Seattle Mariners pitcher and reigning American League Cy Young winner, Felix Hernandez, will make an appearance in Ballard on Thursday. Hernandez will be signing autographs and posing for pictures at the Ballard Fred Meyer ( 915 NW 45th St) from 1:45 to 3 p.m. The event is sponsored by Pepsi MAX Field of Dreams promotion.

From the release:

Pepsi MAX Field of Dreams is a joint promotion with Major League Baseball. Fans can vote online for their fantasy team of the greatest players of all time at each position. The winner will be announced during the MLB postseason. The prize is the chance for a team of MLB legends to play ball against the lucky winner and 10 friends.

(Photo courtesy Ben Van Houten, Seattle Mariners.)

We mentioned back in June that Seattle Mariners reliever Chris Ray and Fremont Brewing Company were teaming up on a special brew called Homefront IPA that benefits Operation Homefront, an organization that provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members.

That beer is officially on sale now and the process by which it was brewed is one I just had to share:

I wish the Internet were capable of transmitting smells, because baseball bats probably haven’t smelled quite like this since Babe Ruth cleaned out his locker for the final time. And the aroma was because Ray used a dozen maple bats as part of the aging process of Homefront IPA, a beer he created with the Fremont Brewing Company that was released in Seattle this past weekend.

The bats soaked in the beer for three weeks. (Ichiro would be appalled.) The result is a good, solid and hoppy IPA with perhaps a faint hint of a hard-hit grounder up the middle.

“I’m not sure if it adds a ton of flavor, but it ties it into baseball and gives it a unique twist,” Ray said. “It might add a little bit of flavor, but maple is a hard wood — that’s why they use it for bats — so there’s not a whole lot of absorbing going on. There are a lot of beers that age on oak chips and toasted oak chips, so we just thought if it added a little flavor, great. If not, it’s a nice story.”

Don’t worry, the Mariners aren’t actually using those bats (not that it could hurt at this point). They’re going to be auctioned off for charity.

Fremont Brewing produced 15 barrels of Homefront IPA, which is available at Safeco Field and various locations all around Seattle. Here in Fremont you can find it at The Red Door, The Pacific Inn and the Fremont Brewing beer garden.

If you’re a fan of the Seattle Mariners and a fan of beer, I can think of no better way for you to get into the charitable spirit than this.

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher and avid homebrewing enthusiast Chris Ray is working with Fremont Brewing on a special brew called Homefront IPA and it will be available at Safeco Field starting July 29th, as well as bars and grocery stores at some point afterward.

Sales of the brew will benefit Operation Homefront, an organization that provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors.

Check out some photos of Ray and the folks over at Fremont Brewing here.