August 11, 2006
RFK Concessions: Cheer for Beer?
As the toasty summer finally begins its comforting descent into autumn, we're confronted with a leisure-time question: what to do about the 28 remaining Nats home games? The weather’s getting nicer, but the baseball’s getting nasty. Last night, more than 21,000 enjoyed a 77-degree evening at RFK, but spent it watching the tattered remains of a Nats pitching staff get knocked around the yard in a 9-6 loss. With AAA-level baseball being played at RFK, what gives us a good enough excuse to head over to the ol’ ballyard?
You might be able to guess our Friday answer: beer.
Fortunately, in Wednesday's paper, the WaPo's Greg Kitsock did some legwork for us. Kitsock -- the editor of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and American Brewer Magazine -- went to the re-opened RFK and sought out beers that outstrip the standard stadium light beer fare.
Kitsock had some pleasantly surprising findings: Redhook IPA, Widmer Hefeweizen, Kirin Ichiban, and the apparently never-before-seen “Home Run Ale." That said, local brews are largely absent, especially after the demise of the Foggy Bottom Bar, owing to an apparent disconnect between local brewers and RFK concessionaire Aramark:
"We've tried, but have been singularly unsuccessful," laments Jerry Bailey, president of Old Dominion Brewing in Ashburn. Bailey says he left three phone messages asking his D.C. distributor to push his beers to Aramark, the company that handles concessions at RFK. "We never got an answer back."
Aramark’s official reply? Fans should leave specific requests with RFK Guest Services at the stadium, which certainly doesn’t sound like the new, fan-friendly RFK the Lerners want. So, readers, you tell us: as you head over to RFK for this weekend's series with the NL-best New York Mets, what beer would you like to enjoy? What fine ale or stout could effectively pass the time between Soriano at-bats?
Photo by Flickr user epmd.
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Aramark's response seems totally in-line with everything I've witnessed at RFK regarding concessions. It is hard for me to believe that a company could care less about what it's customers want than Aramark does at RFK. If the Lerners care at all, they'll dump Aramark after the season and find a new vendor for next year.
That would be my suggestion.
Regardless of what type of beer I'd like to enjoy, the real enjoyment would come from not having to pay $6.50 for a plastic 12oz.
Jake, i'm prertty sure those plastic bottles are actually 16oz. This doen't mean that $6.50 is a reasonable price especially for a miller lite.
Olde English 40's?
Hear hear about the prices. I was pretty pleased to see Sierra Nevada and Pilsner Urquell, but I'd like to see some good local stuff and the Yueng also.
Fat Tire (west coasters and MT staters know what I mean)and all of the Spatan line....Ohh Shiner too.
Who the hell goes to a baseball game to drink "expensive" imports? Maybe if you whine enough they'll put a Starbucks in RFK. Man. you people are somethin' else...
"Fat Tire"
Yeah, you, me and the rest of the beer-drinking East Coast would love to see FT here. Unfortunately the closest place I've seen it is St Louis.
Fat Tire has never distributed east of the Mississippi. Whole Foods on P St. even has a note posted on their "request a beer" list that says "Don't request Fat Tire." From the Fat Tire web site:
Q. Where can I find your beers?
A. Good question. Crucial, really. We are a regional craft brewer distributing throughout the western United States. You can find most or all of our line in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arkansas and northern California.
'Expensive' imports, when they're only a dollar more than the other swill, quickly become a bargain at the ballpark.
Fat Tire has been sold in the DC area. I swear I've seen it in the 17th St (NW) area, I just don't recall where. Try Cairo liquors?
Who the hell goes to a baseball game to drink "expensive" imports? Maybe if you whine enough they'll put a Starbucks in RFK. Man. you people are somethin' else...
GGG - It depends on how you're going to the game, if you're in the cheap seats pounding a beer every inning then drinking thicker, darker, tastier beer doesn't make a lot of sense. But when I'm going with the boss or family, I'd like to really taste the two beers I have while I'm there.
Peace,
HR
PS - If they're going to have coffee in RFK, it should be Murky Coffee.
Fat tire is not yet sold this far east. I promise you. It's not even that good since they changed brewers. If you want good CO beer you drink 90 schilling. Everything else is CO poser beer.
You guys just have no faith, and have no idea how to root for the hometeam.
In a sport where only 8 teams make the playoffs, it leaves much room for mediocrity. In addition, several teams have much worse records than the Nats: i.e. Royals, Devil Rays. So why bother going to games?
Simply, because baseball is fun. Win or lose, it's still a day/evening at the ballpark, and it's an experience we've all loved since we were kids. You yuppies overanalyze the whole point of going to baseball games, and unless the team's over .500 you bitch and whine. Shame on you.
I think it's important to remember an important (and overlooked) point in discussions such as these: the disparity between marketing a team to fans, and marketing a team to the public.
This yuppie spends many nights of his summer on the 400 level, scorecard in one hand and Coors Light in the other, and has a fine time. I'd say any team in the majors (besides FL) could easily host 20,000 fans a game with little else. Aside from the Cubs, Yanks, and BoSox, getting better attendance numbers means attracting more casual fans with a better ballpark "experience", which means better food, interesting beer selections, and all sorts of other add-ons.
Real Fans get worked up about it, but attracting the casual fan is an important generator of revenue, which is an important part of building a winner. Some of us in DC are hard-core baseball fans, some aren't, but the Nats are better off with all of us in the stands.
what are you doing in the 400's anyway? I buy the $3 tickets and sit field level every time. Never been caught once. The underpaid ushers just don't care. Hell, they sit next to me and enjoy the game, when they should be kicking me out of the section!
so no bitching about expensive food, because you can sit in the best seats in the house for next to nothing...as long as you bend the rules.
I buy the $3 tickets and sit field level every time.
Hilarious! Do you have to wait until a couple of innings into the game or do you just scope out an area that looks unused and squat immediately?
Just a not to the uncultured who also wants the SB like FT:
ITS NOT AN IMPORT its from Colorado and it is a MICRO BREW. We are supporting the little guy not some faceless conglomerate. Who do you work for Wal Mart?