Beer at Safeco

Prolly still the best option right by the stadiums. I've been to bars that weren't owned by evil corporations, but were owned by awful people, and the world didn't end.

 

Yeah, right by the stadiums, options are a bit limited. But, a few blocks North or South, and there's plenty of options. I generally hit up Collins Pub, then walk through hot dog alley and grab a couple sausages before heading in. There's breweries just a few blocks south of the stadium too.

 

If by myself, I'd probably branch out a bit. All my trips to Safeco have involved my brother, who's nowhere near the beer geek I am, and would probably otherwise make a beeline to Pyramid, and I haven't had a beer from Pyramid that I've dug in years.

 

I'll give Pyramid this; they can handle the game day crowds better than Elysian Fields. When we take a charter bus down from the brewery, I'll usually run in to Pyramid and grab a sixer of that cheap ImpIPA for the ride home. It suffices. I haven't checked out that Henry's Tap House across the street from the ballyard, but that might be OK, depending on crowds.

 

Pyramid handles crowds very well. Downside is the beer they serve in plastic cups is nothing special.

As I said before, if I'm heading to the stadium from downtown, Collins is the spot. Doesn't work well if you're south of the stadiums or if you're looking for a place super close by the gates, but if you're passing through downtown, it's the best option by a lot.

If you're coming from the south, I've had good experiences at Henry's before games. It's a bit hectic and devoid of personality, but if you just walk straight back and order from the bar, you'll get service easily. Usually at least a few top notch regional beers on tap amongst the 50 or so taps.

I used to love to park at the Gastropod and have a few beers there from Cody and crew and then stroll to the stadium, but they made the transition to Mollusk in SLU. Hoover's is another good stop from the south. Divey but with good beer from Georgetown, Fremont and usually Boundary Bay on tap.

Elysian Fields can suck it. Bad service, bad food, and meh beer served in plastic cups.

Quality Athletics, right across the street, is a bit bro-y as well, but has great food (fried chicken sandwich is da bomb) and a solid tap list.

Oh and of course if you're looking for the authentic Kingdome vibe, Sluggers still serves up a pretty good estimation of a Pioneer Square sports bar from the 80s.

 

I think I've been to Slugger's. Would've been 8 or 9 years ago.

 

i partook in $12 beers at safeco field last night. while my silver city IPA on cask was delicious, the fact it was pre-poured and stored in the fridge (and then topped off when served to me) was somewhat disheartening. and while my pour of workhorse was indeed excellent, $24 is a ton of money to spend on two beers. i get it that this is standard price for most stadiums and we are truly spoiled with the selection we have at the ballpark. but, there's just too many options outside the ballpark to justify throwing down so much cash on beer. next time i'll have a couple at hoovers, stroll over late, and sadly, abstain at the ballpark.

 

The $2.25 increase from last season is insane.

 

Well, I'm the original frugal guy, but no beer at the ballpark just doesn't seem right.

As long as I can remember, I've watched games with a beer in one hand and a scorecard in the other. The frugal guy recommendation is to get a cheap ticket (CF bleachers, or the right deal on upper deck view seats), and consider the extra $3 or $4 premium for each beer as just an extra tariff on your ticket. If the ticket is cheap enough, you can have a beer, a scorecard (from the Grand Salami guys), and the game, and still be around $30. Not what it used to be, but not bad. And the beer selection is of course pretty good.

 

I enjoy the center field bleachers at Safeco. Cheapest seat in the house.

The $12 price tag on beer this year stil hurts, though. I normally just get one.

 

i drank too much last night and was being irrational about "abstaining". hell, i even had to google how to spell the word abstain. i'll presumably stick with one from now on, but it'll be empty by the end of the 5th and then Johnny Utah will be calling my name. it'll be a recurring and potentially expensive predicament over the next 5 months.

 

Well, even though it's still early in the season, I can imagine the organization's response: "But we're in first place!"

As for my own beloved boyhood team, the Red Sox, they are also in first place, but their beer situation, from what I can tell, is even worse. I haven't been to Fenway in several years, but the reports I've found suggest they have the highest prices in MLB. And while I suspect they probably have an okay-ish inventory of good micros, I don't imagine they are offering up the likes of Trillium and Tree House.

I can't condone the prices at Safeco, particularly if they are going to underwrite the obscene salaries of players at the expense of the Average Joe and his family attending the game, but I guess it could be worse...

 

With the ticket prices at Fenway these days, the beer prices must just be adding insult to injury. Back when I did go to Fenway regularly (in the 60s and 70s) the bleachers were about the same price as a movie ticket at a second run theater. If that were still the case today, the second tier movies in Boston would have to cost $35 to $40, and I bet they don't. So Fenway's going to cost you. But it's worth it. I've been to about 15 major league parks, including Wrigley, the old Yankee stadium, and a bunch of others. And nothing compares to Fenway... both the park and the fans are incomparable. Prices be damned.

Back in the day, I think the beer must have been Naragansett. ("Hi, neighbuh, have a Gansett!")

 

I know I'm biased, but I entirely agree. The passion of the fans, the attentiveness to and knowledge of the game, the old, musty, and uncomfortable stands, the palpable sense of history every second you're there...it's impossible to beat, even if it now comes at a serious premium.

I was lucky enough to go to a number of games, including the post-season, when the Olde Towne Team was trying to reverse the curse more than a decade ago. Those invariably tense, momentous contests at Fenway and the old Yankee Stadium in 2003 and 2004, especially, represented baseball, and competition, at its most pure. I didn't even have to spend a penny on over-priced beer, so intoxicating were the games themselves.

 

So.... anyone remember the "King-Beers" at the Kingdome? Remember the promotional $3 Kingbeer buckets of Rainier for Gaylord Perry's 300th win.... there was about 3000 people there in the whole stadium.

 

So true, but then there were often only a few thousand at any game. I was there, and in some drawer somewhere, I should still have the "I was there for Gaylord Perry's 300th win" t-shirt they sold after the game. It wasn't like Perry was a genuine Mariner of longstanding. He was just another guy who dropped in to Seattle for a cameo late in his career, like Rickey Henderson.

I don't remember the beer special. I do remember that Perry obviously had something liquid going for him, as he was throwing spitters that did crazy things on the way to the plate. I think even the umpire was laughing.

 

Hopefully new ownership will take a page from Arte Moreno. When he bought the Angels, first thing he did was lower the beer prices. The M's make a profit every year, and now that they own their own regional sports network (Root), cash flow is even less of an issue. I have a hard time buying a pint of Field 41 for more than what a sixer costs. Haven't done it in a couple years, but one way of mitigating the cost is (at least was) to split a 22 with someone. Me and a friend knocked 3 -22's of FW Union Jack during Felix's perfecto a few years ago.

 

Heading to the game today! Beautiful day for baseball. I have a gift card with enough on it for a ticket and a beer, so it looks like I'm gonna splurge! Haha.

And for what it's worth, I got 7 tickets (cheapest seats) for $70 shipped, no fees for a late September Fenway game last year....but I bought them in January and it was a 50% game. So cheap I just gifted them to all the friends we were going with....or what the deadheads call, a miracle. And yes all the beer stands I saw was nothing but Boston lager, bud products, gansett, and the best I saw was 12 ounce harpoon cans for like 10 or 12 bucks.

 

does anyone know what the bombers cost this year?

 

hopefully that's literally the only thing they copy from the Angels ownership