All about LIBA's Louisville Brewfest, returning Friday to Louisville Slugger Field.

Look at it as your sole chance each year to drink a range of local beers inside Louisville KY Slugger Field.

Thank you, AB-InBev and Bats management. May I have another Bud Light Lime?

Louisville KY Brewfest 2016 to feature plenty of regional breweries, ‘Beer-oes’ beers, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville KY)

The Louisville KY Independent Business Alliance has to be happy with the way the city’s – and the state of Kentucky’s – brewing industry is growing. Now in its eight year, LIBA’s annual Louisville KY Brewfest, set for Friday, Sept. 23, is growing right along with the number of breweries.

This year, the festival will feature 20 different local and regional breweries; last year, Monnik Beer Co. made its first appearance, while this year those who haven’t yet made it to the recently opened Old Louisville KY Brewery and 3rd Turn Brewing will get a chance to taste a couple of their beers.

__

Bud Light Lime in Louisville, but in Cleveland, "Progressive Field keeps turning into a cavernous culinary and craft-beer mecca."

There was a time when each new season of Triple A baseball at Louisville Slugger Field would inspire me to dizzying heights of venom, as I'd delightedly denounce Bats management for its enduring white-bread Philistinism in a world -- in a city -- filled with genuine choice.

I can no longer muster the enthusiasm. We didn't attend a game last year, and this year isn't looking much better. It's a beautiful facility built with public money that actively practices anti-localism in concessions, and it simply no longer interests me to hand my money to people who have so little understanding of the working world I inhabited for a quarter-century.

In August, we'll be in Cleveland, Ohio. There's an Indians game that night, and while it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, it's clear the Indians "get it" in a way the Bats have never shown. It's evident that we'd be compelled to remove and rewrite genetic code for this to change.

Now, if someone were to give me tickets to a Bats game ...

Progressive Field adds Fat Head's, The Brew Kettle, Momocho, Dante Boccuzzi pizza, by Marc Bona (Cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Progressive Field keeps turning into a cavernous culinary and craft-beer mecca: The Cleveland Indians on Tuesday announced the additions of Dante Boccuzzi pizza and Momocho restaurants along with beers and food from Fat Head's and The Brew Kettle. And Great Lakes Brewing Co. – which began offering food last year – will have an added beer garden.

No matter where fans sit in the stadium, they will be close to a variety of food and drink options that go well beyond a simple hot dog and traditional lager.

__

The PC: Now that the Louisville Bats have a new majority owner, are the prospects for local beer in the ball yard any brighter?

THE PC: Now that the Louisville Bats have a new majority owner, are the prospects for local beer in the ball yard any brighter?

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

Since 1998, the city of Louisville has actively participated in the financing of Louisville Slugger Field.

Whatever the exact proportion of public-private monies devoted to construction and maintenance of the venue, metro government obviously continues to contribute financially in a myriad of ways, both large and small, toward the profitable operation of the ball park and its Triple-A occupant, the Louisville Bats baseball club. Soon the Louisville FC soccer team will be a Slugger Field tenant, too, and share in the largesse.

Slow news week, eh?

No, there is nothing unusual about any of this, and with rare exceptions, Americans seem to accept that sporting venues “work” in this manner, i.e., with public subsidies for private profit generators.

The “major” sporting leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) are where much of the real money is spent, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t tidy profits to be made further down the hierarchy of minor leagues, as Louisville's business journal documents.

Majority interest in Louisville Bats sold to New York company, by Marty Finley (Business First)

The local partnership team that has owned the Bats for nearly three decades has agreed to sell the majority interest and operating rights for the franchise to New York-based Manhattan Capital Sports Acquisition LLC.

MC Sports also owns the Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods, a minor league Kentucky team in the Midwest League, and the Class AAA Reno Aces of Nevada in the minor league Pacific Coast League.

Given that these matters generally interest me only from the standpoint of whether the “craft” beer selection within Louisville Slugger Field’s turnstiles might improve from its currently wretched depths, what we have here is a classic good news/bad news paradigm.

The bad news: The Bats no longer will possess a majority local ownership share.

The good news: Majority owners from New York, Beijing or even Timbuktu likely couldn’t do any worse than those residing right here in Louisville when it comes to promulgating the ideal of locally brewed craft beer in the ballpark.

Perhaps new blood would bring fresh ideas. After all, as we’ve noted so many times before, baseball clubs at all levels of the game have long since grasped that the very best reason to vend locally-brewed craft beer is market-based. Simply stated, local fans want locally brewed craft beer, and across America, their desires (and cash) are being honored, with a notable exception being in Louisville, where our Bats and their Centerplate hatcheteers continue to succumb to the simple avarice of pay-to-play dealings with multinationals.

So, does the majority stake sale constitutes grounds for optimism?

Alas, probably not.

The local partnership group — president Gary Ulmer; his father, Dan Ulmer; and Louisville businessmen Ed Glasscock, Steve Trager, Ken Huber and Mike Brown— will remain minority partners in the Bats organization. Gary Ulmer also will retain his leadership role, and the team management structure is expected to stay the same …

… “I don’t think fans will see any difference at all,” (Gary Ulmer) said, adding that it will be “business as usual.”

Oh, dear.

Three decades of antediluvian Philistinism have taught us that Gary Ulmer’s executive suite is the Formica-clad dungeon where beer hope crawls off to die, and now, even with an infusion of outside perspective, we’d have far better odds of Slugger Field beer improvement by regularly playing the lottery and vowing to buy 100% of the ball club with our future winnings.

Could this get any more grimly humorous? Yes, it can, and yet therein lies perhaps the only avenue for better beer’s salvation.

At the news conference, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the Katzoffs understand the treasure they are now safeguarding, telling them Louisville will have "high expectations."

Might these "high expectations" for our civic "treasure" include much needed affirmative action for locally produced goods and services ... like "craft" beer?

As mentioned previously in this space, Mayor Fischer recently convened a study group of local beer industry people, of whom I was one, to meet and discuss ways the city of Louisville might help promote locally brewed beer. A City Hall announcement pertaining to this is slated for next Monday, and the section of the recommendation pertinent to Slugger Field and the Bats is repeated below.

Of course, there's no guarantee that our recommendations will be incorporated into prospective courses of action, but speaking only for myself, the consultative exercise was marked by sincerity all around.

Louisville Metro Breweries in local city owned venues

The mayor’s work group recommends that more local breweries be included in city-sponsored events and on city owned property. Louisville Metro breweries would like the opportunity to sell beer at such events like Waterfront Wednesday, Slugger Field, Iroquois Park, Yum! Center. Also noted, Louisville Metro breweries like to be included in city sponsored events or festivals such as Hike, Bike, and Paddle, Worldfest, and Blues, Brews, and BBQ.

Details for Recommendations

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.

Actually, I’m cautiously optimistic.

If both the city of Louisville and the Katzoffs get it, any hired gun concessionaire, Centerplate or otherwise, can be compelled at the point of a pink slip to get it, too.

Local beer enthusiasts know that Gambrinus gives us the beer. Unfortunately, the Ulmers and Glasscocks of the world keep standing in the way. Maybe ... just maybe ... their time finally will pass.

Baseball's craft beer market explodes ... everywhere except Louisville Philistine Field.

On July 27, we attended a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. Here I am, enjoying the scene with a can of Summit IPA.

Behind us was a concession stand featuring local and regional beers. Out in right-center field, there was another area with good beers on draft. I bought a Surly. After the game, we walked to Fulton Brewery, which is located roughly two hundred yards from the ballpark.

Meanwhile, Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati continues to attract attention for its Reds Brewery District, and at the Slugger Craft Beer page at Facebook, Joel Z. makes an astute observation.

Too bad that the powers that be at the Bats/Slugger Field are still refusing to follow the example set by their parent club.

Joel, that's because they're incurable, unrepentant Philistines, even if certain local "craft" beer luminaries habitually apologize for them.

Have you ever looked for the word Philistine in the dictionary?

Gary Ulmer's photograph is there.

The Best Beer in Baseball, by Kevin Schaul, Kelyn Soong and Dan Steinberg (Washington Post)

Several years ago, craft beer started taking off at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark. From 2011-2012, sales went up by 20 percent. From 2012-2013, they were up 47 percent.

So when it came time to create a new hangout in a highly trafficked spot on the third-base concourse, the ballpark went all-in on craft-style beers. The new Reds Brewery District – an 84-foot-long bar with more than 50 taps – included more than 20 craft offerings when it opened this spring. There were local beers from Cincinnati brewers like Christian Moerlein, MadTree, Blank Slate, Fifty West, Rhinegeist, Mt. Carmel, and Rivertown. There were national options from well-regarded breweries like Founders, Bell’s, West Sixth and Great Lakes.

Smirking, the Louisville Bats add Sam Adams Rebel IPA to Slugger Field's paltry roster of good beer. Yawning, we stay home.

It's really hard to muster the enthusiasm necessary to care any longer about the willfully dismal record of the Louisville Bats when it comes to locally brewed beer ... about the team's perennial envelope-stuffed-with-cash Philistinism ... about management's proud ignorance.

In effect, every year begins with the management of the Bats looking me in the eye and saying, "We don't give a damn about you and your ilk. Enjoy the game."

I respond by showing up quite seldom, if at all. It's a shame, because the park is great. It's just that somewhere between 15 and 20 years of being insulted eventually add up to something that does not resemble an urge to support the team with my money.

Here's the occasional update on the situation at the one concession stand (hot roasted peanuts, main concourse, by section 115) that might periodically boast a locally-brewed beer, courtesy of Joel, who sounds fairly bored by the ordeal, too.

"My first Bats game in several weeks, and there was actually a bit of improvement at the 'craft' beer stand. Sam Adams' Rebel IPA had replaced the Redd's Apple Ale, joining Sam Adams' Boston Lager, BBC APA, and (still) the Leinenkugle Summer Shandy as tonight's selection."

Slugger Field embarrassment proceeds apace as even Forecastle makes room for better beer.

This is America, after all, and no idea has merit apart from comparative pricing.

That said, now that Forecastle has decided to "get it," the deteriorating situation for better beer at Louisville Slugger Field looks even worse -- if that's possible.

Kentucky Landing gets an unqualified thumbs up for me, if for no other reason than the prospect of plastic cups of draft Bo & Luke in the summer sun.

Forecastle to offer local food and drink at fest, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville)

 ... New to Forecastle this year is Kentucky Landing, an area that will highlight beer, food, art and more — all from the Bluegrass.

Breweries will include the aforementioned Against the Grain, Bluegrass Brewing Co., Falls City Beer, all from Louisville, as well as Lexington’s Kentucky Ale and West Sixth Brewing Co. Old 502 Winery will serve up Louisville-made wines.

It gets even worse for better beer at Louisville Slugger Field.

No sense in writing a dissertation.

Can expectations of Bats management and Centerplate possibly dip any lower? Our correspondent JZ went to a game a couple of days ago, and reports:

"It's getting worse, if that is possible. Even though tonight was the first game of a home stand, a visit to the 'craft' beer stand in the 3rd inning revealed no BBC (and thus the Sam Adams was the only choice)."

The previous dire preview: The Louisville Bats and Centerplate present: The Sahara of Slugger Field, 2014 version.

The Louisville Bats and Centerplate present: The Sahara of Slugger Field, 2014 version.

Here comes the first pitch of the 2014 season from Centerplate, and it's ... $6.75 for a draft craft beer at Louisville Slugger Field this year -- well, assuming you can find it. Amazingly, the situation may be worse than it was in 2013.

At a time when the Cincinnati Reds, parent club of the Triple-A Louisville Bats, is generating big-time headlines with a new craft beer concessions destination ...

Cincinnati Reds Go Big With Craft Beer, by Graham Averill (Paste)

Baseball season begins in April and over the last few years, there’s been a trend among major league ball parks to offer craft beer options in addition to the ubiquitous macro beer options. The Cincinnati Reds are taking their love for craft beer to a whole new level. This season, the Great American Ball Park will debut an 85-foot-long craft beer bar, dubbed the Reds Brewery District Bar, that features 60 taps and 23 different craft beers from all over the country.

 ... the Bats and Centerplate offer this delicious list of elementary-school-cafeteria-quality options.

The list does not identify brand names, so we turn to intrepid reader JZ, who gives us the report on the opening night options at the forlorn roasted peanut stand on the concourse by Section 115:

"BBC APA, Sam Adams Lager, Reds' Apple Ale & Leinies' Shandy. 2 out of 4 is not good."

Ouch!

If you're keeping score, that's one locally brewed craft beer (Bluegrass Brewing Company), one nationally distributed lager, and two MillerCoors foo-foo abominations.

As in the past, Louisville's chapter of Craft Beer Nation turns its lonely eyes to Against the Grain, which is the nearest option for good beer outside the turnstiles. Recently, AtG was hinting that it would be involved inside the ballpark this year -- you know, where the games being played actually can be viewed.

Accordingly, and with uncharacteristic excitement for my pay grade of cynicism. I asked AtG today at Twitter for scoop -- and here's a transcript of the conversation, with two random comments contributed by John King.

---

Roger
You guys doing beer inside the ballpark this year?

John
Looking at those prices, I'd be sneaking a couple cans in. And peanuts.

Roger
Yep. Centerplate needs to burnish it's monopoly, and the Bats need to pretend they're responsive

John
I can't judge, I pay $8 for Old Style to watch my team lose every year in Chicago.

AtG
We always have beer at the ball park! ... seriously, not immediately, draft box is still at shop & we don't have product to allocate yet.

AtG
It's low on the priority list & we've a lot on our plates at the moment.

Roger
Slim hope is better than none at all. Thanks.

---

There's nothing much to add, is there? Another season at Louisville Slugger Field, and another strikeout for better beer at the ballpark. John's close to the mark; cheering for good beer at a Bats game is rather like rooting for the Cubs. The season ends, and once again, you're disappointed.

"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.

---

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."

Can I think of any needed Improvements to Louisville Slugger Field? Hmm, well ...

Why, yes. In a pinch, racking my brain ... I may be able to come up with two items.

Local Beer.

Unfortunately, for as long as that football-field-sized AB InBev billboard keeps hold of management's collective wallets and conceptual cojones, it would be foolish to envision beer reform.

City to hire firm to evaluate Slugger Field, suggest improvements, by Marcus Green (WDRB)

Metro government plans to hire a firm to evaluate Louisville Slugger Field and suggest renovations, repairs and other improvements to the 14-year-old ballpark.

City officials are reviewing bids submitted last month for the work, which Louisville Bats president Gary Ulmer said is a first step in understanding the stadium's needs in the coming decades.

I've written about this issue numerous times in the past, in a saga that stretches back to Cardinal Stadium days prior to Slugger Field's construction. The song remains the same: Bats + craft beer = yearly embarrassment.

Here's a LouisvilleBeer.com piece from 2013 that summarizes the bleakness. In Louisville, we always "play ball" -- with the multinationals.

The Sahara of Slugger Field

The Triple-A Louisville Bats began play earlier this month amid the usual hot stove and cold fridge speculation as to whether Louisville Slugger Field finally would join the craft (beer) (food) (bourbon) (dining) (localism) (choose one) revolution currently underway in Louisville, as well as in most other baseball outposts scattered through the remainder of the United States.

If you’ve lived in these parts for any amount of time and possess the patience to read this far, you’ve already guessed the answer.

Nope.

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?

O'Connor Brewing headlines the craft selection in Norfolk, as Bats lose again.

The Louisville Bats have traveled to Norfolk, Virginia, where the Tides play at Harbor Park (opened in 1993) as the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.

So, what are the craft beer options at Norfolk's field? How do they compare with the perennially disappointing macro-mania fixation in Louisville? My verdict after cursory Internetz research: Thumbs up.*

Once again we see a locale comfortable with the proposition that mega and micro are not mutually exclusive, happily grasping the existence of demand for craft beer among the customer base -- a statistical certainty that neither the mercenary Bats nor others in Louisville's own craft brewing community seem able to bring themselves to concede. Entertaining all the fans who come to a game by offering genuine choice? Wow, what a concept.

The examples begin with a homebrewer:

To culminate an enjoyable brew session, the family and I traveled down to Norfolk, Virginia for an evening at the ballpark and a Norfolk Tides baseball game. For a long time, ballparks have been a veritable craft beer wasteland, and Harbor Park was no exception. In recent years, however, craft beer options (albeit limited) are starting to become available. Located on the first base side of the main concourse at Harbor Park is a draft beer stand featuring two beers from Norfolk’s own O’Connor Brewing Company.

Harbor Park can even be reached by light rail.

And while we’re on the topic, most of the concession stands sell only Bud or Coors products, but there are a couple of places in the park that you can pick up a craft beer; even some from the local brewery, O’Connor Brewery (reviewed below). Down the third base line on the main concourse is the Park Avenue Brewery stand. While it only has bottles, it has multiple options for craft beer including options from Starr Hill, Harpoon, Flying Dog, New Belgium and O’Connor.

Good grief. Even the park's Yelp reviews laud the selection of local (and other) craft beers.

The Louisville Bats?

Two well-hidden local craft beers on tap at a roasted peanut stand, and laughable ads touting Saturday specials for poseur mockrobrews like Shock Top, Amber Bock and Landshark Lager. The Bats place "craft" in quotation marks for the promos, indicating that even the club itself knows it's full of it.

The Norfolk Tides? Much better.

Tides win.

Season craft beer record: Opponents 7, Bats/Centerplate 1.

Previously:

Probably no craft beer options for Gwinnett Braves games at Coolray Field, so the Bats finally win one.

If you can find where the Charlotte Knights play, there's craft beer there.

Craft beer at Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball games.

Buffalo Bisons, Coca Cola Field, and local craft beer access.

Indianapolis Indians, Victory Field and a merciful end to "don't ask, don't tell" in local craft beer access.

Columbus Clippers: Locally brewed craft beer is a positive enticement. Imagine that.

Toledo Mud Hens view locally brewed craft beer as positive enticement. Imagine that.

* The standard disclaimer, to be considered any time one cannot actually be there to see things up close and personal, pertains to the bastardization of the "craft" concept by multinational, industrial brewers. Absent qualification, it remains likely that "craft" in many PR-speak contexts probably includes beers that are "crafty" (i.e., mockrobrews like Shock Top and zombie crafts such as Goose Island), and not locally-brewed craft beer.

Probably no craft beer options for Gwinnett Braves games at Coolray Field, so the Bats finally win one.

The Louisville Bats recently concluded a slate of games in Georgia, where the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves plays its games in the outer suburbs of the city -- a novel arrangement, to be sure.

The Gwinnett Braves also appear to be the initial exception that proves the rule, seeing as there seems to be little in the way of craft beer available at Coolray Field.

wordpress.com/2012/07/09/gwinnett-braves-a-great-experiment-or-failed-endeavor/">Gwinnett Braves: A great experiment or failed endeavor?

I'll leave it at that. The Louisville Bats have two craft beers on tap, albeit well hidden, so we'll give Centerplate the win this time.

Season record: Opponents 6, Bats/Centerplate 1. Previously:

If you can find where the Charlotte Knights play, there's craft beer there.

Craft beer at Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball games.

Buffalo Bisons, Coca Cola Field, and local craft beer access.

Indianapolis Indians, Victory Field and a merciful end to "don't ask, don't tell" in local craft beer access.

Columbus Clippers: Locally brewed craft beer is a positive enticement. Imagine that.

Toledo Mud Hens view locally brewed craft beer as positive enticement. Imagine that.

If you can find where the Charlotte Knights play, there's craft beer there.

I might stop here, with a brewer featured at a ballpark, throwing out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game.

Trying to imagine such a scene taking place at Louisville Slugger Philistine Field?

You'll just hurt your brain, because it's well night inconceivable.

The Louisville Bats are finishing a series against the Charlotte Knights down South. Charlotte is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Bizarrely, the team does not play in Charlotte. It doesn't even play in North Carolina. For the full story, I recommend the essay at Ballpark and Brews: "Charlotte, NC (Knights Stadium and NoDa Brewing Co.)"

So, what are the craft beer options at Charlotte's home park in South Carolina? How do they compare with the perennially disappointing macro-mania fixation in Louisville? My verdict after cursory Internetz research: Thumbs partially up.*

According to the article at Ballpark and Brews, there are several local and regional craft beers available at the ballpark. The piece also mentions the availability of Redhook and Widmer ... er, craft or crafty? I'd opt for the genuine, undoubted craft brewers. At least they're there.

Importantly, yet again we see a locale comfortable with the proposition that mega and micro are not mutually exclusive, happily grasping the existence of demand for craft beer among the customer base -- a statistical certainty that neither the mercenary Bats nor others in Louisville's own craft brewing community seem able to bring themselves to concede.

Entertaining all the fans who come to a game by offering genuine choice?

It may or may not be ideal, but Fort Mill/Charlotte/Asheville/Whatever appears to have gotten it. Have you attended Charlotte Knights games? Let me know how it works there as we continue to build a case for proper, genuine, locally-brewed craft beer at Louisville Slugger Field.

* The standard disclaimer, to be considered any time one cannot actually be there to see things up close and personal, pertains to the bastardization of the "craft" concept by multinational, industrial brewers. Absent qualification, it remains likely that "craft" in many PR-speak contexts probably includes beers that are "crafty" (i.e., mockrobrews like Shock Top and zombie crafts such as Goose Island), and not locally-brewed craft beer.

---

Previously: 

Craft beer at Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball games.

Buffalo Bisons, Coca Cola Field, and local craft beer access.

Indianapolis Indians, Victory Field and a merciful end to "don't ask, don't tell" in local craft beer access.

Columbus Clippers: Locally brewed craft beer is a positive enticement. Imagine that.

Toledo Mud Hens view locally brewed craft beer as positive enticement. Imagine that.

Craft beer at Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball games.

Did you know that the Pennsylvania metropolitan area known as Lehigh Valley is the 64th largest metro area in the nation? I didn't. More than 800,000 people live there.

The Triple-A baseball team known as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (pig iron production, get it?) plays its games in Allentown at Coca-Cola Park, which opened in 2008. The Louisville Bats are in Allentown for four games starting tonight. What are the craft beer options at Lehigh Valley's home park, and how do they compare with the perennially disappointing macro-mania fixation in Louisville?

My verdict after cursory Internetz research: Thumbs way up.*

Those readers suffering through another year of the gaping craft beer drought at Louisville Slugger Field will find the following article quite interesting. As a whole it surveys craft beer at ballparks nationwide, with this relevant excerpt focusing on Lehigh Valley:

Minor tastes

The lure of craft beers isn't limited to just the major leagues.

Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, home to the Phillies' Triple A baseball squad, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, offers four craft beers created by Allentown-based Fegley's Brew Works: Always Sunny pale ale, Fegley's Amber Lager, Knuckleball blonde ale and Hop Explosion IPA.

"It forges a bond between the fan, the experience they have at the ballpark, and the beer," company spokesman Mike Fegley says.

Fegley says the benefits of partnering with the stadium and having their beer on tap are multifaceted. He says "Always Sunny" -- a reference to the FX comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" -- is their No. 1 seller at the stadium.

Fegley says Coca-Cola Park sells about 100 barrels of beer during the season. The stadium will host the second annual PBS39 MicroBrew Festival on June 23.

"If they are a fan of the IronPigs, we hope they are a fan of our beer," Fegley says.

Fegley says there has been a trend in tastes among beer consumers — "the hoppier the better," Fegley says — which has also played into the popularity of craft beers.

"Those tastes are changing and part of the reason is stadiums are realizing that's middle America," he says. "Baseball fans are beer drinkers. They're not beer snobs, they're just guys who drink beer."

Yet again, we see a locale illustrating the proposition that mega and micro are not mutually exclusive, grasping the existence of demand for craft beer among the customer base -- a statistical certainty that neither the mercenary Bats nor others in Louisville own craft brewing community seem able to bring themselves to concede.

Entertaining all the fans who come to a game by offering genuine choice? It may or may not be ideal, but Lehigh Valley appears to have gotten it. Have you attended games in Allentown? Let me know how it works there as we continue to build a case for proper, genuine, locally-brewed craft beer at Louisville Slugger Field.

* The standard disclaimer, to be considered any time one cannot actually be there to see things up close and personal, pertains to the bastardization of the "craft" concept by multinational, industrial brewers. Absent qualification, it remains likely that "craft" in many PR-speak contexts probably includes beers that are "crafty" (i.e., mockrobrews like Shock Top and zombie crafts such as Goose Island), and not locally-brewed craft beer.

---

Previously: 

Buffalo Bisons, Coca Cola Field, and local craft beer access.

Indianapolis Indians, Victory Field and a merciful end to "don't ask, don't tell" in local craft beer access.

Columbus Clippers: Locally brewed craft beer is a positive enticement. Imagine that.

Toledo Mud Hens view locally brewed craft beer as positive enticement. Imagine that.

Buffalo Bisons, Coca Cola Field, and local craft beer access.

The Louisville Bats skipped town for Kentucky Derby weekend (who wouldn't?) and flew to Buffalo, New York for a series against the Buffalo Bisons at Coca-Cola Field, which dates to 1988 and a period when the city of Buffalo was considered a contender for a major league baseball club. The stadium was an early design prototype for later ballparks like Camden Yards in Baltimore, and was built to be expandable, from circa 19,000 seats to as many as 40,000.

But architecture isn't our concern. Beer is, and the questions are obvious: Are there craft beer options at Buffalo's home park, and if so, how do they compare with the perennially disappointing macro-mania fixation in Louisville?

My verdict after cursory Internetz research: Thumbs up.

First, the standard disclaimer, to be considered any time one cannot actually be there to see things up close and personal. It pertains to the bastardization of the "craft" concept by multinational, industrial brewers. Absent qualification, it remains likely that "craft" in many PR-speak contexts probably includes beers that are "crafty" (i.e., mockrobrews like Shock Top and zombie crafts such as Goose Island), and not locally-brewed craft beer.

That said, the scene at Coca-Cola Field looks good, even if corporate naming rights suggest otherwise (my guess is no Pepsi at this joint).

It is apparent that the management of the Bisons is trumpeting local choices wherever possible. There is a concessions area called the Consumer's Craft Beer Corner, and Flying Bison Brewing Company beers are accessible at more than one  tiny peanut stand within the turnstiles.

In fact, as with Indianapolis, there's something approximating palpable local pride, not merely heaping stacks of money, which is a refreshing change of pace from the dry, bloodless, bean counter's countenance of the Louisville Bats, which if entirely honest would feature a suited, actuarial Buddy BOT as official mascot.

Amazingly, Buffalo's approach appears to be dedicated to the proposition that mega and micro are not mutually exclusive, surely because Bisons management grasps the existence of demand for craft beer among the customer base -- a statistical certainty that neither the mercenary Bats nor others in Louisville own craft brewing community seem able to bring themselves to do.

Entertaining all the fans who come to a game by offering genuine choice? It may or may not be ideal, but Buffalo appears to be getting it. Have you attended games in Buffalo? Let me know how it works there as we continue to build a case for proper, genuine, locally-brewed craft beer at Louisville Slugger Field.

---

Coca-Cola Field Food Line-Up Receives All-Star Local Additions

 ... The Bisons have a strong commitment to the great local foods and beverages that can be found throughout Western New York. Bringing in the flavors that so many fans grew up on was a top priority for the team to further enhance the Bisons Baseball Experience at Coca-Cola Field.

---

Ballpark changes suit everyone’s tastes

... And speaking of Pettibones Grille, it has added the Pub at the Park, which will be open the entire game. The Pub will include nine flat screen televisions, a craft beer cooler and six new draft lines serving Flying Bison.

---

It’s That Time of the Year Again!

 ... We also know that'll change soon and we'll be enjoying another great spring and summer out here in Western NY! And with that change comes the return of our summer beer, 716 Kolsch and the return of Buffalo Bison's baseball! FBBC is teaming up with the Bisons to bring you an early summer. (You're very welcome...)

We'll roll out the first barrels of Buffalo Kolsch 716 at Coca Cola Field on Thursday, April 4th for the Bison's home opener and the first of many toasts to summer with Buffalo Kolsch 716.

---

Previously: 

Toledo Mud Hens view locally brewed craft beer as positive enticement. Imagine that.

Columbus Clippers: Locally brewed craft beer is a positive enticement. Imagine that.

Indianapolis Indians, Victory Field and a merciful end to "don't ask, don't tell" in local craft beer access.

Indianapolis Indians, Victory Field and a merciful end to "don't ask, don't tell" in local craft beer access.

Yesterday, the Louisville Bats drove north on I-65 to play a couple of games against the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field, which opened in 1996, just before Slugger Field was built. Both are prototypes of the simultaneously newfangled and old-fashioned approach to entertaining baseball fans. I pondered: Are there craft beer options at Indianapolis's home park, and if so, how do they compare with the perennially disappointing macro-mania fixation in Louisville?

My verdict after light Internetz research: Thumbs up.

First, the standard disclaimer, to be considered any time one cannot actually be there to see things up close and personal. It pertains to the bastardization of the "craft" concept by multinational, industrial brewers. Absent qualification, it remains likely that "craft" in many PR-speak contexts probably includes beers that are "crafty" (i.e., mockrobrews like Shock Top and zombie crafts such as Goose Island), and not locally-brewed craft beer.

That said, the scene at Victory Field looks good, and I'm probably going to get a few supplemental comments about choices I'm omitting by concentrating on Sun King. In the past, Upland beers have been available, too, and maybe others.

If for no other reason, consider the screenshot.

It reveals the Indianapolis Indians social media department committing an act of enthusiasm almost unknown in Louisville: Touting a local business, and a local brewing business at that ... as though (shudder) localism actually meant something.

Wow.

It reads like something approximating actual pride involved, not merely money, which is a refreshing change of pace from the dry, bloodless countenance of the Louisville Bats approach, which if entirely honest would feature a besuited, actuarial Buddy Bot as mascot.

Make no mistake: I understand that Sun King's marketing position at Victory Field is the result of a pay-to-play proposition. To what extent, I've no idea. And yet, think of the traditional handshake methodology of the Bats, wherein generous multinational brewing monolith tithing not only translates into guaranteed access for swill, but effectively blocks localism in beer, as well.

Victory's approach appears to be dedicated to the proposition that mega and micro are not mutually exclusive, surely because Indians management concedes the existence of demand for craft beer among the customer base -- a statistical certainty that neither the Bats beancounters nor others in Louisville own craft brewing community seem willing to do.

Entertaining all the fans who come to a game by offering choice? Incredible, but Indianapolis appears to be getting it.

Have you attended games in Indianapolis? Let me know how it works there as we continue to build a case for proper, genuine, locally-brewed craft beer at Louisville Slugger Field.

---

Sun King Indians Victory Lager named official craft beer of Indianapolis Indians (Beer Pulse)

Starting with opening day of the 2012 season, Sun King Brewing Co. is the Official Craft Beer of the Indianapolis Indians. Brewer/owner Dave Colt crafted a specialty beer in honor of this new partnership, Indians Victory Lager

---

CAPTAIN MORGAN COVE

The Captain Morgan Cove offers a full bar, including wine, spirits, Indiana craft beers on tap and a selection of specialty drinks. Wait service is available to the seated guests.

---

Previously: 

Toledo's Fifth Third Field

Columbus Clippers: Locally brewed craft beer is a positive enticement. Imagine that.

Toledo Mud Hens view locally brewed craft beer as positive enticement. Imagine that.

As of Thursday evening, the Louisville Bats are in downtown Toledo for games against the Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field, which was built in 2002, just after Louisville Slugger Field opened.

I was wondering: Are there craft beer options at Toledo’s home park, and if so, how do they compare with the perennially dismal situation in Louisville?

My verdict after light research: Thumbs mostly up.

There's a disclaimer to be considered any time one cannot actually be there to see things up close and personal, and it pertains to the bastardization of the "craft" concept by multinational, industrial brewers. Absent qualification, it remains likely that "craft" in these and most other PR-speak contexts probably includes beers that are "crafty" (i.e., mockrobrews like Shock Top and zombie crafts such as Goose Island) and not locally-brewed craft beer.

However, Toledo's Maumee Bay Brewing Company has at least two beers inside the yard and brews one "just for the Hens." Not only that, but the ball club seems to have refrained from hiding these choices, and miracle of miracles, actually promotes them as a positive reason for buying tickets.

Ohio must be a blue state.

At Fifth Third Field, four "craft" beer tastings are on tap for the season, as held on the field side of the turnstiles, not somewhere outside.

Finally, the stadium authority has embraced progressive aspects of New Urbanism to retrofit concessions areas, and such renovations are sorely needed in Louisville.

Here are a few links that tell the story. Excerpts are from the articles, and are not mine.

Have you attended games in Toledo? Let me know how it works there as we continue to build a case for proper, genuine craft beer at Louisville Slugger Field.

---

Try a Broken Bat beer; brewed just for the Hens!

Try a Broken Bat beer next time you're at Fifth Third Field! Broken Bat is brewed by Maumee Bay Brewing Company exclusively for the Mud Hens! Wet your whistle with Broken Bat or Buckeye Beer, available at the Hen & Hound casual dining station on the main concourse, or upstairs in the club level.

---

Maumee Bay Brewing

For the Toledo Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field, they are brewing Broken Bat Kolsch Ale. Both Broken Bat and Buckeye Beer are available on draft at the games.

---

May 17- - Pub 315 plays host to the first Beer Tasting Event of the season. 

Tickets to the beer tasting events will include an all you can eat buffet, beer samples from several craft beer vendors, and a souvenir giveaway. The other beer tasting dates are: June 6, July 5, and August 1

---

Mud Hens debut new foods, concourse face-lift

Fans entering the concourse at Fifth Third Field this season will notice some major changes as all eight concessions venues have new names, new signs and renovated facades.

The goal of the face-lift was to evoke the feel of a downtown streetscape, said Craig Nelson, president of A Cut Above Catering, the official catering group of Fifth Third Field.

“The whole concept originated with asking how can we upgrade all our dining stations and make it feel like you’re walking down this downtown street, trying to choose where to have dinner or where to get dessert,” Nelson said.

The Louisville Bats really must hate craft beer to marginalize it this way.

April 17 update: Why Isn't Against the Grain's Beer Available at Louisville Slugger Field's Concession Stands?, at Eater Louisville.

---

Courtesy of the Louisville Bats club and its conniving henchmen at Centerplate, there's the "Best of Belgium" at Slugger Field, now with Bud Light, too, which is about as Belgian as Ronald Reagan.

And what of American-made craft beer, the world leader in innovation, as so richly represented in the territories comprising the Bats' fan base?

It's just as sad a situation as during the last couple of years, with craft beer restricted to the virtual ghetto of the roasted peanut stand on the main concourse near section 115, with signage limited to table tents so as not to offend the behemoths who grease the wheels.

As craft beer and baseball fan JZ reports at the Slugger Craft-Beer Facebook page ...

Opening day choices: BBC APA, Kentucky Ale, Magic Hat No. 9, and Leinenkugel Summer Shandy.

Of course, the latter two are crafty, not craft, but there's even more from our friend DH:

Inside the park I opted for a Bats Brew, which was described to me as "an Amber out of Tennessee". Sort of a poor man's Fat Tire.

In 2012, a fan encountering Bats Brew was told that it was ABInBev's Amber Bock in crafty disguise. Rather like putting the Louisville Slugger name on a piece of wood lathed in China, although the Bats never would be able to grasp the analogy.

As baseball clubs at all levels begin to see that the very best reason to vend locally-brewed craft beer is market-based -- because fans want locally brewed craft beer -- our Bats and their Centerplate hatcheteers continue to succumb to the simple avarice of pay-to-play dealings with multinationals.

At least we're not the only fan base with this difficulty. Here is what the New York Yankees believe is craft.

The Yankees’ “craft beer” stand is anything but

Craig Calcaterra

Apr 4, 2013, 9:45 AM EDT

75 Comments

wordpress.com/2010/10/generic-beer.jpg?w=269" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px none; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="269" />

Amanda Rykoff went to the Yankees home opener and discovered that they have a stand called “Craft Beer Destination.”  And what sorts of good craft beer do they sell there? Maybe Six Point? Maybe Brooklyn? Maybe something from Ommegang upstate? There is a lot of good beer in New York! What is it?

These so-called “Craft Beers” — (from left to right) Blue Moon, Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Crispin Cider, and Batch 19 lager — are all products of MillerCoors. Miller and Coors aren’t exactly niche products.

Here's the 2013 craft beer list for Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

The Louisville Bats are the AAA subsidiary of the major league Cincinnati Reds.

In more ways than one, unfortunately.

It's another year, and fairly soon we'll know if it will be another sad campaign of craft beer underachievement for Louisville Slugger Field and Centerplate, its concessionaire. As you contemplate the bare minimum beer options perennially offered by the Bats, read about what's available 90 minutes up the road at Great American Ballpark. Take it away, Ian at his BeerQuestABV blog.

Great American Ball Park Craft Beer List.

Last week I talked about how more craft is coming
to the baseball field in Cincinnati, and what
Sportservice, the people who manage the concessions,
are doing to make it more of a focus. This week,
I'll be giving out a list of what's available at
various sections around the park, and also shedding
a light on what influenced the list.