Busch Stadium craft beer offering cracks one out of the park

Earlier this week, we pointed to a story about Yankee Stadium’s laughable “craft” beer selection. Meanwhile, in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals are taking a swing at their own craft beer offering. Compared to the Yank’s offering, they knocked it out of the park.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Busch Stadium (ironic, no?) will serve the likes of Schlafly, New Belgium, Boulevard and Sam Adams beers throughout the stadium. Check out the full story for a listing of where you can score craft beer in the stadium.

Stadium distribution opens up a whole new growth arena for craft beers, and it’s fueling a booming craft beer canning trend across the industry. Interest in canning has also sparked innovation as craft brewers look to put a new spin on the classic packaging — from the uniquely-shaped Boston Beer Co. “Sam Can” to the equally interesting 360 End can from Crown. Startup brewers take note — craft isn’t solely found on tap or in bottles anymore.

“Now we have an aluminum can that can compete in stadiums where bottles aren’t allowed,” Brian Thiel, regional sales manager for Crown Beverage Packaging USA, told Craft Brewing Business in our visit with him at the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America. “The selling point is also that we’ve cut down on another stream of waste, from a craft brewery standpoint, and now this can allows for the full experience of the aroma of the craft beer. The IPAs, the double IPAs, the amount of energy and time that craft brewers spend developing the aromas for their beers, now the consumer can actually experience that full frontal. We had a craft brewer come by yesterday and say, ‘This is craft beer in your face.’”