Houstonians ready to raise a glass to the Houston Astros and the team’s return to the World Series now have a new, grand-slam local option — one created by two of the hottest players in Major League Baseball.
Astros superstars Alex Bregman and Lance McCullers, Jr. have launched a new hard seltzer — called ThreeSun — available exclusively on draft at Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company (2101 Summer St.), which has crafted the beverage. The launch comes just in time for Game 1 of the Astros’ World Series showdown against the Atlanta Braves.
Fans can post up at the brewery — affectionately known as BuffBrew — for Game 1 starting at 3 pm Tuesday, October 26. BuffBrew and ThreeSun will host special ThreeSun World Series watch parties, which will run through each game of the entire series.
Expect two tasty flavors on tap — while supplies of the limited-run batches last, natch. (Not to worry: Tyler Straub, the third partner behind the seltzer, promises more exciting flavors on the way.) Current choices, which offer a light, 5-percent alcohol-by-volume count, include Mango, boasting a “sweet, but subtle, fresh mango flavor,” per press materials, and Huckleberry, which sports a “fresh, dark blueberry and deep raspberry flavor.”
CultureMap caught up exclusively with McCullers to talk ThreeSun, the idea behind the brand, and of course, the Astros in the World Series. (Note: This interview took place before news of McCullers missing the World Series broke.)
CultureMap: Congratulations on your third World Series since winning it all in 2017, Lance. What’s your take on the team as Game 1 approaches?
Lance McCullers, Jr.: We’re playing great baseball as a team. One of the coolest things about this playoff run is you’re seeing every person on our roster coming up big for us in different moments and different situations and different games.
We’re playing great team baseball and we’re backed by the greatest city in the U.S. and the best fans. We want to do it for us and the organization, of course, but we really want to bring this home for our fans who have supported us every step of the way.
CM: Speaking of fans, we imagine every single orange-and-blue-blooded one is gonna want to sip this new seltzer. So, which one of you gets to take credit for this idea?
LMJ: [laughs] This was Breggy’s idea. As the progression went, we decided on a cool, fun name and cool product. We knew we wanted to keep it in Houston and make sure it was Houston-made, and be something we’re proud of and be fun.
CM: Mission accomplished. Talk to us about the development. Were you pretty hands-on?
LMJ: Oh yeah. We could’ve outsourced this anywhere, but we wanted this to be made, packaged, and sold here. We started talking with BuffBrew and we really vibed with them right away — we had the same vision for the seltzer.
From there, we started designing, started getting flavors, started test-tasting, and now we’re here.
CM: You called this a ‘bro brand,’ but you two did way more than just slap your names on something. You’ve clearly been deep in it.
LMJ: For sure. We’ve gone to BuffBrew a few times, we’ve sat upstairs and had these think-tank meetings on what the bottles and labels should look like and tasting seltzers.
Breggie and I have gotten on FaceTimes after games at 1 am talking to people there about ideas we’ve had on the field. When Breggie was coming back from his quad we’d be on the bench kicking ideas around and say ‘Oh, we gotta write that down,’ or ‘we gotta call them after this.’ A lot of it was flavors or how we’d get to market and to launch.
CM: Between the name and the flavors, ThreeSun is a whole vibe. How would you describe the brand?
LMJ: It’s kinda like a Southern drink, where it’s hotter and there’s water around and lots of sporting events. The goal is to bring a fun, cool product for people to enjoy on the lake, beach, or whenever they’re having fun.
We want this to be something people bring when they tailgate. We just want people to enjoy it and the flavors and go from there. We hope that people like the flavors and the fun idea behind the brand.
CM: That’s easy to picture. Alex already has a popular product [Breggy Bomb Salsa] — so what are your goals for ThreeSun?
LMJ: I think if you’re talking to Breggy he’d say we want to take over the seltzer game. [laughs] We just want this to be a fun brand, one that people like, first and foremost.
Who knows, maybe this takes off and we can open a ThreeSun brewery right here in Houston with the people at BuffBrew running it.
CM: With the logo and the flavors, ThreeSun seems like the perfect summer drink.
LMJ: Oh yeah. People at the bar, at their house, cooking out, watching the Astros game, people at the beach listening to the game — that’s what we’re going for.
CM: And we can picture another perfect season for ThreeSun.
LMJ: Oh yeah — I’d say this is pretty perfect for Astros playoff season.
Bregman's and McCullers' new seltzer, ThreeSun, is now on tap at BuffBrew.
A to-go window will expedite orders for people in the Stomping Grounds' green space.Courtesy of Stomping Grounds