Baseball Beers You Can Brew
Baseball Beers You Can Brew
There’s just something about being at the ballpark, about watching a major-league game in a stadium filled with fans. The light makes the turf look perfect – beyond green. The men on the field transform from starch-pressed and crisp to slide-stained and dusty as the innings tick by. The crowd is an animated oil painting of a million shapes and colors — 40,000 voices reacting to the crack of the bat.
Everything’s bigger, brighter and more intense at the ballpark. It’s a carnival, a picnic, a childhood game with million-dollar stakes, all balled up in one big riot of sensory overload. There are few better places to spend a summer afternoon. And after suffering through seasons of less-satisfying sports, Opening Day is (finally) just around the bend.
If it were up to us, instead of the Super Bowl, Opening Day would be our national sports holiday. Even with TV and free agency and players’ strikes and drug scandals and gazillion-dollar salaries, it’s still a game — a game that’s played much like it was a century ago. Baseball is still just hitting a leather ball with a stick and running for home.
A few things have changed, some for the better. Like the beer.
Fans have long been able to buy a bland yellow brew to wash down the salty peanuts. But thanks to America’s awakening palate and the discovery of beer with flavor, microbrewed beer has found its way into America’s ballparks — in a big way. From farm clubs to sparkling urban baseball cathedrals, hometown micros are on tap in ballparks across the country. And we thought baseball just couldn’t get any better!
In honor of Opening Day and the upcoming season, we offer recipes for three great beers served at three great ballparks.
YANKEE STADIUM – NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Home of the Bronx Bombers, Yankee Stadium is known as “The House that Ruth Built.” The park opened in 1923, when the crowds drawn by legendary slugger Babe Ruth had outgrown Manhattan’s Polo Grounds. The Yanks bought a 10-acre plot of land across the Harlem River in the Bronx for $675,000 and built a state-of-the-art, three-decker park for $2.5 million. On April 18 of that year, a three-run homer by the Babe led the Yankees to a 4-1 win over the Red Sox in the inaugural game.
The park was built before minimum-distance rules. A lefty’s paradise, in the early days a homerun over the rightfield wall needed to sail a mere 295 feet, helping to forever etch the names Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and Maris in the record books. Though farther from the plate these days, the bleachers right of center are still called “Ruthville” and “Gehrigville.”
Yankee Stadium has hosted many more World Series games than any other park. It’s a must-visit for baseball fans — one of the classics, with the early-century city charm that has inspired many new parks, designed in retro style.
Across the East River, Brooklyn Brewery has made a name for itself by making traditional handcrafted beers. And you can get them at Yankee Stadium.
Brooklyn Pennant Pale Ale ’55
five gallons, extract with grains; OG = 1.055 to 1.056; FG = 1.015 to 1.016; SRM = 15; IBUs = 27
Pennant is a well-crafted pale ale brewed as a tribute to Brooklyn’s world champion baseball team of 1955. (That would be the Dodgers, who actually beat the Yanks in that crosstown series.)
Pennant pours with a dense light-beige head that sits on a chestnut-colored beer. The aroma is complex and malty, with a hint of freshly baked bread. The full malt flavor is balanced with a clean hop background. English hops provide a moderate bitterness that complements the smooth mouthfeel. The aftertaste is dry with a hint of hops.
Ingredients:
- 11 oz. U.S. crystal malt (80° Lovibond)
- 4 oz. Belgian biscuit malt
- 6 lbs. Muntons extra-light dry malt extract (DME)
- 7 oz. malto-dextrin
- 6 AAUs Willamette hops (1.5 oz. at 4% alpha acid) for 60 minutes (bittering)
- 5 AAUs East Kent Goldings hops (1 oz. at 5% alpha acid) for 15 minutes (flavor)
- 1 tsp. Irish moss for 15 minutes
- 2.5 AAUs East Kent Goldings (0.5 oz. at 5% alpha acid) for 1 minute (aroma)
- Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale)
- 1-1/4 cup Muntons extra-light DME for priming
Step by step:
Bring 1/2 gallon of water to 155° F, add crushed grain and hold for 30 minutes at 150° F. Strain the grain into the brewpot and sparge with one gallon of 168° F water. Add the DME, malto-dextrin and bittering hops. Bring the total volume in the brewpot to 2.5 gallons. Boil for 45 minutes, then add the flavor hops and Irish moss.
Boil for 14 minutes, then add the aroma hops. Boil for 1 minute, then remove the pot from the stove. Cool wort for 15 minutes in an ice bath or chill with wort chiller. Strain into the primary fermenter and add water to obtain 5-1/8 gallons. Add yeast when wort has cooled to below 80°F.
Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 68° F for 7 days, then rack into secondary. Ferment until target gravity has been reached and beer has cleared (approximately 3 weeks). Prime and bottle. Carbonate at 70° to 72° F for 2 to 3 weeks. Store at cellar temperature. This ale is ready to drink 1 month after it is carbonated. It will peak between 1 and 3 months and last up to 6 months.
Partial-Mash:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 2.33 lbs. British Maris Otter two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 1 gallon water at 150° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 1.5 gallons of water at 5.7 pH and 168° F. Then follow the extract recipe, omitting 2 lbs. of Muntons extra-light DME from the boil.
All-Grain:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 9.5 lbs. British Maris Otter two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 3.5 gallons of water at 152° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 4.75 gallons of water at 5.7 pH and 168° F. The total boil time is approximately 90 minutes. Add 4.6 AAUs of bittering hops for the last 60 minutes of the boil. Add the flavor hops, Irish moss and aroma hops as indicated by the extract recipe.
SAFECO FIELD – SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Besides its corporate name, there’s nothing pedestrian about Safeco Field. After two decades at the Kingdome — a ballpark criticized by players, fans and sportswriters — Safeco opened in 1999 as a celebration of baseball. Home of the Seattle Mariners, Safeco is architecturally beautiful, fan-friendly and player-perfect.
The scientifically designed playing field marries the appeal of real grass with the control of Astroturf. It was custom-built for cloudy Seattle, with a multi-million-dollar irrigation and drying system.
The ballpark’s stately brick and ironwork are reminiscent of America’s great turn-of-the-century parks. Views of downtown Seattle, Elliott Bay and the Olympia Mountains create an impressive backdrop, and custom artwork and sculptures enhance the views.
You can leave your seat, get a beer or stretch your legs without missing the game; fans can walk the entire circumference of the stands with play in full view. The $517 million price tag also included an innovative roof-on-wheels; it’s been described as a giant umbrella to protect the game from Seattle’s many rainy days. Redhook ESB (Extra Special Bitter) is one of the popular micros they pour at Safeco Field.
Redhook ESB
five gallons, extract with grain; OG = 1.058 to 1.059; FG = 1.014 to 1.015; SRM = 13 IBUs = 31
This Extra Special Bitter is a deep copper-orange color, with an off-white, creamy head. The aroma is a judicious blend of fruity hops and toasted malt. Medium in body, it is full and round, with a nice blend of malt balanced with gentle hop character. Redhook ends with a sweet malt finish.
Ingredients:
- 11 oz. U.S. crystal malt (60° Lovibond)
- 4 oz. U.S. Victory malt
- 4 lbs. Alexander’s pale malt extract syrup
- 3.5 lbs. Muntons extra-light dry malt extract
- 8 AAUs Willamette (2 oz. at 4% alpha acid) for 60 minutes (bittering)
- 2 AAUs Willamette (0.5 oz. at 4% alpha acid) for 15 minutes (flavor)
- 1 tsp. Irish moss for 15 minutes
- 4.5 AAUs Tettnanger (1 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid) for 2 minutes (aroma)
- Wyeast 1968 London ESB or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale)
- 1-1/4 cup Muntons extra-light dry malt extract for priming
Step by Step:
Bring 1/2 gallon of water to 155° F, add crushed grain and hold for 30 minutes at 150° F. Strain the grain into the brewpot and sparge with one gallon of 168° F water. Add the malt extract syrup, dry malt extract and bittering hops. Bring the total volume in the brewpot to 2.5 gallons. Boil for 45 minutes, then add the flavor hops and Irish moss. Boil for 13 minutes, then add the aroma hops. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove the pot from the stove. Cool wort for 15 minutes in an ice bath or chill with wort chiller. Strain into the primary fermenter and add water to obtain 5-1/8 gallons. Add yeast when wort has cooled to below 80° F.
Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 68° F for 7 days then rack into secondary. Ferment until target gravity has been reached and beer has cleared (approximately 3 weeks). Prime and bottle. Carbonate at 70° to 72° F for 2 to 3 weeks. Store at cellar temperature.
This ESB is ready to drink 1 month after it is carbonated. It will peak between 1 and 3 months and will last for 6 months.
Partial-Mash:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 2 lbs. U.S. two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 1 gallon water at 150° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 1.5 gallons of water at 5.7 pH and 168° F. Follow the extract recipe, omitting 1.75 lbs. of Muntons extra-light DME from the boil.
All-Grain:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 10.5 lbs. U.S. two-row pale malt and specialty grains in 3.75 gallons of water at 152° for 90 minutes. Sparge with 5 gallons of water at 5.7 pH and 168° F. The total boil time is approximately 90 minutes. Add 6 AAUs of bittering hops for the last 60 minutes of the boil. Add the flavor hops, Irish moss and aroma hops as indicated by the extract recipe.
WRIGLEY FIELD – CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Another of America’s classic ballparks, Wrigley Field is shoehorned into a blue-collar neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. The stadium opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park, named for the man who built it. It’s the second-oldest major-league stadium in the country, just two years younger than Boston’s Fenway Park. It was renamed Wrigley Field in 1926, when Weeghman’s ballpark and team were bought by chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr.
Baseball fans revere Wrigley for its ivy-covered outfield wall, manual scoreboard and old-fashioned bleacher seating. In 1941, it became the first ballpark to install an organ. Wrigley also was the first park to build a permanent concession stand, and the tradition of fans keeping foul balls if they’re hit into the stands started there, too.
Wrigley keeps up some unique traditions, including flying a white flag with a blue “W” after Cubs victories and a blue flag with a white “L” after defeats. In deference to Mr. Wrigley’s disdain for nighttime baseball, Wrigley went without lights for 74 years, the longest holdout in the league. Not without controversy, lights were constructed for the 1988 season.
Wrigley is well-loved by the hometown crowd. They call it “The Friendly Confines.” It’s surrounded by houses, many of which stage rooftop baseball parties when the Cubs are in town. They serve some excellent hometown beer, there, too: Goose Island Honkers Ale.
Goose Island Honkers Ale
five gallons, extract with grains; OG = 1.049 to 1.051; FG = 1.012 to 1.013; SRM = 14; IBUs = 38
Honkers is a medium-bodied pale ale with a perfect, off-white head. The aroma is a blend of spicy hops and fruit. The flavor is fresh and clean, with a rounded malt body and a dash of hops. The finish is reminiscent of the flavor. This beer is easy-drinking, thirst- quenching and full of character.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. U.S. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
- 8 oz. German Munich malt
- 8 oz. Belgian cara-Munich malt
- 5.75 lbs. Muntons light (DME)
- 8.5 AAUs Northern Brewer (1 oz. of 8.5% alpha acid) for 60 minutes (bittering)
- 2.5 AAUs Cascade (0.5 oz. of 5% alpha acid) for 15 minutes (flavor)
- 2 AAUs Willamette (0.5 oz. of 4% alpha acid) for 15 minutes (flavor)
- 1 tsp. Irish moss for 15 minutes
- 5 AAUs Cascade (1 oz. of 5% alpha acid) for 1 minute (aroma)
- Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) 1-1/4 cup Muntons extra-light dry malt extract for priming
Step by step:
Bring 1/2 gallon of water to 155° F, add crushed grain and hold for 30 minutes at 150° F. Strain the grain into the brewpot and sparge with one gallon of 168° F water. Add the dry malt extract and bittering hops. Bring the total volume in the brewpot to 2.5 gallons. Boil for 45 minutes, then add the flavor hops and Irish moss. Boil for 14 minutes, then add the aroma hops. Boil for 1 minute, then remove the pot from the stove. Cool wort for 15 minutes in an ice bath or chill with wort chiller. Strain into the primary fermenter and add water to obtain 5-1/8 gallons. Add yeast when wort has cooled to below 80° F.
Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 68° for 7 days, then rack into secondary (glass carboy). Ferment until target gravity has been reached and beer has cleared (approximately 3 weeks). Prime and bottle. Carbonate at 70° to 72° F for 2 to 3 weeks. Store at cellar temperature.
This bitter is ready to drink 1 month after it is carbonated. It will peak between 1 and 3 months and will last for 6 months.
Partial-Mash:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 1.75 lbs. British two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 1 gallon water at 150° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 1.5 gallons of water at 5.7 pH and 168° F. Then follow the extract recipe, omitting 2 lbs. of Muntons extra-light DME from the boil.
All-Grain:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 8 lbs. British two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 3.25 gallons of water at 152° F for 90 minutes. Sparge with 4.75 gallons of water at 5.7 pH and 168° F. The total boil time is 90 minutes. Add 6.7 AAUs of bittering hops for the last 60 minutes of the boil. Add the flavor hops, Irish moss and aroma hops as indicated by the extract recipe.
