Here’s how dirt from Lower.com Field is now used to brew Miller Lite

Would you believe us if we told you that a little piece of Columbus was brewed into every sip of Miller Lite?

It might sound far-fetched, but it’s true. Literally.

Thanks to a new initiative from Miller Brewing Company known as Brewed in Ohio, earlier this year, actual dirt from Lower.com Field was sprinkled over the barley that’s used to brew Miller Lite.

“The dirt was collected from the Ohio sports teams fields, then transported to and sprinkled on the Miller Lite barley fields in April. Then that barley comes back to Ohio where it is brewed to make the beer in the Trenton, OH brewery,” A statement from Miller Lite reads.

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And it appears the Columbus Crew is behind the new project as well.

“This is where we represent. Where our fans come together to show their pride. Columbus pride. A place where Crew history is made,” Crew Head Coach Caleb Porter said in a promotional video for the Brewed in Ohio initiative. “And to honor the crew, we’re taking the earth from here [Lower.com Field], and bringing it here [Miller Brewing Company’s barley fields], so our barley fields are not only fed by the sun and the rain, but by the pride of Columbus, brewing the passions, hopes and dreams of the crew into Miller Lite.”

Dirt from Progressive Field (home to the Cleveland Guardians) and Paul Brown Stadium (home to the Cincinnati Benagls) is also being used in the Brewed in Ohio project.

The idea of incorporating elements of the physical place a wine or beer is created is not unfamiliar to breweries and vineyards. Known as “terroir,” a French word that translates to “a sense of place,” it refers to the specific fermenting bacteria used in open-fermentation beer, or aspects of the grapes used in wine that are unique to the place they’re grown.

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