Thursday, April 1, 2010

One Beer Choice at Safeco?

I don't know how this got lost in the mix during the off-season. Those of you going to see your 2010 Mariners kick-off their home season against the Oakland A's on April 12th might notice a slight change in your Safeco Field experience.

Over the off-season, the management team (of which the majority stake is Japanese) fostered a new relationship with a vendor that will change the operations within the stadium. Safeco Field has partnered with Japan-based brewer Kirin Ichiban Shibori. With the partnership, Safeco has agreed to sell only Kirin Ichiban beers. The stadium will be selling the company's American line of beers which includes the Kirin Ichiban and the Kirin Light. Oddly enough, the beer is also distributed by Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser.

The whole thing makes absolutely zero sense to me. Why would they halt the sale of multiple beer partners at a sporting event, especially when the beer is being distributed by America's largest beer producer? It doesn't make sense from a business model or to ensure fan happiness. Kirin must be paying a pretty penny in order to have exclusive serving rights at Safeco. Personally I've never tried the beer, but I'm going to have to get used to drinking the Japanese import as opposed to my "Rocky Mountain Cold" Coors Light because, let's be honest...The Bush Leagues at Safeco just isn't the same without beer.

Another interesting tidbit, Ichiro is the official spokesperson for Kirin Ichiban. Check out the video below.



*Please note: The Bush Leagues does not condone drinking and driving. Enjoy your Kirin at Safeco Field responsibly and always use a designated driver.

1 comment:

  1. Kirin is solid. I've had it a few times, it's like the Jap version of Coors. ...or was that because I had about 10 coors before I tried it?

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