Nationals open ONLY one LOCAL bottled beer

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post D.C. Sports Blog posted this yesterday:

Nats Park Beer Options

Your Opening Night local beer lineup.

What beers will be available at Nationals Park? Having asked this question about 4,000 times--"you've got a one-track mind," Stan Kasten told me this afternoon--I finally got the answer today, during the free-food tour of Nats concessionaires. No, there were no beer samples.

Domestic drafts ($7.50): Miller Lite, MGD, Budweiser, Bud Light.

High-end drafts ($7.50, smaller pour): Guinness, Bass, Stella Artois, Blue Moon, Sunset Wheat, Home Run Ale (Leinenkugel), Pilsner Urquell, Peroni, Yuengling.

Domestic bottles ($7.50, 16 oz. bottle): Miller Lite, MGD, Miller Chill, Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Smirnoff Ice. (Can't promise this list is 100 percent accurate; some might belong below.)

High-end bottles ($6.50, 12 oz. bottle): Amstel Light, Beck's, Corona, Heineken, Pete's Wicked, Red Stripe, Sierra Nevada Pale, Yuengling, Sam Adams, Sam Adams Seasonals, Tecate, Dos Equis, and eventually several Asian beers at the Asian food cart. (Again, some of the names on the list possibly belong above.)

Local bottles: Hook & Ladder Lighter.

I wish that the Nationals and their concessionaire — Centerplate — had shown more of a reach-out for local beers. A short road trip up to the Orioles Camden Yards — less than 40 miles north of Nationals Ballpark — would have demonstrated to them the robust Virginia/Maryland/DC beer business community.

(I work for local Clipper City Brewing, so I would have had a financial stake if we had been approached.)

Congratulations, nonetheless, to Rich Fleischer and his company—Hook and Ladder—and a heartfelt appreciation for them securing a toehold for craft beer in the new Nationals ballpark.