Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #92 AleSmith Hazy .394

Pitchers and catchers reported this week – so it seems like a good Saturday to dust off the beer posts.

I first had the OG .394 beer from AleSmith back in 2016 when I went to Cooperstown for Ken Griffey Jr’s induction.  Around then, the haze craze in craft beer was beginning (I actually stopped at Tree House Brewing while I was out there).  So, naturally – since then Alesmith has brewed a hazy version of their Tony Gwynn Pale Ale.

Brewery:  AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, CA

Beer:  Hazy .394

Description:  Per their website: “Similar to the fan-favorite San Diego Pale Ale .394, this beer pays tribute to Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn and the career-high batting average that he achieved with the Padres in ’94.  Hazy .394 showcases an intense hop aroma of tropical fruit and citrus, but delivers a fuller-bodied pour than its predecessor, along with a smooth and creamy finish.  It’s a guaranteed hit!”

I love, love, love the regular .394 beer.  Maybe my favorite west coast pale ale.  This beer isn’t quite as good – I think they probably hop it similarly and there’s just something about the more bitter version that really hits – but this one is still damn good for a beer that isn’t too strong and I’ve enjoyed it the couple times I’ve had it.

Medium:  Comes in 12 and 16-oz cans and on tap.  I got it from a local bottle shop a couple years ago.

How it’s related to baseball:  Tony Gwynn helped the brewery designed the original!  It has him in his recognizable batting stance.  And, of course, the name follows his remarkable 1994 campaign where he hit .394 and was robbed of the opportunity to cross .400 due to baseball’s most recent labor impasse.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #90 – Steady Eddie

Oops!  I posted this yesterday but somehow messed up the year, so it went back to 2022.

I still have a number of these to queue up, this one is next.  My grandparents had a house out in St. Michaels in the Chesapeake Bay, and I was out there last year for my grandmother’s funeral.  Found this IPA, which was a nice sipper to have in between the remembrance of life and the funeral.

Brewery: Union Craft Brewing in Baltimore, MD

Beer: Steady Eddie

Description:  “After spending the cold winter training our palettes on malty winter brews its time to get out on the field and play some ball with an IPA that’s both refreshing and complex. The lemony-herbal aromatics of Sorachi Ace hops spring out of a nice, light bodied wheat & honey malt base. You can always rely on a solid hit from Steady Eddie.“

This is a good old-school bitter IPA, but it’s got some wheat in the malt bill which I think goes a way in making it more of a summer beer than an IPA.  Union Craft is a brewery located in the Medfield area a little north of downtown Baltimore.  They’ve been around since 2012 and have beers that can be found throughout Maryland.

Medium:  12 ounce cans.

How it’s related to baseball:  It pays tribute, and I’m sure is endorsed by, Orioles stalwart Eddie Murray.  This beer can be found at Orioles home games, and frankly next time I attend one I’ll have another!

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #89 – Old Irving Goat Destroyer

I drank this beer recently in honor of my Bengals playing the G.O.A,T. (I’m also a pretty big Tom Brady fan so I was mildly torn).

Brewery: Old Irving Brewing Company in Chicago, IL

Beer: Goat Destroyer

Description:  “Brewed with 100% German malts and hopped with East Kent Goldings & Simcoe. First brewed to commemorate the Cubs World Series championship and ending of the Billy Goat Curse.“

From 2017 on Instagram –

“When we first opened 6 months ago, it was amid an exciting time in Cubs history. After a long wait, the curse of the #goat unraveled and was eventually destroyed. To commemorate our opening and the new #chicagocubs season, we created a Maibock, a German hopped lager, named Goat Destroyer. Ding dong, the goat is dead.”

This is a Maibock style lager, which is traditionally brewed as a bit of a stronger lager for the month of May.  The can has a pretty neat logo and references 11/2/16 when the Cubs ended the curse of the Goat in game 7 against the Indians.

Medium:  16 ounce cans (first was on draft only)

How it’s related to baseball:  Like so many breweries in the Chicago area – OIB brewed this in honor of the Cubs ending the “Curse of the Billy Goat” when they beat the Indians in 2016 to win the club’s first World Series in 108 years.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #88 – Gose O’s

In my hiatus, I had a few baseball related beers, a couple from Baltimore.

Brewery: DuClaw Brewing Company in Baltimore, MD

 

Beer: Gose O’s

Description:  “This Gose is brewed with cantaloupe and black lava sea salt for a light, refreshing mix of sweet, salty and smoky flavors. The choice of orange and black ingredients is no coincidence, where we come from, these are the colors of summer! Step up to plate and swig away!“

This is a solid tart ale with some salty-ness along with the style for a Gose.  I liked it.

Medium:  12 ounce cans.

How it’s related to baseball:  DuClaw got some props from the Orioles to sponsor this beer.  I like it, I’m always for more of these MLB team / brewery collaborations.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #87 Broken Bat Can of Corn

As I said last week, I have a number of these I can queue up, so I’m gonna try to do that.  Matching the Saturday Suds from last week is the other licensed beer related to the Field of Dreams game.  This one is from a brewery in Milwaukee.

Brewery: Broken Bat Brewery in Milwaukee, WI

Beer: Can of Corn

Description:  “A ballpark ale brewed with the actual corn harvested from the Field of Dreams movie site, ‘Can of Corn’ was brewed to bring those who truly love the purity of the game together, just like Ray built the field. find your seat and dream a little, grab a cold one, and enjoy two of America’s greatest pastimes, beers and baseball.”

This is a good corn-adjuncted lager, no complaints on my end. Sweet and drinkable like it should be!

Medium:  16 ounce cans.

How it’s related to baseball:  Like the one from Textile – this is a beer brewed with corn from the Iowa fields near Dyersville.  I actually got this back in 2021 for the first iteration of the Field of Dreams, went up to the brewery.  Broken Bat is a brewery built around a baseball theme – so I’m sure that has to do with why they got to do this affiliation.  When my son and I went to the MLB Field of Dreams game this year, this beer had been re-brewed and was available at the game.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #86 Textile If You Brew It…

I have a number of these that I could queue up, but this one is a baseball-themed beer I had more recently.

Brewery: Textile Brewing in Dyersville, IA

Beer: If You Brew It…

Description:  “If You Brew It…” is a light lager with both rice and corn which are two ingredients historically used in American brewing (before quality barley existed). It uses classic German hops to pay homage to our immigrant brewing forefathers who developed the American Brewing tradition. This finished product is a true “beer flavored beer.”

Textile is the local Dyersville Iowa craft brewery.  I got a 4-pack in August and had my last one on Thursday for Game 5 of the World Series.

Medium:  16 ounce cans – and was also on draft at the brewery.

How it’s related to baseball: This beer was brewed in conjunction with the Field of Dreams game just outside of Dyersville, IA.  I took my 10-year old to this year’s game, iteration #2 where the Cubs played the Reds, and it was just about the coolest sports experience I’ve ever attended.  Since we live in Chicagoland, my son has been a Cubs fan since 2016, and my Redleg affiliation made this too good of an opportunity to pass up.

We tried to do the experience right, watching Field of Dreams with our whole family Wednesday night before the game.  Then he and I drove up to Dyersville that morning, getting in town around 11am for a 7pm game.  Our first stop was the new museum that opened there, which is a project from Dwier Brown, who played John Kinsella in the movie (Kevin Costner’s dad).  It’s called Baseball Hall of Dreams, and is next to another baseball museum.  It’s all pretty cool for baseball geeks.

We went to Textile for a late lunch, where we saw Ronnie Woo-Woo of Wrigley fame.  Textile is a nice brewery in a building with some history.  They make good beer and are perfect for the town.  After that, we went to the game, which involved a lot of ooh-ing and ahh-ing by both of us before the actual baseball even started.  You walk through the corn on the actual movie site (which we have been to be 5 or so years ago), to get to the MLB park.  Overall just a really cool experience.  The Cubs won, which disappointed me a bit, but I can’t describe how many friendly people asked us what the deal was with me wearing a Reds jersey and Brady wearing a Cubs outfit.  Everyone seemed so happy to be there.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #85 Lawson’s Triple Play

Another baseball-ish beer!  This one I had very recently!

Brewery: Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Waitsfield, VT

Beer: Triple Play IPA

Description:  “A trifecta of hop varieties (Citra, Simcoe & Amarillo) which delivers a symphony of juicy fruit-forward hop flavors and a delightful bouquet of aromas. Winner of Brewing News National IPA Championship (2011), there is simply ‘no batter beer’!”

I’m huge into beer these days, and this “traditional” (meaning it ain’t hazy) IPA was pretty much amazing.

Medium:  16 ounce cans – I assume it’s on draft around Vermont when they brew it as well (in normal times).

How it’s related to baseball:  It’s got a baseball motif on the can design and the name is obviously a reference to a pretty rare play in the game!

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #84 Tree House Fall Classic

One more beer I’ve got to catch up on for this series!  I had this back in November and forgot to take a pic when I had the beer!

Brewery: Tree House Brewing in Charlton, MA

Beer: Fall Classic

Description:  “Fall Classic was constructed as the ideal beverage to enjoy while watching major league baseball during the autumn season. It is also simply an homage to an incredible game. Nothing else elicits such a strongly nostalgic, all-American response quite like the crack of a bat on a cool autumn day. Or, experiencing the sights and sounds of a ballgame in the flesh. Brewed with clean American ale yeast and hopped with Strata, El Dorado, and Citra, Fall Classic pours a lovely orange color in the glass and puts forward potent flavors and aromas of tropical fruit, citrus, and earthy pine. It is dry, thirst-quenching, and incredibly easy to drink. It’s hard to believe this is the first classic American IPA we have brewed, but when you drink fall classic you will have the same thought that we did – better late than never!”

Medium:  16 ounce cans – 2020 was the first year Tree House released this.

How it’s related to baseball:  It’s got a baseball motif on the can design and the name is a reference to the World Series.

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #83 Solemn Oath Warning Track Power

I always love doing this series.  I was super excited when I saw this beer was coming from Solemn Oath, a fairly well-known and established brewery in the Chicagoland area.
Brewery: Solemn Oath Brewery in Naperville, IL

Beer: Warning Track Power

Description:  “Hazy Pale Ale featuring Citra, Sultana, and Azacca hops brewing in collaboration with The World Wiffle Ball Championship.”

This is a hoppy hazy beer on the lighter side of the ABV spectrum. Was a tasty crusher with an awesome can design.

Medium:  4 packs of 16 oz stickered cans, and I’m sure there was some draft available.

How it’s related to baseball:  This is about as good as it gets for this blog.  They have copied the 1987 Topps design (my all-time fave) and it’s a collaboration with the World Wiffle Ball Championship.  There’s also some sneaky Guaranteed Rate Field (U.S. Cellular?  New Comiskey?) stuff going on in the background.  This came out when nobody was allowed in baseball parks, but it would do well at the craft section of the Sox ballpark!

Saturdays Suds: Baseball & Beer #82 Sketchbook Night Game

This summer I did a post about Sketchbook Day Game – I also had their other baseball themed beer a couple months after that. It’s called – Night Game!

Brewery: Sketchbook Brewing Co. in Evanston, IL

Beer: Night Game

Description:  “Double IPA with Mosaic Hop and honey.  Huge tropical fruit, citrus and floral flavors and aromas.  The malt is simple and lends a drier and refreshing IPA.”

This is basically their Day Game beer – a “Midwest” IPA with honey – but as an imperial IPA.  So 8% plus ABV instead of 6%.  It was a bit sweeter than the regular and obviously packed a bit more punch.  I enjoyed this one – but actually liked the Day game better.

The Day Game beer I enjoyed when baseball was on COVID hiatus and during a Field of Dreams viewing in our house.  Conveniently, I had the Night Game version in September when baseball was back and I was able to watch a night game!

Medium:  I had it from a 16 oz can, I’m sure they also put it out on draft.

How it’s related to baseball:  It’s named after a baseball term!  This is one of 2 beers with this theme.  This one, as the nighttime version, is meant to be drank at night when you don’t need to worry about staying as sober!