Winter Meltdown Pint Glasses Through The Years

Tomorrow we'll reveal this year's Winter Meltdown pint glass, available only at the year's Winter Meltdown. It will be the 12th pint glass Brock Beauchamp has designed, and I thought it might be fun to look at the first 11 and how they related to the history of the Winter Meltdown.

2014 - Year One - A New Idea
The first year's pint glass is unique - because we had no idea what we were doing. 

But we knew what had happened the year before, which we now refer to as Year 0 of the Meltdown. We had purchased a keg at Hubert's across the street from the Metrodome, and invited anyone who read Twins Daily to stop by and have a beer on us after Twins Fest. 

We were swamped. Well over 100 people showed up, and we recognized that all those digital eyeballs that we had seen on Google Analytics belonged to real eyeballs that wanted to connect. 

So in 2014, we planned ahead a bit. We booked Scott Erickson and Dave St. Peter, Brock designed a pint glass based on a memorable Twins’ moment, 612 Brew provided the beer, and most of us (including Erickson) stayed way too late in the night talking Twins. A tradition had started.

2015-2020 - Years Two Through Seven - The Baseball Years
We kept going strong, getting more and more attendees and more prominent guests over the next six years. Alumni like Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, and Kent Hrbek joined us, and we had over 400-600 people attend a few of these events.

We decided we wanted different designs for the pint glasses every year, and there were only so many iconic moments that we could capture, so the pint glasses switched their designs to the old-timey Twins playing winter baseball. They captured the Meltdown’s vibe: a mix of winter and fun, which seems quaint given what came next.

2021-2022 Year Eight and ??? - COVID Hits
COVID meant no events for the next two years, but the first year we leaned into it with a special isolation-themed pint glass that you could order online, and the proceeds went to charity. The second year we ... didn't. And it looked like the Winter Meltdown might be doomed.

2023 - 2025 Years Eight Through Eleven - Pint Glasses for the Fans
But we did not going to go gently into that good night. We bounced back with Glen Perkins and Patrick Reusse in 2023, and started including current players the next year when Minnesotans Matt Wallner and Louis Varland joined us.

Since we had already broken the ice on the pint glasses reflecting the mood of the fan base, we kept going down that path, too:

• the 2022 season ended amid a slew of injuries
• the 2023 season ended with the Twins breaking the playoff loss streak
• the 2024 season ended with the team for sale.

Which brings us to the 2025 season, a season that ended with a fan base trying to process just what the hell happened to their beloved franchise. We'll reveal that design tomrrow, but you're welcome to give your thoughts below. Or better yet, make sure you get your glass by becoming a Twins Daily caretaker and getting your free tickets, and grabbing up to three more tickets for your crew. See you on Friday for the reveal!