Diary: Affirmative beer action in taxpayer-funded venues.

What was that?

Some random thoughts on how local government can be helpful when it comes to having better beer choices?

Of course, as it pertains to the majority of local businesses participating in what sometimes resembles a free market, government can't do a lot. However, there hasn't ever been much of a free market at taxpayer-funded ballparks and entertainment venues, where the fix tend to be "in" with concessionaires.

In this context, I believe that landlords have sizeable bully pulpits, but they must elect to use them. The mere mention of quota reviews should do the trick. Here is my recommendation to Metro Louisville government.

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It is widely understood and accepted that Metro Louisville government is an equal opportunity employer, one that seeks to utilize minority, female and handicapped employees, whether when hired directly, or indirectly through contractors, suppliers and vendors. The importance of these precepts extends far beyond beer and brewing, to government’s fundamental aim of providing conditions for the improvement of daily life.

In like fashion, metro Louisville government understands the critical importance of the local economy in a sustainable future, as well as the key position that locally generated food and drink businesses occupy in the city’s outreach, whether within the community itself, or directed toward visitors from elsewhere. Alongside urban bourbon heritage and an explosion in innovative dining, Louisville’s breweries serve as exemplars of this new economy.

Aspects of pre-existing “older” economic systems sometimes must be modified to fit new and evolving realities. As an example, it has remained the case that customary concessions practices in venues for sports and music have evolved from the three-tier alcoholic beverage distribution system at state and federal levels, and to a certain degree, reflect private commercial matters between concessionaires and wholesalers.

And yet, there is nothing fundamentally ‘Louisville” about concessions choices emanating solely from contractual arrangements that the general public never sees. For native and tourist alike, viewing a baseball game at a venue such as Louisville Slugger Field should present the opportunity to inform and offer choices that pertain to the community which laid for the venue’s construction – that speak to Louisville itself.

Reflecting the reality that private for-profit businesses entities and drinks vendors utilize publicly financed venues and facilities, Metro Louisville government seeks to be a positive force in encouraging these entities and vendors to provide equal opportunities for local brewers, precisely because public financing of these venues implies acceptance of the merits of equal opportunity, as well as providing the ideal forum to educate attendees as to the merits of local, sustainable economies.

Metro Louisville government supports the creation of branded, destination concessions areas unique to the venues its taxpayers have financed. It works to educate concessionaires as to the benefits of a contemporary local economy as it pertains to beer and brewing, safe in the knowledge that profit margins for handcrafted beers can be equal to or greater than those for products supplied by multinational breweries.

In short, Metro Louisville government enthusiastically greets the chance to expand local brewing consciousness by use of the landlord’s bully pulpit in venues/events that include, but are not limited to, Slugger Field; Waterfront Wednesday; Iroquois Amphitheater; YUM! Center and Hike, Bike and Paddle.

"We're giving fans what they want," except at Louisville Slugger Field.

A local insider forwarded this article to me, as transmitted via Craft Business Daily.

I hear periodic rumors that the lamentable situation at Louisville Slugger Field will change for the better during the forthcoming Louisville Bats campaign, but much like human rights in North Korea, it's best not to believe Gary Ulmer and Centerplate until they actually do something. Since there is no substantive record of action to improve beer choice and to grasp the utility of local beer for local sports, my advice in 2014 is the same as in the past: Don't hold your breath; it deprives you of much-needed oxygen and does nothing to alter their purely mass-market instincts.

The Sahara of Slugger Field (LouisvilleBeer.com; April 15, 2013)

However, in 2013 the beer-loving stewards of the stadium are giving us something even worse: Taste the Best of Belgium, a stand-alone beer kiosk featuring Hoegaarden, Stella Artois and that other universally known Belgian masterpiece, Bud Light, as guaranteed to give Centerplate, the Bats front office and AB-InBev’s foreign management the very first sustained tumescence, sans-Viagra, that they’ve welcomed in decades.

Now, read about sports venues in the modern world.

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Craft Becoming Major Contender at Sports Venues (Really)

If this Sports Business Daily piece is right, sports venues are a lot more craft-centric than is apparent, and growing. Ovations Food Services executive VP Doug Drewes told the outlet that craft beer now represents 25% of total beer sales at its facilities, while import beers have another 25% share. Its facilities include 100-plus convention centers, fairgrounds, casinos and stadiums across the United States. "We're giving fans what they want, and it's turned into a 50-50 mix throughout the industry now," Doug said.

(In fact, Ovations is becoming a craft brewer too. The concessionaire is developing "its first brewery at Jungle Island, a tropical theme park in Miami," per a related Sports Business Daily story. It's not an isolated venture: "Ovations officials believe they could partner with teams to develop microbreweries at arenas and stadiums.")

Giant concessionaire Aramark told the outlet how it has seen craft grow at its 11 Major League Baseball accounts: Vice president of marketing Andrew Shipe said 69% of consumption at baseball fields still comes from A-B and MillerCoors. "But over the past three years, there has been a shift of 5 share points and now the craft beer category is worth about 20%," he said. "Ten to 15 years ago, that category hardly existed." He believes domestics will continue to decrease in share based on industry data and their own trends. (Interestingly, a December Turnkey Sports Poll of 2,000 senior level sports executives revealed that 34% would be "more likely to buy" a 12 oz. craft beer for $7 at a large sporting event, while 47% said they'd be more likely to buy a 16 oz. domestic beer for the same price.)

To these guys, the economics are easy. Centerplate, which serves the Denver Broncos' Sports Authority Field at Mile High, has seen taps dedicated to pouring crafts at Broncos games jump from 15% to 21% over the last three years, and craft has even more share if you count its bottles and cans. They've also opened two craft-centric, 50 yard-line bars this season as part of $32 million in upgrades at the field. But at $8.25 per 20 oz. craft draft to $6.25 for a domestic at Broncos games, "the allocation speaks for itself," per Justin Kizima, Centerplate's general manager at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

And many sports arenas are converting underperforming areas to craft venues, which often end up "churning out sponsorship dollars for teams such as the Bobcats and Pistons to cover the cost of converting those areas."

Centerplate will allow Schlafly to be available at the Yum Center.

Today on Facebook, Schlafly's Scott Shreffler (try saying those three words more than twice in a row without falling off your bar stool) announced that Schlafly would have craft beer at the KFC Yum Center.

Here it is, folks. Starting Saturday, you'll be able to enjoy a pint of delicious Schlafly Beer at U of L basketball games or any YUM Center event. You're welcome.

Here's the bright new kiosk (Scott's photo):

Given the messy payola and congenital backroom conniving that lies at the very heart of most concessionaire dealings with publicly-supported sporting venues, I asked Scott to explain how this was accomplished.

Roger, we ...

Sighhhhhhh ... the preceding quote was pulled because Scott asked me to keep it to myself.  It goes without saying that I have no idea why it goes without saying. Maybe that's why I'm becoming an outcast in my own industry. Perhaps I need to stop introducing inconvenient topics, cease rattling cages, and start trading beers with people 2,000 miles away. Maybe then I'd be happy. Maybe then I'd be brain-dead.

That's certainly refreshing, isn't it? Evidently there was no small-print advertising requirement, multi-dollar handshakes or mandated discounting of product.

On a related note, Sam Cruz of Against the Grain told me a few weeks ago that AtG intends to seek an arrangement to get the brewery's beer past the turnstiles and inside Louisville Slugger Field for next season, which is a Centerplate territory, too.

Wonder if I'm still blacklisted?

Reclaiming the horse racing biz with cheap, bad beer from multinational swill merchants.

Rick at The 'Ville Voice blog pointed to this story:

Cheap Beer — Is it enough to get you back to the track for night racing? [Churchill Downs]

The horse racing business in Kentucky is struggling, and the demographic for racing at places like Churchill Downs is shrinking. The most recent Kentucky General Assembly has spent time considering these issues in the context of competition from Indiana casinos and other vestiges of entertainment in surrounding states.

The track recently unveiled its first-ever night racing, and opening night was far busier than expected. The track apologized and vowed to do a better job by including "cheap beer" and shorter lines, and last night, the big promotional item was dollar Budweiser Selects.

So, to prove the importance of Churchill Downs to the local/state economy, the track's concessionaire features cheap beer from a multi-national brewing company headquartered in Belgium.

That makes sense, doesn't it?

Bats, Centerplate as oblivious as ever, but Browning's ale is on tap inside Louisville Slugger Field.

Yes, there is Browning's beer inside Louisville Slugger Field. Last night, ESB was on the main concourse by the sports card shop.


It's identified as "import"beer, which is highly suspect grammar, and costs $4.75. When I observed to the worker that it isn't an import, she responded that she isn't supposed to know were it comes from. When I asked her if she knew it was made less than one hundred yards away, she expressed cluelessness.

The other worker acknowledged that yes, it's a "microbrew," but could not explain why it's identified as an "import" beer.

It is served in a white Budweiser/Bud Light cup. It tasted damned good in the heat, but I was afraid to be seen drinking it from such a receptacle.

Does the Louisville Bats management mandate persistent shoddiness like this from Centerplate, the supposedly "professional" caterer it provides a monopoly on subpar food and drink offerings? And while I'm at it, why should there be such a monopoly in a publicly-owned facility? All of you slamming your long-necks of vapid swill on the counter might want to think about that as you expedite your money to corporate headquarters in foreign countries.

Judging from the "Rally" mascot that performed profoundly unfunny routines throughout the evening, to the bored sighs of even the children present, I'm thinking the answer is "yes." Years pass, and the Bats just plain don't get it, do they?

Take me out to the ballgame: More about sports concessionaires, blatant extortion and non-competition.

A month or so ago, I reported on my experience at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati:

Sports concessionaires, blatant extortion, non-competition … but a good beer, anyway.

I edited the preceding into a "Mug Shots" column for LEO: Mug Shots: A fair price? (May 14, 2008).

The follow-up appeared this week: Mug Shots - Your beer is The Man (June 11, 2008).

In it, my parentage is questioned by an angry Anheuser-Busch representative. He should consider reading the book about the Busch family before impugning my origins, but no matter; he'll soon be taking orders in Flemish and taking his fries with mayo.

On Sunday, we're headed back to the Queen City to see the Red Sox play the homestanding Reds in interleague play. There should be time to visit the Hofbrauhaus in Newport before settling into the right field seats and cradling a few $7.75 IPAs ... assuming they're still there.

Happy Hudy time, anyone?

Sports concessionaires, blatant extortion, non-competition … but a good beer, anyway.

Yesterday I accompanied good friends to Cincinnati to occupy seats in the lower left field stands at Great Western Ball Park and watch the Reds pelt the Cubs with seven homers, three by Joey Votto, who toiled last year for the Bats in the Louisville Slugger good beer ghetto.

Near our seats was a concession stand vending Bell’s Oberon Ale at a price of $7.75 for what I judged to be a 14-ounce pour. Without giving too much away, I’ll say only that it figures out to a bit more than $900 profit (before expenses) on a regular 15.5 gallon keg of beer.

No, wait: Let’s give it away. At that price and that pour, it’s more than $1,050 coming in for something that costs me about $120.

‘Nuff said on that topic. There’ll be more in next week’s LEO, assuming my Mug Shots piece isn’t too hyperbolic.

Anyway, after one Oberon, the concession stand either ran out or could no longer work the tap, so I was spent scurrying past the usual endless queues at Great Western, around the outfield, and to the place where I remembered good beer being sold last August. The beer there yesterday was called Southern Tier IPA, and after being assured by another customer that it’s a craft brewer and not the latest Anheuser-Busch mockrobrew, I bought one.

Good stuff. Not the best American-style IPA I’ve had, but just fine, with plenty of body and hops, and fully worthy of my coney cheese dogs beneath a rainy sky filled with crushed baseballs.