Where's the beer?

The Washington Post has expressed bemusement at the sere lack of local beer at the new Nationals Ballpark.

When the Senators played at Griffith Stadium from 1911 through 1961, fans probably slaked their thirsts on such regional brews as Senate and Old Georgetown from the District and Nattie Boh and Gunther from Baltimore.

But local beermakers have been mostly shut out at Nationals Park. <...>

The list of high-end bottles includes <...> the only local representatives thus far: Hook & Ladder Lighter and Backdraft Brown from the Hook & Ladder Brewing in Silver Spring. The last two are actually brewed at High Falls Brewing in Rochester, N.Y.

Tom Cizauskas, territory manager for Clipper City Brewing in Baltimore, said he tried to meet with Centerplate (the Nats' concessionaire) on numerous occasions between August 2007 and March 2008 before being given the brushoff. Noting that "we're less than 40 miles away as the crow flies," he expressed disappintment [an amusingly apropos typo] at the lack of local beer in the Nationals' park.

In all fairness to the Nationals, their director of business development, Catherine Silver, did try to recruit a local brewer, Capitol City Brewing. The original idea was for the D.C.-based brew-pub chain to operate a beer garden in an alcove on the left-field side. Centerplate would have been in charge of the food.

<..> The deal foundered, according to [head brewer Mike] McCarthy and Capitol City regional manager Mark Pearson, because Miller Brewing Co. -- a major sponsor of the Nationals -- objected to signs or banners bearing the Capitol City name.

Beer
Just 2 Hometown Players Made the Cut
By Greg Kitsock
Wednesday, April 9, 2008; Page F05

I reported in August of 2007 that the original architectural drawings from the HOK firm had even included plans for an operating brewpub on-site at the ballpark. That would have been an inspired touch, à la Sandlot Brewing, a Coors brewpub with craft-style beers at Coors Field in Denver. But the plans were quickly redacted.

The local breweries are here: we can produce the beer; we can have the beer distributed to the ballpark. The lack of outreach is a direct slap at local civic pride.

Other related YFGF posts:

• A keening loss at both of the area's baseball ballparks [31 March 2008]
• Nationals open ONLY one LOCAL bottled beer [28 March 2008]
• Centerplate contact information [23 February 2008]
  
• Good food and good beer at the Nats??? [27 August 2007]
• Baseball soon, but no good beer [15 February 2007]