Beer Here!

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Athletic ranks every baseball stadium by craft beer offerings. Citi Field is ranked #14. The Mariners get the top #1 ranking. Some guy named Michael Donato is quoted in the Mets section. Anybody here know him?



The Yankees are ranked #28.... that's 14 × 2. So do the math.

[kcmets]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=32041 time=1582160879 user_id=68]Some guy named Michael Donato is quoted in the Mets section. Anybody here know him?

[MFS62]

Seattle is the home of pretentious, high priced, lousy coffee, so I guess they have to offer decent beer as an alternative.

Later

[Ceetar]

I don't have an Athletic subscription so I can't read it.



I believe my brief summation would've been "Much like the team, the beer is good, it's around, but it could be better and it seems a bit improvised"

[Lefty Specialist]

Their basic take is the beer selection is good but accessibility is so-so; there's no organized way to find what you want as things are kind of random. Mikkeller gets a mention.



I'm guessing every stadium will be upping their craft-beer game in 2020. It's too profitable not to.



Except the Yankees, who'll probably arrogantly stick to their warm foamy $13 Bud Lights.

[kcmets]

I just had a Harry M Stevens flashback of the half-carbonated partially-chilled Schlitz

they used to serve in 'Big Beer' cups coming out of taps with Bud handles.



Ah, the memories!

[Ceetar]

Lefty Specialist wrote: I'm guessing every stadium will be upping their craft-beer game in 2020. It's too profitable not to.

I've been paying explicit attention to this sine 2009, specifically Citi Field, and I kinda doubt it. The 3-tier system and random crazy archaic laws make some of it tough to navigate and often it's offloaded to "just let Aramark deal with it" which lends itself to just taking whatever big 'deal' the big companies give you.



Citi Field does do a good job getting a reasonable selection of beers in there (but no dark beers, no real variety) but it's geared to me, to people that will seek out craft. They've gotten better at disseminating some of it around the park (Think about a grocery store that previously used to only be able to sell beer in a specific spot, or separate building, etc, and now they can slide some of it next to the limes in the grocery section)



but for the most part, if you're just a guy that likes beer and don't think too much about it, you're probably going to end up with a Blue Point lager or a Goose Island IPA before you stumble upon the independent stuff.



There are reasons for this of course, independent breweries can't produce enough to fill an entire stadium by themselves in most cases. Plus Anheuser-Busch specifically eliminates them from certain areas, and teams cave because $$$.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

The problem with Aramark and beer at Citi as I see it is that they too often don;t bother staffing booths that sell the indy brands. The Tuesday Night Mets Club was very disappointed to find the Promenade "Craft" coolers padlocked most nights. Some are available in the clubs, but you can easily miss an inning waiting for the 1 bartender on staff.

[Centerfield]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: The problem with Aramark and beer at Citi as I see it is that they too often don;t bother staffing booths that sell the indy brands. The Tuesday Night Mets Club was very disappointed to find the Promenade "Craft" coolers padlocked most nights. Some are available in the clubs, but you can easily miss an inning waiting for the 1 bartender on staff.

Yeah, this. You lose too much time having to walk to these booths, then standing in line because they are understaffed.



I do make it a point to try to find local brews when I visit other stadiums. When the Mets aren't playing, I don't mind missing more of the action.

[Ceetar]

yeah. I try to time it because I know where they are and how it all works, even only going a few times a year now. We'll see this year though, the older one is 'meh', but the little one has asked to go again. I'm thinking about bribing the older one with 'hey, let's just go after school, you and me, stay up late ,etc.'.



If I have to go to the bathroom anyway I'll go the extra 100 feet to where the good beer is. (the bathroom, being a corner, on LF field level is sometimes much less crowded anyway)



If i'm wandering around visiting people or taking in the stadium 'cause I haven't been in a while, I make sure to hit that spot last before back to my seat, etc.

[kcmets]

http://www.kcmets.com/CPF/022020a.png>

[Ceetar]

[attachment=0]beer.jpg[/attachment]

[kcmets]

I don't get why the vendors can't move their asses faster. If I was banking on

a $1-2 tip per pour I'd be hustling like the Energizer Bunny.



Also, they should set up some stations where you can produce ID once and get

a wrist band like they do at places like PNC Arts Center. Checking my ID every

time is really annoying. I often am wearing underwear that is over 21 years old.

[Ceetar]

I think roaming vendors might. There are less of them these days, and NONE (sans maybe a Brooklyn Lager) have craft beer.

[Edgy MD]

I understand a niche product is hard to find when you're trying to watch a ballgame, but hasn't anybody figured out how to make serious $$ by selling stuff in the stadium through smart devices?



>>> "Hey, let me know how Nuñez is looking this inning. I'm going to see if I can hunt down some decent beer."



>>> >>> "Sit tight. I ordered us a couple of Finback IPAs. The girl should be here in about ... lemme see ... two minutes fifteen seconds."



>>> "The fuck, man? How did you do that? Is that, like, a VIP service?"



>>> >>> "Not unless VIP' means anybody who downloads the SheaBrewTM app. I haven't gotten out of my seat to get beer all season. I also ordered a Ronny Maurcio shirt and a big, foam #1 finger from the clubhouse shop for your kid. They should be here by the bottom of the fourth. Plus, 1-800-Flowers has a booth here and I'm having a little bouquet sent to that chick on the aisle in Row F."



>>> "The one with the Chuck Taylors and the road jersey? Kinda looks like Lupe Velez?"



>>> >>> "I can't stop looking at her, man. It's been three innings and I haven't seen anyone with her. She keeps score so neatly, too. I think I'm in love."



>>> "This is amazing. You do all your purchases from your seat? Isn't that expensive?"



>>> >>> "They have teenagers running all over this place to make the drops, so, yeah, there's certainly an added cost for delivery. But they're just delivering orders, so they don't have to carry a whole inventory on their backs, allowing them to really make tracks. It's cool if you tip them as well, but, I figure, I'm already getting raped by ballpark prices so I might as well pay a few more and get to sit still and watch the game."



>>> "And watch Lupe, I guess."



>>> >>> "She's more of a Merle Oberon to me. Oh, shit, here come the flowers. She's going to turn around to see where they came from. How's my hair? Is there anything in my teeth?"



This has got to be a thing by now, right? If not, who wants to get in on the ground floor with me?

[kcmets]

What is about women in Chucky Taylors?



Having someone go down the line and punching orders into a device and giving

you a number speeds stuff up too.



I'm holding (it) out for an app to take a leak for me.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Excerpt:



https://theathletic.com/1600725/2020/02/19/a-beer-nerds-guide-to-baseball-ranking-every-stadium-by-craft-beer-offerings/https://theathletic.com/1600725/2020/02/19/a-beer-nerds-guide-to-baseball-ranking-every-stadium-by-craft-beer-offerings/

1. T-Mobile Park, Seattle Top beer: 10 Average beer: 10 Accessibility: 10 The craft beer scene in Seattle is in full bloom, and its ballpark has followed suit. Pacific Northwest labels Fremont Brewing, Reuben's Brews, Georgetown Brewing, Bale Breaker, Black Raven Brewing, Ecliptic Brewing, Ninkasi Brewing, and even the smaller pFriem Family Brewers all have beers available at the ballpark. There's a $6 (!) can deal every year, and one year it was a hazy IPA from Georgetown Brewing called Bodhizafa. Practically every food vendor has a craft tap, and there are cans in the aisles. And not only does this place run on craft beer, but it also has a stand behind home plate (section 129) that boasts hard-to-find cask, barrel-aged and specialty beers on a rotating basis. The list of rare beer releases at that stand last year was enough to excite even the most “hardcore of beer geeks” as Washington Beer Blog put it. Whether you want a cheap can of a crushable IPA, something hazy and local on tap, or something hard to find — you're not far from it in Seattle, which is the crown jewel of craft beer in baseball. 14. Citi Field, New York Top beer: 8 Average beer: 6 Accessibility: 5 There isn't an obvious enough plan here (no, this is not about the Mets). Yes, you can pregame at Mikkeller — a creative brewery that opened up shop outside the park but doesn't allow ins and outs with their beers — and you can find a couple of Mikkeller beers around the park. There's a Mikkeller ballpark-only beer dedicated to the 7 Line Army called United We Cheer. You can also find some really cool offerings from LIC Beer Project, Interboro and Brooklyn Brewery. There's some Six Point! 5 Boroughs, Montauk, Fifth Hammer … some great beer! Where is it? There's a stand behind Section 133, something in 304, maybe 416, the Foxwood's Club. “It's very random with like no rhyme or reason,” summed up former BeerGraphs writer Michael Donato. And that, by definition, makes it hard to find. If you define your ballpark by the best beer you can find, push Citi up to just outside the top 10. But accessibility counts, too. 28. Yankee Stadium, New York Top beer: 4 Average beer: 4 Accessibility: 2 You'll find some Bronx Brewing beer. And Blue Point — their toasted lager is around — is local. And that's it. It's not particularly easy to find, and it ignores all the beautiful beer being made in New York City. It's as if someone who knows nothing about local craft beer picked a brewery that was named after the borough the Yankees find themselves in, added another craft brewery that was owned by the conglomerate providing the rest of the beer in the stadium, wiped their hands and congratulated themselves on a job well done. Or, and maybe this is more likely, nobody there cares. Which is weird, because craft beer lovers drop serious coin on craft beer.

[Edgy MD]

"Michael Donato" is totally a made-up name.

[Lefty Specialist]

=kcmets post_id=32078 time=1582212800 user_id=53]
I often am wearing underwear that is over 21 years old.

[Ceetar]

You can get in seat service in the fancy seats. I think they'll get you anything even. But that's not quite the same thing as Uber Ballpark or whatever. Beershare. You're on line and only getting 1? load up the app and see if someone wants your second. Deliver it, boom.

[kcmets]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Well, that's certainly one way to get the line in front of you moving faster.

Well, they've been washed a few times in 21 years so not so bad!

[stevejrogers]

=Ceetar post_id=32112 time=1582232775 user_id=102]
You can get in seat service in the fancy seats. I think they'll get you anything even. But that's not quite the same thing as Uber Ballpark or whatever. Beershare. You're on line and only getting 1? load up the app and see if someone wants your second. Deliver it, boom.

[Ceetar]

that's more on the foursquare/swarm venue selection protocol/gps than on Untappd though.