'Bye Dan' beer celebrates end of Dan Snyder's bitter reign over Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders could reach the end of an era Thursday when the NFL owners vote whether to approve the sale of the franchise from controversial owner Dan Snyder to a group led by businessman Josh Harris.

Fans can toast to the team's new chapter with a beer called "Bye Dan," created by Old Ox Brewery, which is located down the street from Washington's training facility and hosts broadcasts for local radio station 106.7 The Fan. The beverage was first released this spring in commemoration of the news that Harris and his cohorts, including Magic Johnson, finalized a bid to take over the Commanders. If the $6.05 billion sale is approved, it would be a record price for a North American sports team.

The beer is an IPA and comes in a can featuring a cartoon Major Tuddy waving with a quote bubble saying, "Tastes like 23 years of bitterness!"

"IPAs are traditionally a bitter style. And we’ve kind of associated Dan’s reign over the team as a bitter period in Commanders history," Old Ox owner Chris Burns told the Washingtonian, adding that there's tropical notes. "It’s kind of like your mouth has taken a vacation. So from our perspective, it represented this new beginning for the team."

According to the publication, the first wave of "Bye Dan" beer, which consisted of 350 cases, sold out in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Burns told the Los Angeles Times in May that he had almost 2,000 orders for the product and requests were coming from as far as Wyoming. The tagline was so popular that the brewery made T-shirts with the animated pig and "Bye Dan" slogan. The beer has now been distributed to local grocery and liquor stores.

"You’re seeing fans that have been kind of ashamed of their fandom reemerging," he said. "Not that they weren’t fans, just that they were ashamed to admit it. You’re seeing more jerseys on the streets now. You’re hearing people talk about the team who haven’t talked about the team in years."

Snyder purchased the team in 1999 and was known throughout his tenure for being arrogant. He was slow to respond to outcry over the team's former name. There were reports that he created a toxic work environment, including allegations of sexual misconduct.

On the field, the product was lackluster. Washington made the playoffs sporadically and hasn't made it out of the wild card round since 2005.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Bye Dan' beer celebrates end of Dan Snyder's bitter Commanders reign