Florida Pays Up on World Series Bet, Sending 20 Pallets of Orange Juice to Milwaukee
Fans can collect on their way to celebration Friday.
Florida’s Natural orange juice. Photo provided.
Wisconsin’s bratwurst supply is safe, and Milwaukee is about to be swimming in orange juice.
Florida’s Natural is making good on its World Series wager with Johnsonville, sending more than 20 pallets of orange juice to Wisconsin following the Milwaukee Brewers‘ championship-clinching victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night.
That’s approximately 200 kegs worth of orange juice, or enough to make 200,000 mimosas.
And a portion of the winnings will be available to Brewers fans during Friday’s championship parade.
The two companies announced the bet on Oct. 23.
If Milwaukee lost, Sheboygan Falls-based Johnsonville would send 413,554 bratwursts to Tampa, one for every resident of the Florida city. If Milwaukee won, Florida’s Natural would deliver enough orange juice for 200,000 victory mimosas.
The Brewers took care of business in five games, clinching the franchise’s first World Series title Wednesday night in St. Petersburg.
Within hours, Florida’s Natural had a semitruck on the road to Wisconsin.
A portion of the orange juice will be displayed Friday outside the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., along the championship parade route. Fans will be able to pick up cartons of orange juice and take photos with the shipment.
Representatives from both companies will also canvass the Historic Third Ward, distributing cartons to fans and delivering cases to area establishments for specialty drinks and celebratory toasts.
The winnings won’t all go toward mimosas and beermosas. Multiple pallets will be donated to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, the state’s largest hunger-relief organization.
“Florida’s Natural came through in a big way, and its mission of spreading goodness is fitting,” said Jamie Schmelzer, vice president of marketing at Johnsonville, in a statement. “We’ve never received thousands of cartons of orange juice at once before, and we’re excited to get the juice directly into the hands of fans.”
“No doubt a lot of that OJ is destined for mimosas and beermosas, but we’re thrilled that this payout is also giving back to families across the region,” he said. “The juice was worth the squeeze, and our Head of Supply Chain is breathing a big sigh of relief right now.”
Johnsonville has more than just a marketing connection to the Brewers.
The sausage company has been the team’s official sausage since 2021. Johnsonville Chairman Ralph Stayer and his wife, Shelly, also purchased a minority ownership stake in the Brewers in 2023.
Stayer and members of his family could be spotted in the front row behind home plate at American Family Field during the team’s playoff run, enjoying a particularly good view of the franchise’s historic postseason.
The prominent seats also put Stayer just a few spots away from another well-known Brewers fan, “Front Row Amy” Williams.
For Florida’s Natural, the outcome was disappointing, but the company is embracing its obligation.
“We were looking forward to those brats, but since we have to pay up, we might as well make it juicy,” said Kelly Wade, director of marketing at Florida’s Natural. “We’re happy to be here to add a little Florida goodness to the festivities, and a dose of Vitamin C as well!”
“It’s great to see this friendly rivalry play out with Wisconsin fans and families during a time they will remember for years to come. Congratulations!”
The companies are encouraging fans to share photos from Friday’s festivities on social media using the hashtag #SausageVsOJ.
Milwaukee Is Also Getting a Monet
The orange juice isn’t the only unusual prize coming to Milwaukee as a result of the Brewers’ championship.
The Milwaukee Art Museum is also awaiting delivery of a painting by French Impressionist Claude Monet, the result of a separate World Series wager with the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The two museums agreed that the institution in the losing team’s hometown would loan a Monet painting to the winning city’s museum.
With the Brewers’ victory, Milwaukee is in line to receive Monet’s Houses of Parliament: Effect of Fog, London, a 1904 painting depicting the British landmark along the River Thames.
Had the Rays won, Milwaukee would have shipped its own Monet, Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect, to Florida.
Unlike the orange juice shipment, however, the painting won’t arrive in time for Friday’s celebration.
Details of when the painting will arrive in Milwaukee, how long it will remain on display and when the public can view it have not yet been announced. The arrangement is a temporary loan, not a permanent transfer of ownership.
The unusual wager was initiated by Milwaukee Art Museum Director Kim Sajet, who challenged her St. Petersburg counterpart, Klaudio Rodriguez, while the two were attending a museum conference in Los Angeles.
The paintings, both depicting London landmarks along the Thames, could be exhibited together in Milwaukee.
“There’ll be a mini Monet exhibition,” Sajet told Wisconsin Public Radio before the championship.
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