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Crafty beers at local ballpark

Discussion in 'US: New England' started by J5ryall, Jun 14, 2018.

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  1. J5ryall

    J5ryall Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2015 New Jersey

    This is probably on my mind more than usual because the Goose Island book just came out, but I was at a Somerset Patriots minor league baseball game tonight and it really bothered me that there were no local options on tap. The tap handles were dominated by ABin Bev beers, and other macro beers or macro-owned beers, including goose island, blue point, etc etc. Maybe 15 + different beers on tap and not a single one of them was independently-owned or local. It is essentially the "illusion of choice" that is described in the Goose Island book and other places. After reading the book it is clear that this is a distributor driven issue, and it bothers me. Not because the crafty beers are terrible, but rather the better, local options are blocked out of venues like this because the taps are basically owned by the distributor for the macro brands.

    What is particularly bothersome to me is that I had a recent trip to Miller Park in Milwaukee. Even there where you would expect complete dominance by Miller there were a ton of locally-owned and independent beers on tap. It disgusts me that these multinational conglomerates have the ability to completely dominate the entire distribution network to the point where I cannot get a local beer while sitting in a local ballpark watching a local team.

    My question is what if anything can be done about this? Are there regulators or agencies to whom or which we can report these types of issues? I really wanted to get a beer at the game but I could not justify promoting these actions by buying in.
     
    #1 J5ryall, Jun 14, 2018
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  2. tinoynk

    tinoynk Pundit (788) Sep 25, 2010 New York
    Trader

    Good beer costs money, and that's something many minor league teams can't really get together for amenities, especially niche ones like craft beer.

    I could see a popular minor league team in NC (beer scene + Bull Durham? right?) or something having a good local presence, but otherwise any minor league team investing money into their experience will probably go toward physical renovation, and if any concessions get a bump I'd guess food would be a priority.
     
    #2 tinoynk, Jun 14, 2018
  3. FatSkippy

    FatSkippy Initiate (0) Mar 21, 2005 New York

    sounds like Yankee Stadium
     
    #3 FatSkippy, Jun 14, 2018
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  4. J5ryall

    J5ryall Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2015 New Jersey

    And Giants stadium although Giants stadium has Brooklyn. Or at least it did I know that the beer selections this past year we're not as good as prior years. The Mets actually have some decent reelcraft selections throughout the stadium though you need to know where to look

    As far as the prior comment they already have the tap systems in place all it is is getting a keg and selling it. There's no substantial capital investment required.
     
    #4 J5ryall, Jun 14, 2018
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  5. YamBag

    YamBag Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 Pennsylvania

    I've noticed a decline in craft selection at citizen bank over the years and see more of the bud light varieties in large cans being pushed.
     
    #5 YamBag, Jun 14, 2018
  6. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,133) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Beer choice is up to the retailer (either the team or, if the case, the subcontractor which runs concessions) - it'd be illegal for the distributor to "own" or control the taps. The retailer, of course, is free to decide to only deal with one area distributor and free to take the distributor's suggestions for draught choices. Looks like the concession vendor is Home Plate Catering & Hospitality and their rep at that stadium is listed on their website.

    In Somerset County, the AB distributor is High Grade Beverage, which also distributes numerous independent craft brewers like Anchor, Victory, Ithaca, Firestone-Walker, Otter Creek/Shed, Stoudt's as well as NJ brewers Flying Fish and Ramstein.

    A look at the stadium's website shows they have a "Leinenkugel Lodge" and a "Guinness Pub Cart" - neither of which are AB or High Grade brands, so they do deal with other distributors. I don't know Somerset distribution, esp. after the sale of the Warren/Hub City distributorships.
     
    #6 jesskidden, Jun 14, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2018
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  7. J5ryall

    J5ryall Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2015 New Jersey

    Exactly. And two things about that bother me. First because I am informed I understand what I'm looking at when I see a variety of taps with macro owned beers and since I do not want to support that I end up not having a beer at the ballgame. Second I would suggest that the majority of people are not informed and think they are buying something special or higher-end and independent and while the beer might be passable it is not the best beer that is available nor is it what it purports to be.
     
    #7 J5ryall, Jun 14, 2018
  8. J5ryall

    J5ryall Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2015 New Jersey

    Leine is owned by Miller. I didn't see Guinness (thought wouldn't drink it if I did). I understand the choice may technically be up to the team but the macro business practices result in all of those taps being populated by crafty beers (pricing, incentives, etc, I don't have the time or the space to write a book here) and the beers that I want to drink being nudged out of the market.
     
    #8 J5ryall, Jun 14, 2018
  9. njcraftfan

    njcraftfan Zealot (696) Dec 18, 2016 New Jersey

    Blue Claws stadium in Lakewood has a decent craft selection, including Icarus which is just down the road... I think a lot is dependent on demographics and trends, if enough people were seeking real craft/local options I suspect it would happen, sadly we are still a very small part of the beer consuming population...
     
    #9 njcraftfan, Jun 14, 2018
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  10. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,133) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yes, I know that - the point being Leinenkugel is not an AB brand and so isn't distributed by High Grade. I don't know the current MC house that supplies Somerset county, but as an example, in Middlesex and surrounding counties, the MillerCoors house is Shore Point, which carries dozens of independent craft brewers (depending on county), including a number of local NJ breweries like Flying Fish, Cricket Hill, Jersey Girl, Asbury Park.

    The point being, either the AB or MC houses that is supplying the stadium's "Home Plate Catering" would likely be happy to sell them kegs of the (more expensive) independent craft brands they also carry. I'd call that Home Plate rep I linked to and ask him why they don't.
     
    #10 jesskidden, Jun 14, 2018
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  11. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,647) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I haven't been to a game in like 5 years. Back then there were the "Brewerytown" or whatever select locations that usually had locals like Victory, Yards, Troegs, etc. available. Is that no longer the case?

    Back in 2014 when the Washington Post did their MLB stadium ranking based on BeerAdvocate scores for the offered beers, Citizens Bank ranked 11th overall.

    That ranked 30th in the above reference ranking.
     
    #11 jmdrpi, Jun 14, 2018
  12. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,860) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yeah, I tend to think that these kind of things are not as nefarious as they're usually made out to be. It's usually just an owner with a captive audience who doesn't give a shit what they serve, as long as it moves and makes them money.
     
    #12 TongoRad, Jun 14, 2018
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  13. Daveshek28

    Daveshek28 Pundit (761) Nov 10, 2015 Pennsylvania

    Really wish Yankee Stadium would offer things besides garbage AB Inbev stuff. 12$ for a crappy old goose island IPA? No thanks!
     
    #13 Daveshek28, Jun 14, 2018
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  14. J5ryall

    J5ryall Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2015 New Jersey

    Maybe I'm being too skeptical. Thanks jesskidden for the perspective
     
    #14 J5ryall, Jun 14, 2018
  15. YamBag

    YamBag Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 Pennsylvania

    There's still craft beer, but I feel you have to seek it out now, versus a few years back when it was at all the vendor.
     
    #15 YamBag, Jun 14, 2018
  16. J5ryall

    J5ryall Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2015 New Jersey

    I changed my mind. The erosion of available independent craft at places like ballparks is the inevitable end result of macros buying brands and accounting for crafty sales along with the macro beers when dealing with their distributors. And while these distributors have other they are def pushing the macro stuff, or being forced or incentivized to do so by Big Beer
     
    #16 J5ryall, Jun 15, 2018
  17. dennis3951

    dennis3951 Initiate (0) Mar 6, 2008 New Jersey

    If they are charging $12;00 for a GI IPA how much would a SNPA cost $20:00!
     
    #17 dennis3951, Jun 15, 2018
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  18. J5ryall

    J5ryall Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2015 New Jersey

    That's the problem with consolidation, economies of scale, incentives, and distributor loyalty, the macro crafty stuff is sold at much lower cost by the distributors and therefore offers huge margins, so of course the venue will take it. The result is they don't even bother with SNPA because they can't or won't sell a $20 beer and if priced same as crafty they won't get same margins.

    An earlier comment notes that less local, independent variety has been the trend. I've seen it too; it is the intended result of the macro acquisitions of craft brewers it just took time to see it. They are winning and it sucks for consumers who want better. The problem is, we are a very small part of the consuming public
     
    #18 J5ryall, Jun 15, 2018
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  19. Daveshek28

    Daveshek28 Pundit (761) Nov 10, 2015 Pennsylvania

    The Mets at Citi Field have a pretty good selection relative to Yankee Stadium (unfortunately that doesn't help me out as a Yankee fan). They have Sixpoint, Southern Tier, and Ommegang, as well as some local Long Island breweries. The Yankees obviously have some huge deal with AB Inbev, which is why the only "craft" you'll see is something like Goose Island.
     
    #19 Daveshek28, Jun 15, 2018
  20. BeastOfTheNortheast

    BeastOfTheNortheast Pooh-Bah (2,153) Dec 26, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I've gone to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins games and have gotten Stegmaier and Susquehanna Brewing Company beers. I'm cool with that. Would prefer Breaker or Benny, but the other 2 are still independent.

    It probably just comes down to the stadium/arena/venue and what they choose based on who chooses it.
     
    #20 BeastOfTheNortheast, Jun 17, 2018
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