The Thirsty Buffalo Brewing Company added a new beer to its collection in February— a USF-themed Brahman Golden Ale.

Part of the beer’s proceeds go to the Fowler Avenue Collective, USF’s name, image and likeness collective, in an effort to support student-athletes through NIL funds. 

Two months after its launch, the beer has already generated around $2,000 for the collective, said Thirsty Buffalo co-founder Mike Bishop.

“I love USF sports,” Bishop said. “I will do anything I can do to help.”

But the brewery partnership wasn’t chosen at random — a former Bull fermented the idea.

Bishop is a USF finance alumnus who graduated in 2006 and later got a degree in brewing arts from the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago. 

Related: USF students trade textbooks for taste tests in these classes 

He founded Thirsty Buffalo with his wife Erin in 2023, with the company’s headquarters in Land O’ Lakes and a factory in Odessa. 

But USF always stayed close to his heart. 

A good friend of his, Andy Taylor, is a director for the USF Alumni Association.

When Taylor heard the Fowler Avenue Collective was considering a brewery partnership, he “immediately” put his friend Bishop in contact with Will Turner, the collective’s fan engagement director.

Turner said USF’s NIL collective started idealizing the project in 2023, after the University of Cincinnati’s NIL collective, Cincy Reigns, launched a light lager to support student-athletes with part of its proceeds.

The Fowler Avenue Collective gets 10% of each Brahman Golden Ale sale, he said.

All of the money the collective gets is put into a “big pot” that is distributed to student-athletes, Turner said. 

The brewery and the collective worked together to negotiate the percentage, and Bishop said it was a “very fair” arrangement.

Turner said the beer, with a six-pack costing up to $13.99, is a way for the community to support student-athletes through a different avenue and at a lower price.

“The big thing is, and this is gonna sound so cliche, but people like to drink,” Turner said.

The collective sells T-shirts ranging from $25 to $75. However, Turner said not everybody wants to buy merchandise with athletes’ names, especially when they are often transferring schools.

“The beer is kind of more of a blanket way for folks to support and still put money back in the collective without necessarily having to commit to merchandise,” Turner said.

Related: USF women’s basketball loses four players to transfer portal

The can, with a bull in the center, displays the phrases “Join the stampede,” which USF uses for promoting school spirit and athletics, and “Come to the Bay,” used to recruit student-athletes.

But the USF essence didn’t stop at the can. 

Bishop said the Brahman Golden Ale was “entirely” created with sports in mind.

“When you’re at a tailgate or you’re at a USF basketball game, you want something light, you want something crispy,” Bishop said. “You don’t want anything super heavy.”

Bishop said the beer has a good balance of hops and malt — making it clean, light and “easy to drink.”

“Even if you don’t necessarily drink beer all the time, you’re still very open to trying it,” he said.

Bishop said he “could have made it” a blind, white or clean ale. But he ultimately chose a golden ale for people to associate it with USF’s “green and gold” theme.

At the USF Tampa campus, the beer is “slowly growing” in distribution.

The Brahman Golden Ale has been available at the on-campus BurgerFi on tap for around a month.

Bishop said he tried getting the beer to the Yuengling Center for basketball games, but was told he had to wait until Compass Group makes its way to campus.

Last year, USF announced it would change its athletics concessions providers from Aramark to Compass Group’s Levy. The transition is set to take place over the summer.

Related: USF’s new dining, facilities partner has a checkered past

Bishop said he is also in contact with Raymond James Stadium’s representatives to get the Brahman Golden Ale available at USF football games.

“How cool is that, if you’re watching USF football and you realize you can buy this beer, and a portion of that goes towards helping the athletes there?” he said.

Bishop said he is excited to see how his product will align with school spirit in the upcoming football season.

“People are always looking for ways to feel good about what they’re purchasing,” he said. “And that sometimes is pounding a beer with the USF bull on it.”