University of Florida researchers may have engineered Gatorade to be an ideal thirst quencher on the field, but they never provided a crucial component to the sports experience: alcohol.

LSU is taking up that other kind of thirst for this coming football season. University bigwigs recently unveiled an inside-the-coozie marketing strategy. Translation: The Tigers are going to have their very own beer. The new brew will be produced and bottled by Tin Roof Brewing, a Baton Rouge-based microbrewery that was started last year by an LSU alum William McGehee and fellow Louisiana native, Charles Caldwell.

A name has been set, but, when contacted this week, LSU Business and Technology Director Charlie D'Agostino wasn't ready to divulge it just yet. The only clue he provided was the beer's type. Usually, Tin Roof trades in ales, but this offering will be a lighter pilsener.

"The typical pilsener is more drinkable by most people," D'Agostino said.

This revelation immediately gave way to our own speculation that there would be hints of Deutschland in the name. However, LSU lost it's German program in 2010, so that wouldn't be good advertising. That means Charlie Sheen still has an opening to lobby for "Tiger Blood."

As expected, the label is highly likely to include purple, gold and perhaps even a picture of a tiger. Tin Roof is currently undergoing all the necessary collegiate trademarking so they can use LSU-licensed art on the beer's packaging, D'Agostino said.

Whatever this mystery tiger brew ends up being named, it's likely to make it down to New Orleans, as it will receive the same distrobution as all Tin Roof products. But, as D'Agostino reminded us, don't expect to find it in Tiger Stadium - legally, anyway. Since that enormous spaceship of a football stadium is on campus, there's no drinking permitted in the stands, unless you're in a private box or club seat.

The seeds for the beer were planted on Tin Roof's founding, when the fledgling brewery started consulting with the University's Business and Technology Center. The brewery received technical help from LSU's food science program to perfect their craft. Later, the two started talking about the research of Dr. Chuck Rush, who had discovered a new kind of grain that was dubbed the purple rice. Along with being perfectly suited to LSU's color pallette, the rice variety's oxidization levels were ideal for the fermentation process that goes into making beer.

"They were talking about, 'What if after a purple rice, you make a purple beer," D'Agostino said.

The first crop of purple rice is currently being grown in Crowley, but it won't be ready to go into beer in time for football season.

"It's a long time before that's going to be commercially available," D'Agostino said.

With the crop still in R&D, the two sides decided to do the next best thing: Make a licensed product that could be marketed for LSU, with the LSU name helping Tin Roof, and the royalties from the beer going back to the university. The idea is not a new one. The University of California has their own wine, and of course there's that Gatorade. But, at a time when public education is facing budget cuts in Louisiana, University brass are hoping it will help get some attention, and money, for the school.

"This is not unusual, but it's really a big opportunity," D'Agostino said.