Calypso Lemonade is marking the Milwaukee Brewers' postseason run with a limited-edition bottle of its Ocean Blue Lemonade, featuring a surfing Barrelman on the label and sold only on Wisconsin store shelves while supplies last.
A Local Brand's Tribute to a Historic Season
The Milwaukee-headquartered beverage maker is leaning fully into hometown pride for the release, according to WISN. The 16-ounce glass bottles are filled with Calypso's Ocean Blue Lemonade, a blue-raspberry flavored drink made with real lemon bits and natural flavors, a core variety tied to the brand's island-themed lineup, per a BevNET report. The timing lines up with a season Milwaukee fans won't soon forget: the Brewers closed out September by clinching 100 wins and the National League's No. 1 overall seed, the first 100-win season in franchise history, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of the team's final homestand.
The special packaging was designed by Milwaukee artist Whitney Nettles, who put her own spin on a familiar face from the team's history. The label depicts a surfing version of Barrelman, the barrel-bodied mascot character originally known as Owgust that served as the primary logo for Milwaukee baseball teams from 1970 to 1977 before being reintroduced as a live costumed mascot in 2015, according to MLB.com. Barrelman's roots run even deeper, having originally represented the minor league Milwaukee Brewers starting in the 1940s.
An Artist With Deep Brewers Ties
Nettles is no stranger to Brewers collaborations. She designed a vintage baseball-inspired T-shirt for the team's Wisconsin Artist Series giveaway last year, when the first 10,000 fans attending a game against the Atlanta Braves received the shirt, as noted by Urban Milwaukee. The same outlet also reported that in August 2024, the Brewers commissioned Nettles to paint a 1,500-square-foot community mural called Field of Play on the Little Village Play Café in Wauwatosa through the team's Beyond the Diamond initiative.
Her portfolio extends well beyond baseball. Nettles runs the local paper and art goods studio Wit & Co. and created custom designs for the Milwaukee Bucks' 2025–26 City Edition merchandise collection, according to the Bucks Pro Shop, cementing her status as a go-to designer for Milwaukee's major sports franchises.
Why Calypso's Milwaukee Roots Run Deep
Calypso isn't an outside sponsor jumping on the postseason bandwagon. The brand's parent company, King Juice Company, Inc., is headquartered in Milwaukee, where the lemonade business got its start in 1985 as a small-batch local operation before expanding nationally under the Calypso name in 2000, according to EverybodyWiki. The company began with local delivery trucks before growing into an international brand.
King Juice still operates a 123,000-square-foot production facility in Milwaukee and was acquired in 2017 by Milwaukee-based private equity firm Mason Wells, which partnered with company leadership to expand Calypso's distribution into more than 20 countries, per Private Equity Professional. The brand has also made headlines for local promotional stunts before, including a 2016 Guinness World Record for the world's largest glass of lemonade, made with its Original Lemonade formula at the Milwaukee headquarters to celebrate nearly two decades of the recipe, according to BevNET.
Where to Find the Bottles
The commemorative bottles are available exclusively in Wisconsin, with no plans reported for distribution beyond the state. Fans can look for them at participating Festival Foods, Woodman's Market, Pick 'n Save, Piggly Wiggly, and Sendik's locations, WISN reports. WISN says the bottles are available while supplies last.
