Beer is synonymous with baseball. The two simply go together, and the White Sox have harnessed a blooming sub-culture of craft-beer lovers into marketing relationships and a celebration of suds.
Beer runs deep in the clubhouse as well. Chris Volstad, the recently-promoted right-hander helped launch a South-Florida brewing company named Civil Society Brewing. Chris’s cousin Karl Volstad was a home-brewer for eight years before he hatched the idea for Civil Society. With the help of Chris and fellow hop-lover Evan Miller, the trio launched Civil Society Brewing Co. in 2015. With one location in Jupiter, Florida and another planned for West Palm Beach, the triumvirate of brewers are expanding their reach.
The taller Volstad (Chris is 6-foot-8) plays second fiddle to his cousin on this project, but believe it or not, Chris actually manned the bar in the offseason when their Jupiter-location opened. A new location in West Palm Beach is on the horizon and a Draft Magazine feature dug into the details and philosophy behind the growing brewery.
Chris Volstad is only 31 years old and appears to be focused on his baseball career, but the brewery might be a sweet retirement plan and mid-life hobby for the imposing hurler. The story of how the partnership started was serendipitous.
“Beer chose us,” the brewery’s website proclaims. “Civil Society Brewing is all about the inspiration and the gratitude of friends and family. It is all about a passion for great beer, a pleasure in developing the craft, and effectuate a change in the community that has given us so much.”
But the family ties don’t bond the brewery to a singular philosophy. Civil Society’s Instagram page is plastered with photos of collaborations they’ve done with brewing brethren.
As a family-first operation, all of the hulking fermentation tanks are named after family members and the tap room is sprinkled with numinous trinkets from family attics that have familial significance. “We are a family operation, and not because it’s cool, but because that’s who we enjoy working with, literally,” the website explains. “When we started, we never anticipated being as far as we are. We take pride in each step, each success and each mistake (yes, we have had to dump beer before.)”
For the foreseeable future, it seems Volstad will leave the day-to-day details of Civil Society Brewing to Karl and Evan. “So yeah, it’s definitely getting more hectic,” Volstad told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “Be kind of nice to be around it I guess, but this is the better alternative. It’s cool to get updates and talk with them.”
Since installing the Craft Kave in right field in 2017 and elevating their relationships with Revolution Brewing and Goose Island in 2018, the White Sox are staking their claim as a beer destination. The Craft Kave offers 75 craft/quasi-craft beers while Revolution Brewing runs the #SoxSocial Tap Room recently moved to the 200 level for this season.
Civil Society Brewing has been churning out tasty libations for at least three years and their taproom was launched in late 2015. offers more than just beer with a full menu of merchandise including mugs, growlers, hats and t-shirts…but the beer looks pretty good too.
