Since its release in August 2019, NC State’s official beer, “Old Tuffy”, has gotten great feedback and continues to represent NC State as a golden lager. The beer, characterized by the NC State strutting-wolf Tuffy logo and red and white colors, is created and financed by New Belgium. The Colorado-based company created a facility in Asheville, allowing a partnership to be formed.

Old Tuffy brand manager Tyler Peters said talks began in December 2018 for a beer to represent the college.

“We’re proud to brew beer in North Carolina and work with NC State in this great partnership,” Peters said.

Since the August launch, Peters said the company has sold over 50,000 case equivalents. In the past three months, it has been New Belgium’s best seller, with the Raleigh area containing the most sales. Peters said the company originally estimated to sell 45,000 case equivalents sold through the first six months, but hit 42,000 within the first five weeks. 

“We’ve received an astounding amount of positive feedback, and we’re proud of the beer we’ve delivered,” Peters said.

Gregg Zarnstorff, the director of trademarks and brand protection at NC State, said he is happy New Belgium is the partner.

“New Belgium is a great company,” Zarnstorff said. “They are really focused on sustainability, which fits in with NC State and research and innovation,” said.

According to Zarnstorff, NC State gets an annual payment from Old Belgium for the use of the strutting wolf logo, and incremental revenue is given for each case equivalent sold. New Belgium also provides other indirect awards, like increased internships and job opportunities.

“There are some internship opportunities that are a part of the package that will be developed out of that,” Zarnstorff said. “They do employ some NC State grads right now in Asheville,”

Exact numbers for sales, royalties and other factors were unavailable at the time of this article’s publishing. However, NC State does get periodic updates on revenue and collects royalties. While most of the production, advertising, etc. is run through New Belgium, Zarnstorff said they must approve the ads and how they are presented.

Students are also directly impacted by the sales of Old Tuffy and other trademarked items.

“Our royalties, anything that’s generated with trademark and licensing royalties, goes to student scholarships and student support,” Zarnstorff said.

Students in food sciences and fermentation benefit from this deal as well, with plenty of experience and firsthand interaction, according to Zarnstorff. However, students do not directly work with Old Tuffy.

New Belgium makes many appearances and hosts multiple events with the alumni association to promote the beer. During homecoming week, for example, a homecoming party was held to celebrate alumni and NC State success.

It remains an easy beer to access. According to Zarnstorff, there are over 1,800 locations that serve Old Tuffy in the state.

The launch lined up with the recent law that permits the sale of beer and wine in PNC Arena and Carter-Finley Stadium. According to Zarnstorff, more than 50% of the beer sales in Carter-Finley are Old Tuffy sales. 

“Old Tuffy is designed to be a crisp and refreshing lager,” Peters said. “Old Tuffy is brewed for all to enjoy responsibly.”

Looking ahead, New Belgium is dedicated to satisfying the needs of Old Tuffy consumers. However, they need to look toward promoting the product in the summer when school is out.

“We’re excited for the future of Old Tuffy and continued support for NC State,” Peters said. “We will explore new opportunities with fan engagement and how we can make this your lager of choice year-round.”

Zarnstorff was happy to see that Old Tuffy also has brand awareness.

“NC State really hadn’t had a position in restaurants anywhere, but now we have Old Tuffy served in a lot of restaurants across the state,” Zarnstorff said.

Zarnstorff said that the partnership is mutually beneficial for students, NC State and New Belgium.

“It’s a win-win for everybody; for the students, who get hands-on experience, who work in real life situations and problem solving; to New Belgium, who gets insight from a different perspective that they typically wouldn’t get,” Zarnstorff said.