Have you ever streamed a Spring Training game through Firefox on a Mac? That’s me right fucking now and it got me thinking, “Hey it’s not too early to have a fucking beer!”. Which, with our 108 logic is true for every waking hour from now till October. So you might be asking yourself, “How do I drink like a 108’er?” “What does Chorizy-E or Beefloaf drink on a crisp spring morn?” or perhaps “What can I get at the park with the most bang for my buck?” Be thankful that MSS is here to help.
Pregamin’ Like a Boss
The 108 guys have a modified split season ticket package, which is all weekend home games. We add in the Friday games, mostly cause we can’t wait till Saturday to get drunk, tell old stories and test our feats of strength. What do we begin the night with? As a former employee in an advertising agency, my drinking on Friday used to begin at about 3 or 4pm. I used to bring in all sorts of assorted beers to work for our “tastings”, so I sometimes would start out with some pretty good beers. I enjoy stouts, porters, IPA’s, lagers and whatever you put in front of me. I like just about anything if it is made well. Or cheap. Or, well, I will drink most anything.
Fridays is usually (always) at BeefLoaf’s Patio. What’s key about this, is even in the event that we get hammered, we can still see when they start the game. If we miss the opening fireworks SOUND (which can sound like gunfire) with can SEE the fireworks being shot off. Our cue to drink up or get a road cup. Or take a roadie to slam on the 5 minute walk over there.
Last year we drank-a-many of what we call Kirky’s, the least offensive, least tasting beer, Kirkland Light. You could get a 48pk, for about $24. $12 a case, which is pretty solid. What I enjoyed about them was that you got 2 cases in one. Sadly, it seems like that my location (even with me buying 10+ cases last year) seems to have discontinued the Kirky’s, which doesn’t make me angry or sad, much like their beer didn’t leave an impression on me either way. So what will be the pre-game drink of choice? Let’s look into BeefLoaf’s Magical Cooler……
BeefLoaf is always good for a 6’er of the good shit. He might enjoy one here and there, but besides being a very talented numbers guy, the man knows how to host a party. Even if the party is just 5 guys, he will have some type of beer or booze that will tickle your fancy. The good stuff is usually an offering from Revolution Brewing in Chicago. Anti-Hero is a 108 fave, with it’s 6.5% ABV, it get’s you toasty on a cool evening and cools you down during the warmer months. It comes in cans which is a must.
While we drink the shit outta Miller Lite at the park, the domestic offering in the cooler is usually High Life. Why you ask? Cause it’s fucking delish. Plus it isn’t as pretentious as PBR. Moving from High Life to Lite is a pretty natural transition, so that seems to work well.
The wild card beer can be a number of things, Modelo (Especial or Negra), Budweiser, Lagunitas, you know beer. If the Indy fellas are feeling crazy, we might have a really fresh Three Floyds selection, which is always awesome. But as long as it is cold, we DGAF.
Booze.
Back in the day, I used to drink alot of vodka. But then I started blacking out and being told stories the morning after of insane behavior, so I kinda ended that. Now-a-days , I will have a watered down margarita or lemonade vodka at the game, but for the most part I stay off the hard stuff. The other boys enjoy all sorts of what we call “short glasses”. I’m good for a shot here and there, but that is usually limited to our Indiana Nights, which I will begrudgingly (I spelled that word right the first time!) shoot Jager with all the locals, which tastes just like college. Or regret. Tequila is always available. Bourbon, vodka is always out for the dads, but beer is the #1 thing we drink the most.
In Game Decisions.
Between the 5 of us, we all have at least two vendors on speedial. If we happen to be later than the 3rd, one of us will get a text from said vendors wondering where we are. Last year we did have some informal tryouts after our fave beer vendor passed during the offseason. We have our regular guy, Brian, and James provides the frozen drinks. Both of these guys know how to keep us on point.
As most of you know, the beer selection at the park is pretty awesome. They have those “Beer’s Of The World” stands that will get you alot of craft beers including Yum Yum by Three Floyds, Daisy Cutter by Half Acre and several good non-domestic options. But if you swing by section 112 you will find the best deal in the park , Anti-Hero 24oz Drafts for under $12. I know what you are thinking, but per ounce that beer is cheaper than the 16oz Lites for $8.50. I am sure these prices will go up (Thanks Trump) but it will still be the best bang for your buck in the park. The ABV of Lite is 4.2%, Anti-Hero is 6.5%, you do the math. Plus it’s local and the ladies that pour it are some of the most lovely in the park. Love ya Shirley!
You get the Miller/Coors products in the seats, including Summer Shandy. I am not a big fan of the Shandy, but @alvaicaitis is, so that says something.
We stick to Lite and sometimes Coors Light during the game. Chorizy isn’t a fan of MGD, but like most of us, he’ll drink anything. Sometimes he’ll even drink 2 at a time.
Post Game.
Depending on the game, the temp, the crew, the coupons, the desire, the heart, the time, you can usually catch us having a drink or two to cap the drinking that has been going on for about 6 hours now. Pre-Kid, you could always catch me on the patio with ‘Loaf talking shit till 2am. Nowadays those convos are reserved for special times, but we all are usually good for a few after the game. Cause what do we have to do? Oh yeah drink the next day cause it’s Saturday. Sundays we might take it easier than we have on the Fri and Sat, but there has been some real fun Sundays that have been extremely liquid.
Our nightcaps are just what is leftover from the pregame which will be the pregame for the next game. The cooler is always stocked with 12oz cans of liquid love. New for 2017 is the addition of a HOT TUB that ‘Loaf installed during the off-season. It brings all sorts of questions on what 2017 will hold. Will Chorizy drown during his post-game nap in the tub? Will MSS’s hair clog it all up? Does ‘Loaf’s hair only get clean in his hot tub? Beers are always better in the tub, when you are knee to knee with your tall buddies.
“Is this a dream?”
“No. it’s BeefLoaf’s Patio. Now with hot tub.”
consume High Life like few other beers in the country. Now I know what you’re gonna say “Chorizy-E, MGD and High Life are made with the same recipe, you idiot.” To this I say, mix up 2 batches of cake ingredients, bake one and freeze one. I’ll take the baked cake, you can have the frozen thing you ignorant MGD drinker. I mean, High Life is just delicious. If it were socially acceptable, I would drink it for breakfast. Hey, maybe I already do, but that is not the point here. The point here is allowing beer vendors to regain pride in every beer they sell, to allow fans to enjoy every beer that comes to their seat, and for me to get higher alcohol content beer than Lite for the same price without risk of it having a boisenberry aftertaste that is just lovely. Plus, we should honor this guy’s memory because he was truly awesome.