Ballpark Beer is Expensive and Low Alcohol

The San Diego Union Tribune wrote this story but it's surely true at most if not all stadiums, ballparks and arenas around the country. Just so you know what your $8.50 for a draft is getting you. Since most people won't know if their park is selling the low alcohol beer, the only answer is to only buy beer only from the can or bottle.

For it's 1, 2, 3.2 at the old ballgame

Three of San Diego's ballpark's domestic draft brands – Budweiser Select, Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft – contain 3.2 percent alcohol by weight. Go to a bar and most regular domestic draft beer will have about 4 percent alcohol by weight. Most light beers run about 3.4 percent.

Padres officials say lower-alcohol beer, like higher prices, is part of an “alcohol management plan,” meant to keep fans from overindulging. They also say it's common practice in the sports industry and hardly limited to Petco.

The 3.2 percent beer dates to Prohibition. Just before the booze ban was repealed in 1933, Congress allowed for 3.2 beer in an effort to jump-start the economy during the Depression and appease those clamoring for the right to imbibe. After the repeal, beer makers started producing stronger beers, but several states kept the 3.2 standard. Today, six – Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah – continue to require that some retailers, such as grocery stores, sell the lower-content product.

Beer lovers in those states routinely complain about the quality of the beer. [R2R: Similar to fans at ballparks]