Dedrick: Sandlot brewery not running away

Published April 4, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Entertainment Columns & Blogs

Enjoying a baseball game in the stands just wouldn't be the same without hot dogs, peanuts and, of course, beer. And at Coors Field, it wouldn't be the same without the ballpark-brewed suds from the Sandlot, the microbrewery that helps make the stadium a truly special ballpark.

So why are they dismantling the place on Thursday, a day after the Rockies wrap up their first home stand of the season?

No, it's not part of some bizarre salary-cap dodge by the team. The Sandlot brew house isn't going away, it's just getting a new floor. You may see the copper-clad tanks being hauled outside at the corner of 22nd and Blake streets this week, but rest assured they'll be back in place soon, probably in 10 days.

"We don't want people to think we're pulling out of town in the middle of the night, like when the Colts left Baltimore," says John Legnard, the Sandlot's master brewer.

Legnard's a good sport that way. He's been at the Sandlot since it opened with the stadium in 1995, so he's well aware of the April arrival of thirsty fans. There's a method to his mad timing of the renovation, though.

"We've got all the beer we need brewed for the first month of the season," he says. "We've got this 10-day window of down time (until the next home game, April 16). It's ideal for us to do this now."

Conventional wisdom says baseball's off-season would have been the ideal time to rip out the cracked tile floor and replace it with a textured epoxy surface - the same flooring in use at Golden's Coors Brewing, the Sandlot's owner. But, surprisingly, the Sandlot stays too busy in the fall and winter to have made that feasible. Legnard and his crew brew house micros for the resorts at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Winter Park and Copper Mountain.

"More of our beer is sold there from November through March than we sell here during the baseball season," Legnard says. The Sandlot also brews Coors' Barmen Pilsner, a hard-to-find, draught-only beer that requires a 7-minute pour into a glass, thus releasing gas from the beer and making for a smoother, more aromatic drink.

Fans of Coors' Blue Moon label know that the Belgian White was born at the Sandlot; it's gone on to fame of its own, but the Sandlot still brews the Belgian White that's sold in the stadium, and the small-batch quality is obvious.

"We're owned by Coors, but they really leave us alone. They just let us experiment and brew beer," Legnard says. "They ask us to try things out for them."

Last year, Blue Moon requested a peanut-flavored beer. Yup, peanut. Not an everyday refresher, for sure, but a fun change of pace that tasted like baseball in a cup. Don't expect it to make it onto an assembly line in Golden, though, unless someone develops a more efficient way of scooping peanut butter into beer tanks.

"Choosy brewers choose Jif," Legnard says. "That's as far as I can go into the recipe."

This year at the ballpark, you can cheer on the Rockies while enjoying one of the Sandlot's staples: Right Field Red, a slightly sweet Scottish ale; Slugger Stout, a Guinness-style beer that gets a nitrogen pour; and, of course, Blue Moon Belgian White. Early in the season you'll also find two new brews: Opening Day Brown Ale and a pale ale. As the weather grows warmer, Legnard will bring out pilsners, hefeweizens and a smoked lager.

• Roger Sherman, a filmmaker and partner of documentary maestro Ken Burns, produced and directed The American Brew: The Rich and Surprising History of Beer in America. Among the tidbits turned up in the hourlong special, commissioned by Anheuser-Busch: The Mayflower stopped at Plymouth Rock because the crew was running out of beer. It premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday on A&E, and there's a reason that date was chosen: April 7 is the 74th anniversary of beer's return following Prohibition. Denver's Flying Dog celebrates that same occasion with a special midnight tour of the brewery on Friday night. Space is limited; call 303-292-5027 or go to flyingdogales.com for more information.

• Pomegranate-powered food products are all the rage, so it was just a matter of time before a brewer dreamed up a pomegranate brew. He'Brew Origin Pomegranate Ale, from the folks at Shmaltz Brewing, is a big beer - 8 percent alcohol by volume - made with pomegranate juice. It's kosher, of course, although the grain inherent in beer means it's off-limits to observant Jews during Passover. But this one should be on shelves long after the holiday.

BEER OF THE MONTH

Full Sail LTD Bottling 01

• The story: The Oregon brewer's retro lager in stubby bottles, Session, is a hip hit. Now Full Sail has launched limited-edition seasonal lagers.

• The taste: Surprisingly rich and flavorful for a lager. Don't let the copper color fool you - this is a smooth-drinking beer for the spring.

• Alcohol by volume: 6.4 percent.

• Of note: Winner of a gold medal at the Beverage Testing Institute's World Beer Championship last December in Chicago, before it hit stores.

• Food pairings: Grilled steak, seared tuna, roasted pork, brats

• Price: $6.99 for a six-pack

What's on Tap appears the first Wednesday of the month. dedrickj@RockyMountainNews.com

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News