 241, Bar2 (the Dr. Pepper Zone)
Hazy Pitch
Hazy Pale Ale
Refreshing and easy-drinking Hazy Pale Ale with a tropical Kick. Created for the loudest fans and the biggest moments.
Alc. by vol. – 5.0%