Beer and Baseball

There is no better pairing, in my opinion, than beer and baseball. A laconic sport the quick, short spurts of furious energy, the pace and demeanor of baseball is seemingly unique in sports.

Beer seems to match it. Beer takes time to brew, to ferment, to age. And then, when the time is right, the bright rewards burst forth from the tap as fluidly as a runner rounds third and heads for home.

At the ballpark you may hear something like, "For it's one, two, three beers you're out," which may mean a couple of different things depending on where you are. One, it may mean that the beer is so expensive you run out of cash by the time you buy the third one (thank goodness for plastic: one can pay up to $10 for a beer at the ball park). Or, two, it may be that the beer they serve there is so big that, by the time you finish the third one, you're out...passed out.

Some baseball entrepreneurs have tried to increase fan attendance by offering cheap (or free) beer. This didn't work so well with the infamous 1974 10-cent beer night in Cleveland; the fan riot required the Indians to forfeit to the visiting Rangers.

Legends abound around baseball and beer. The best probably involve Babe Ruth. One story tells of his penchant to leave the Yankee dugout between doubleheader games while on the road in Chicago, having a beer or two across the street at McCuddy's (torn down to accommodate the new Comiskey Park, US Cellular Field). Born to saloonkeepers, the Babe knew there is a connection between the sport and local brewing.

Just as the latest generation of baseball stadiums has generated a resurgence in the remembering of the good times of the past, breweries and brewpubs are finding their way back to local fans and fields. Denver hosts Coor's Field and Sandlot Brewery with fresh taps there in the stadium, plus a couple more breweries within walking distance. Chicago is another city where you can readily pair beer and ball; Goose Island's Wrigleyvile facility seems almost close enough to Wrigley Field to be hit a by bounding foul ball. Baltimore has joined the fray with Wharf Rat, a brewhouse at Camden Yards. Fenway Park has now drawn a Boston Beer Works branch within easy reach.

So, slow down, pour a cold one or two, sit back and enjoy a ballgame. Even if you don't like baseball, maybe the beer will keep you entertained.