Massachusetts beer brewer subtly trolls Ravens' Joe Flacco

The on-field rivalry between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens has cooled over the last couple of seasons, but some New England fans aren’t yet ready to let go of their dislike of Baltimore.

Tree House Brewing Company, based in western Massachusetts, recently sent some cans of beer to the Ravens’ Maryland facility.

In a company full of Patriots supporters – they ask potential employees if they support the team during the interview process – why send some suds to Baltimore?

Well … Tree House recently added cans to its product line, and 12,000 brewed and canned this month had “Is Joe Flacco elite?” stamped on the bottom, above and below the date each can was brewed.

It’s a question that’s been debated for years, and it’s no different in the brewery.

“We go back and forth,” Andrew Pillsbury, Tree House packing line operator told ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “In the regular season, he doesn’t look too elite. But sometimes he comes through there in the playoffs and it gives us a little scare. But we got Tom Brady, so we’re not really worried.”

It was Pillsbury’s idea to put the question on the cans.

“I figured let’s open it up to our audience and let’s see what they think,” Pillsbury said of his inspiration.

Flacco has led Baltimore to a Super Bowl win, and to the postseason in six of his nine years as the Ravens’ starter.

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