Update: Camden Yards Beer

The Baltimore Sun's Rob Kasper comes to the rescue.

Kasper went to the ballgame today, and provided several details as to the beer scene at Camden Yards. As reported earlier, the Orioles converted an Irish pub named Bambino's (Babe "The Bambino" Ruth was born not more than a few yards from the Orioles' present-day location) into a "Bud Light Warehouse".

Ack.

Double ack: $7.50 Stella Artrois. That's a fairly standard draft beer at a special beer price. Said Kasper:

It reminded me of Heineken, not especially exciting or flawed.

Exactly.

Other finds at the Warehouse included Busch's Shock Top Belgian White. Back on Eutaw Street, Kasper ordered Frederick's Wild Goose Pale Ale (Or did he mean IPA? $6.50 at the microbrew stand).

Things turned dark as the weather soured and the Orioles' 2-0 lead evaporated.

I craved a dark beer, a Guinness. So apparently did many other fans. By the sixth inning, the taps of the Guinness stand on the first level behind home plate had gone dry. No Guinness meant gloom and an Orioles defeat.

Opening Day left me with three questions.

Has anybody else tasted the Stella?

How about the Shock Top?

Finally, is it anti-American to drink beer in the comfort of a stadium pub, rather than sitting outside and sipping brews in the cold weather.

Dispiriting to say the least. Sorry, Rob.

To answer the questions:

1)Yes, several times. It's a respectable import distributed nationwide. A college friend of mine from Northern California took a liking to Stella but I always felt it was a fairly undistinguished beer. It's good in an emergency when there's nothing else on tap except bud/miller generics, less acceptable when more inventive options are available.

2)No on the Shock Top, but the liquor store nearby carries it. I didn't realize it was a Busch product. This must be their toes-in-the-water attempt to compete with Coors' Blue Moon. Best of luck to them, I suppose.

3)Absolutely not, at least when the weather turns. It's anti-American for baseball to be played in such gloomy weather if you ask me. My experiences at Petco Park and Wrigley Field attest to the value of some mid-game liquid refreshments.

Don't spent an entire game at the stadium pub, but an inning's pit-stop (or two) is a fun part of the experience. Wrigley doesn't have its own pub, but fill-ups before and after the game at the bars literally just steps away from the entrance are a rite for any of-age Wrigley visitor.

Unlike other games, baseball is just as much about the crowds and atmosphere as the timeless game on the field. Or maybe that's the Cub fan in me talking (hey, any team can have a bad century).