Friday, July 4

The beers of Progressive Field

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

In honor of a great holiday during which to have a beer, I thought I'd unveil a little project of mine, where I've identified the locations of all the alcoholic beverages sold at Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. Sure, a beer is always good at a ball game, but considering how the Indians' season has gone so far it may prove to be an essential for surviving games as the Tribe plays out the string.

I've collected data for the lower bowl (100 sections) and upper deck (500) sections - those of you Richie Riches who sit in the club seats are going to have to find your own white zinfandel and three-olive martini stands. Note also that the upper-deck information (500 sections) was taken from a weeknight game, and that none of the concession stands for sections <533 and >559 were open. Incidentally, this means quite a trek for Friends of the Feather in Section 504, but considering that they paid $8 to see a major-league baseball game, they shouldn't protest a little walk.

Beer prices
Pay attention here, because this is important. Beer is sold in three formats: 16 oz draft, 16 oz can, and 12 oz bottle. The price for a "domestic" draft (which is always Bud or Miller Light/Lite) is $6.75; the price for a "premium" draft (somehow this includes things like Labatt but also genuine premiums like Dortmunder) is $7.25. When you consider how far superior a beer like Dortmunder is to one of the American Lights (do they sell National Light in the NL?), not to mention the higher alcohol percentage, you're making a mistake getting a light draft unless you're in rehab or something.

Bottles follow a similar pricing scheme ($5 domestic, $5.75 premium), while all cans are watery, domestic beer, at $6.75 a pop, just like a draught.

Wine and mixed drinks are each $7 a piece - I can't vouch for the size because I sort of shuffled right past those places. Daiquiris are the park's priciest item at $9 a cocktail. No word on whether you get a little Chief Wahoo umbrella with them.


Beers by Section: the lites
Seriously, if you can't find Bud Light or Miller Lite in Progressive Field, there is something really wrong with you. Perhaps you're a Yankee fan. This section is mostly here for completeness' sake. A "c" means 16 oz can and "b" means 12 oz bottle - otherwise, we're talking draft beer. BE is the Batter's Eye bar in centerfield.

Miller Lite: BE, 108, 113c, 116b, 120, 134, 151, 154, 154, 158, 163, 172, 180, 186, 533, 546, 550c, 554, 559
Bud Light: BE, Gate C, 108, 108 (yep, twice), 116b, 155, 158, 162, 170, 172, 182, 541, 550c, 556

Oddly, I typed "186" here and by MGD in red text and I have no idea why. Ironically, I wasn't drinking either night I compiled these.


Beers by Section: actual beer
Amstel Light: BE, 113b
Beck’s: Gate C, 113b, 129, 170
Budweiser: BE, Gate C, 113c, 129, 550c
Coors Light (hey, I said actual beer - how'd you get here?): BEc, 185, 550c
Corona: BEb, 113b, 550b
Corona Light: 113b
Foster's: 113b, 550b
Great Lakes Dortmunder: BE, 116b, 163, 546, 550b
Great Lakes Eliot Ness, Burning River, Holy Moses: BE, 116b
Guinness: 113b
Heineken: BE, 113b, 550b
Honey Brown: 131, 164, 552
Labatt Blue: BEc, 113c, 131, 164, 172, 550c, 552
Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat: 158, 170
Leinenkugel Summer Shandy: 108
MGD: 186, 546
Molson: BE, 113b, 550b
Pabst Blue Ribbon, the greatest beer ever: Sadly, nowhere. Though recently when I went to a game, I had one in the elevator on my way down and dropped it off in my apartment complex's mailroom trash, where I gleefully discovered at least three other residents had already done the same.
Sun Dog: Gate C

Daiquiri: BE, 153
Mixed Drink: BE, 153
Wine: BE, 153


You may have noticed a couple of hot spots areound the park. We have, of course, the Batter's Eye Bar in centerfield, offering the widest selection of beverages in the park. There's also the Beers of the World stands in sections 113 and 550 and the Great Lakes microbrew in section 116. Of course, let's not forget Ladies' Night over in section 153. Don't even think twice about where to look for the fun-loving single girls in Progressive Field!

Enjoy the game, and always remember to drink responsibly, unless you're me and you live within walking distance of the stadium, in which case, drink until the Indians look like a good team.

Go Tribe!

1 comment:

John said...

Andy sorry for the late comment but a nice piece of reporting.