east village idiot

intelligent and unintelligible thoughts about life in these five boroughs

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When Beer Heaven Becomes Beer Hell

I’m a big fan of the beer. In fact, I’m probably a little too big a fan of the beer. Happiness for me is a cold microbrew on a warm day (cold is the keyword. After all, a one that is not cold is scarcely a one at all).

When I see a huge line of beer taps at an establishment serving alcoholic beverages, I get excited. A little part of my brain kicks into overdrive. I call this part the beer-ebellum. The beer-ebellum kicked into gear last night at Madison Square Garden when I approached their “beer garden.” I was sorely disappointed upon closer examination of the beers available:

badbeer.JPG
From left: Amstel Light, Harp, Heineken, Pilsner Urquell, Stella Artois, Yuengling, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Labatt Blue, Bass, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Budweiser

12 taps, and every single one is a mass-produced beer that you’d find at every douchey bar in Manhattan. I’m not saying that all of these beers are bad, but if you’ve got 12 beers on tap, at least throw in something local or unique, like Brooklyn Lager or something from Sixpoint. I’ve never seen so many generic selections on tap in one place in New York City. Judging from those options, I might as well be in Omaha, Nebraska.

The only thing remotely unique here is Yuengling - a regional beer that was referred to by the bartender as “Ying-Yang,” as in, “just so you know, we’re all out of Ying-Yang.”

Appropriately, though, I guess you could say that The World’s Most Famous Arena has The World’s Most Famous Beer Selection. But that does nothing for my beer-ebellum.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under Food and Booze, Life in NYC. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 Responses to “When Beer Heaven Becomes Beer Hell”

  1. January 18th, 2008 at 9:48 am

    Todd says:

    Excellent StrongBad quote.

  2. January 18th, 2008 at 10:10 am

    Sally Tomato says:

    Yuengling is one of those funny central Pennsylvania/native american names, like the Schuylkill river. I dare you to be able to pronounce that right on the first try.

  3. January 18th, 2008 at 10:41 am

    Beej says:

    Thank you for not dissing Yuengling.

    And yes, whenever I ask any store here in Kansas if they can get their hands on Yuengling… I get (in a midwestern drawl) Is that some Chinese beer?

    ::Sigh::

    I’ll admit, the rest of that tap lineup is utterly pathetic.

  4. January 18th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    EJ says:

    As you know bud, my current line of work requires I pay close attention to the long lost art of “customer service” at each of my franchises. Now, one would think, if one of my accounts were, oh, say a huge arena like MSG, I might pay particular attention to ensuring they have all the product they might need. What’s more disturbing than a bad beer selection? Not even having the best of the worst available.

  5. January 18th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    Rick says:

    I agree, but arena/stadium beer selection has come a long way. The bleachers at Fenway used to only serve Coors Light.

    What did you order?

  6. January 18th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

    Ryan says:

    My ancestors actually founded Pottsville, where Yuengling is produced. Hence the last name…

    Verdict still out on why my family is not rich. I suspect one of my great-great-grandfathers must have made a really bad business deal somewhere along the line.

    According to my mother, “We don’t talk about these things.”

  7. January 20th, 2008 at 12:14 am

    Nick says:

    I have to agree, a microbrew is always the better choice. I also appreciate the love given to Yuengling. I grew up in Pennsylvania. I can’t find a damn drop in Connecticut. I’m sick of seeing Sam Adams as “The Lager”, it’s a shame the Garden had too few choices though.

  8. January 20th, 2008 at 10:27 am

    Josh says:

    They don’t sell Yuengling in WV and I don’t know why.

  9. January 20th, 2008 at 6:40 pm

    addROC says:

    I have a thing for Labatt Blue myself, and I drink it when I can get it, but I think that is just because it is what I was brought up on. That and Genny light, but I wouldn’t get any where near a Genny nowadays.

  10. January 21st, 2008 at 9:16 pm

    Meredith says:

    But Stella is delicious! And I’m surprised they have it at all. Anytime I go to a bar, if they have Stella on tap, I’ll be fine. (Any kind of Hefeweizen is my second go-to option. If they have neither, I might as well walk out and find a decent bar.)

    Hey, at least they aren’t all domestic. The Sbarro at the Syracuse airport offers Miller Light and Budweiser, ok?

  11. January 21st, 2008 at 9:17 pm

    Meredith says:

    And damn, is the Labatt/Genny Light commenter from Buffalo? Because that’s Western NY in a nutshell.

  12. January 21st, 2008 at 9:36 pm

    Eric says:

    Yuengling is available down here in FL… has been for a few years.

  13. January 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm

    gmoney says:

    Being from the town that produced Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (Chico, CA), I’m constantly surprised at the utter lack of beer-taste that pervades NYC. Assuming that many bars/restaurants sell “bad” or generic beer because that’s actually what New Yorkers prefer, I think I’ve finally found the 1 thing that New Yorkers are behind the times on…

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