From the monthly archives:
In case you missed the BeerAdvocate.com Extreme Beer Fest (EBF) this year — don’t worry, so did I — the folks at FloridaSPL.com shot some video interviews with a few of the brewers on hand discussing the extreme beers their brewed for the festival. Watch them and feel like you were there. Or even more bummed that you missed it. Either way, they’re good for a watch (more related videos linked at the end of this one):
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If you want to learn more about yours truly than you ever thought you needed to, then check out the interview I just did with good friend and fellow beer blogger, Ashley “The Beer Wench” Routson over at her blog, DrinkWithTheWench.com (click here for the interview).
For those just coming here for the first time from her site: welcome, thanks for visiting. Please make yourselves at home.
And for my readers unfamiliar with DrinkWithTheWench.com, check it out – Ashley is far more talented and better looking than my goofy ass!
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That’s the question. Apparently there’s a big hullabaloo about it in Twins Nation (thanks to Beernews.org for bringing it to my attention). Target Field, the will-be new home of the Minnesota Twins organization will be selling cans of Surly Brewing Co. beers at games for a whopping $10 a pop. I guess the high price point (which I assume is decided upon by the Twins organization and not necessarily Surly themselves) is causing some major drama among the Surly faithful. There’s even a poll (with lengthly follow-up comments) on the Surly Facebook Fan Page. But is it too much?
You sort of have to put it into context. While I’m not familiar with Twins games, I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Fenway Park in Boston where a cup of Coors Light is $8. If I was willing to spend that much to drink crappy beer at a ballgame — I’m not — I would happily fork over an additional $2 to drink something better. However, I have to wonder how many craft beer fans really go to major league games. And of them, are there enough willing to spend $10 to make selling Surly cans worth the Twins’ while?
I do know that the Portland Sea Dogs (the AA affiliate of the Red Sox who play their home games here in Portland) feature a “microbrew tent” at every game with many of the local craft brews, including Shipyard, Gritty’s, etc. The cups of those beers go for a reasonable $6 (I believe); only a dollar more than Bud. And the line for the “Microbrew Tent” is always 20 people deep at every game. I would venture to bet that the Sea Dogs sell more $6 Shipyards at a home game (note that there are not more than 7,000ish people at every game, max. Most of whom are under 21) than the Twins will sell $10 Surly cans.
And Adam at Beernews.org raises a good point,
The problem with offering beer at a venue like a ballpark is that the venue can get away with price gouging which, in turn, can hurt the brand.
By the looks of the comments on the Facebook page, Surly fans are pretty, well, surly over the price point. What do you think? Would you pay $10 for a good (and believe me, if you haven’t had anything from Surly, it’s pretty damn good) beer at a ballgame? Worth it? And how much is too much?
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I had the pleasure of sitting down with Chris Avantaggio of Beer ME Maine recently to discuss his new brand of Maine & 
beer-inspired duds and the brand he is silently but explosively building throughout the state (and beyond). Chris was also kind enough to pass along a “review copy” of one of their shirts and pint glasses so I can tell you first-hand that this stuff rocks! He was also kind enough to pass some savings on to all of you – for a limited time, enter the coupon code blogaboutbeer at the BeerMeMaine.com checkout and enjoy 10% off your purchase price! You can check out all of Chris’ designs at www.BeerMeMaine.com, follow them on Twitter @BeerME207 and become a fan on Facebook at Facebook.com/beermemaine Without further adieu, here’s a bit more about BeerMeMaine.com and how it came to be, straight from designer’s mouth:
BlogAboutBeer.com: How did you come up with the idea for BeerMe?
Chris Avantaggio: It began with blaze orange. Every fall a bunch of friends and I go the Maine Brewers festival. It’s always pretty chaotic at these events and we wanted a way of finding each other to re-group and compare tastings. Wearing blaze orange made the most sense. In the fall of 2009 I decided to design a t-shirt logo that we could wear to the event. After a handfull of designs that were all kind of lame, I came up with BeerME. It made perfect sense. It displays a love for the state and our beer!
BAB: What has been the reaction so far?
CA: People have been really excited about it. It’s great to see so much enthusiasm for the brand. I had a friend actually sell a shirt off his back at the Brewers Festival. I couldn’t believe that.
We’ve gotten a lot of response from fans living outside of Maine as well. Fans who no longer live in Maine but want something to wear around and show off. It’s like having a home team jersey.
Overall I would say the response has been very postive, and I’m really happy about that.
BAB: What do you have planned for the future of the company?
CA: I’d like to get some more variation in the apparel, I’ve had some requests for women’s t-shirts and other goods. More colors are always on the radar too. We’ve set up a few select wholesale accounts in Portland and we’ll be reaching out to other vendors across the state in the future. We may also offer some co/branded shirts with Maine Breweries who are interested. We’re just getting started, so there’s lots to do!
I also have some ideas for future designs, I can’t say too much, but they’ll be fun and Maine inspired!
BAB: What’s your favorite Maine beer/brewery?
CA: Ahh….man that’s a tough one. There’s so many awesome beers in Maine! How do you even judge?
If I had to pick an all time favorite, it would be Sheepscott Valley Brewing Co’s Pemaquid Ale. It’s a hearty beer fit for any occasion. Plus it comes in growlers! My wife and I served a keg of it at our wedding last summer and it was a huge hit.(which reminds me, I think we still have to get the keg shell back to them. Sorry Steve!)
BAB: And the catch-all, Anything else you think we should know?
CA: Support your local brewer! And if you’re interested in some of the goods we carry, we’re offering a special deal to the readers. Enter the discount code: blogaboutbeer in our shopping cart for a 10% off limited time offer.
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The following is a guest post video from beer blogger Billy Broas of BillyBrew.com. Billy’s on a mission to teach the world about craft beer. He thanks Luke for the opportunity to share his beer-geekdom with the Blog About Beer readers. (editor’s note: if you would like to contribute a guest post to BlogAboutBeer.com, please contact me)
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Hi and welcome to Blog About Beer. My name is Logan and I live just north of Portland, Oregon, a city that has more craft breweries than any other in the US. I'm a full time marketer, blogger, and dad to the most beautiful girl in the world. I'm also a homebrewing and craft beer fanatic. Read More...
