I finally got to a Mets game for the first time in 2023 this week. Since 2018 I’ve had a pretty established routine when going to a game. First, I show up way too early and end up walking around Corona Park for a while. Then I head to EBBS/Mikkeller for a beer (and read!). Finally, I go into Citi Field way too early, walk around the concourse and pick up a beer at the Empire State Craft stand.
Yesterday my routine took a major hit – the Empire State Craft stand is gone! I made a more methodic lap around the concourse, and several other concourses, to see if it moved. Years ago Keith’s Burgers (RIP) were moved and that also threw a wrench in my routine. A craft beer from New York pairs amazingly with a Keith Burger. Anyway, using Keith’s Burgers as precedent, I thought there was a chance the Empire State Craft stand was moved.
Alas, I could not find it. This blog post is an imperfect history of craft beer at Citi Field, a eulogy to my favorite stand at the ballpark, and a quick review of beer options currently at Citi Field.
Big Apple Brews and the Early Days of Beer at Citi Field
Citi Field opened in 2009. I was a sophomore at college at the time, so purchasing a beer at the ballpark was not a concept I was really aware of. Plus I still lived 213 miles away from Citi Field at the time (the name of this blog!). This is to say my understanding of beer at Citi at this point is quite limited. There were two major beer hubs, one located in the outfield by Shake Shack. Another on the promenade behind home plate. These “Big Apple Brews” stands are still standing today and over the years have been rebranded for Coors Light and Vizzy.
Back in the early days of Citi Field, you could get all of the well known beers at these stands. The vibe was like a bar that advertises how many taps they have, but all of their taps are macro beers. You still go to this bar because you want something besides Bud Light and Miller Lite, but deep down you know the beer selection is nothing special. That was Big Apple Brews! In addition to Bud Light and the 1,563 variations of Bud Light-ritas, you could get Shocktop, Stella, Kirin, Becks, Rolling Rock, Kona, Landshark, etc. I could be biased from fond memories, but the beer selection at Big Apple Brews was still larger than the beer and seltzer offerings at the iterations that are still standing today.
I moved to Newark in summer of 2011 to teach and I’ve been in the area ever since. Which means since then I’ve been going to a ton of Mets games, looking to increase the amount of beers logged on untappd. Around 2012/2013 (I’m not sure on exact year, remember this is an imperfect history!) an Empire State Craft stand opened up on the Promenade, next to the gift store. It was a substantial stand with a huge can selection and draft beer. Back then you could get Oyster Bay on tap. Southern Tier was still sold at Citi! Craft beer was heading toward it’s golden years at Citi Field.
Golden Age of Beer at Citi Field
Eventually the Empire State Craft stand closed on the upper deck (this happened around the years where more and more concessions would just be closed on the upper deck due to attendance). The stand opened on the main concourse next to Keith’s Burgers near where the Amazin’ Deli stands today. It is also entirely possible this stand always existed and I missed it. Personally I switched from buying tickets in the Promenade to sitting with The 7 Line in the Big Apple Reserve.
Early Empire State Craft was just amazing. Here are the different breweries that I had between 2016 and 2019:
- Cooperstown Brewing
- Rockaway Brewing
- Newburgh Brewing
- LIC Beer Project
- Mikkeller NYC (more on this in a moment)
- Flagship Brewing
- Blue Point
- Ithaca Beer Company
- Sixpoint Brewing
- Five Boroughs Brewing Company
- Oyster Bay Brewing Company
- Braven Brewing
Just an astonishing list of New York Brewers. Brooklyn Brewing was also at the ballpark during this time, but generally just had their normal stuff available. When I went to Citi Field this week in 2023, I didn’t see any of the beers above (it’s very possible I just missed Sixpoint though).
If your goal at Citi Field between 2016 and 2019 was to drink a beer you’ve never had before, it was going to happen! Almost all of it came through this one stand.
Another major event happened in 2018, cementing 2018-19 as the peak of the Golden Age of Beer at Citi Field: Mikkeller NYC.
Mikkeller opened up a New York arm of it’s international beer company, using the large space underneath Citi Field as a brewery. Their flagship beers, available all over the ballpark when they first opened, included Henry Hops and Say Hey Sally. Mikkeller NYC just made banger after banger of great beers. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- Post No Pils (great play on New York’s ubiquitous Post No Bills)
- Ergonomic Park Bench
- Queens Riot
- Lawn Daze
- United We Cheers
- I’ve Grown Up A Lot Since Before Dinner
- Shall We Hop A Beer
- Queensfisher
- Subway Mosaic IPA
- People Power
In addition to having a large selection of their own beers, Mikkeller NYC carried Mikkeller beers from their San Diego and Copenhagen arms. They also had a rotating list of beers from other NYC brewers. This is why Mikkeller had 60 taps! It seems silly now with EBBS. Back when the space was Mikkeller, they generally had 40-45 taps with different beers operating on game day. This truly was the peak of craft beer at Citi Field.
Adjusting to a Post-2020 World
I struggle to say post-pandemic here because the Covid19 pandemic is still actively happening. The world is still shifting to find a new equilibrium. Everything that I’m about to say is incredibly inconsequential compared to what we have all lived through over the last three years.
Last season EBBS opened up under Citi Field. This paragraph is from what I learned talking to a bartender at EBBS in Brooklyn before the 2022 season. I didn’t take any notes, so please don’t consider this an official record. Remember this is an imperfect history of beer at Citi Field. Mikkeller International essentially sells their licensing to the smaller breweries outside of Copenhagen. That licensing, and arguments about who owns what, didn’t make sense for Mikkeller NYC anymore. A good chunk of the brewers (and some of the investors) rebranded as EBBS. EBBS beer started to appear at Citi Field in 2021 with a naming convention literally the opposite of Mikkeller. Rather than fun names, EBBS names their beer like “IPA No. 7”. EBBS has a tremendous brand identity. The beer is great, and the Brooklyn spot is a lot of fun.
EBBS reopening the Mikkeller spot in 2022 gave me a lot of hope for beer at Citi Field. 2021 was tough – options were dwindling in the ballpark and there was no place to hang out right before the game. I only went two games in 2022, so I can’t speak to the beer options as a whole in Citi Field. I struggled to find beer that I haven’t had before, but I chalked that up to years of having one new beer every time I went to a Mets game.
2023 – A New Beer Landscape at Citi Field
I have a general rule when I go to the ballpark. For my health and wallet, I try to only have two beers. One before the game at Mikkeller/EBBS, one at the game at Empire State.
Tuesday was the first game I went to in 2023, I had a fantastic craft beer from Garvies at the new K Korner bar before having a beer at EBBS. Then I had another beer at EBBS when my wife got off work. Three beers – I’m done. There was no way I could have another beer at the ballpark, so I didn’t even look for Empire State Craft. Plus, I knew I was going back on Wednesday so no pressure to look at the beer offerings at Citi Field.
When I got the stadium on Wednesday I realized that things have changed at Citi Field. Here are the big beer related changes I saw when going around the ballpark:
- Empire State Craft was gone!
- The Blue Point Stand by the ramp on the third base side was gone and replaced with a Montauk Stand*
- There was now a Coney Island Stand on the first base side*
- Dogfish Head got the naming rights for a bar (Excelsior level) and had draft offerings of Citrus Squall around the ballpark *
*I cannot say for certain if this change was 2023 or 2022
Further beer offerings in the ballpark had shifted:
- IN: More Montauk, More Dogfish Head, More Coney, Garvies joins the Citi Lineup
- OUT: Five Boroughs, Newburgh, Blue Point, LIC, Braven (all beers I saw in 2021, and I’m pretty sure I saw in 2022). Everything else from that list earlier was also out, but I hadn’t seen some of them for years
If you are looking for craft beer at Citi Field, there are plenty of amazing offering still available. Coney Island makes great beers. Garvies is a strong new comer to the ballpark. Montauk is always solid. Brooklyn’s Pop Art beer is fantastic. Craft Beer is still at Citi Field.
The beer selection at Citi Field just isn’t as eclectic as it once was. Smaller brewers like Queens have been missing for years. I was introduced to several New York breweries because of their offerings at Citi Field. I’m not sure what happened but I have a hunch. (This is wild speculation). I think the Mets have a different beverage provider contract this year, that is controlling which craft beers are allowed to be sold at the ballpark. EBBS is literally under the stadium, they should be available on the concourse at Citi Field.
Wishlist For Next Year
The Mets have also changed beer offerings in the middle of the season before. Here’s hoping that in May and June there are are more beers, new beers, available at Citi.
Citi Field is missing a craft beer bar at the ballpark. A place that gets several kegs of beer from local breweries and serves drafts. This could easily go in the Taste of NY corner of Citi Field that feels more an more neglected by the Mets over the last few years. It could be inside of a “van” in the Coke Corner. If they decide to make the “Amazin’ Deli” into a bar, it could go there.
The stadium itself has changed a lot over the last couple of years. Places that haven’t been utilized properly are starting to get new attractions. The Bud Light Landing is now a pretty cool standing bar. There is now a super expensive speak easy in the outfield. Because of these changes, I think we can assume that other areas of the stadium, like the Taste of NY corner, that haven’t been busy lately may get some upgrades in 2024 and beyond.
