New Football Special beer set for release

It has been a legendary hit in pubs across the county for decades and now Football Special, the iconic Donegal soft drink, is set to hit the shelves in beer format.

Trouble Brewing, an independent craft brewery in Kildare, has teamed up with the Football Special to create ‘Football Special Sour Beer’.

However, the new brew will only be available for a limited time - and is likely to be swiftly snapped up.

Trouble Brewing announced on X, formerly Twitter: ‘We’ve teamed up with Donegal’s finest Football Special to bring you this lovely little sour. Limited release and hitting shops over the next couple of weeks.’

We’ve teamed up with Donegal’s finest @FootballSpecial to bring you this lovely little sour. Limited release and hitting shops over the next couple of weeks. pic.twitter.com/U0vzivI79t

— Trouble Brewing (@troublebrewing) September 7, 2023

Football Special was originally created to help celebrate the Swilly Rovers wins in the 1950s and 60s. The drink, which was originally called ‘Football Cup’, was designed for players to fill the cup with an exciting non-alcoholic beverage.

The McDaid family were heavily involved with Swilly Rovers at the time - James McDaid was CEO of McDaids and was also on the board of Swilly Rovers.

Later the name was changed to Football Special, but the unique taste stayed the same.

In 2011, when McDaid’s drinks were going nationwide, Edward McDaid said of Football Special: “My father was a founder member of the Swilly Rovers Football Club in Ramelton and they were trying to come up with a soft drink that could be put into the cup after a win, instead of whiskey. The fruit syrup flavours that are used are all fairly common and shouldn’t belong together but they do.”