“Baseball breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, blossoms in the summer, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.” –A. Bartlett Giamatti
by Peter Bailey
Baseball does indeed break your heart. Perhaps this is why beer goes so well with baseball—a refreshing beverage to cry into when the game goes awry. Beer and baseball have gone together from the start, beginning with the elemental pleasure of an ice-cold beer on a sunny, hot day at the ballpark, then to the major leagues with breweries owning teams and building stadiums. In the 1880s, brewers, distillers and saloon owners and their upstart American Association (nicknamed derisively, the Beer and Whiskey Circuit) forced the staid National League into selling beer at games and playing on Sundays. In 1977, Labatt Brewing brought major league baseball to Toronto with the Blue Jays. But it wasn’t until 1982 that Toronto the Good allowed beer to be sold at games. Jays’ fans at cavernous Exhibition Stadium would chant ‘we want beer!’ at games.
Hockey can break your heart too; see the Edmonton Oilers this spring. But before the heartbreak there was the bliss of an extended Stanley Cup playoff run. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, am I right? That potent feeling of community during the Oilers’ run was best felt at outdoor neighbourhood watch parties around town. My local watch party was nearby in Manchester Square, just off 124th Street. Rhubarb supplied the cocktails, Arcadia Brewing the beer, with Oilers superfan and Arcadia owner Darren McGeown bringing enthusiasm and energy.
Following the Oilers’ crushing game six loss, Oilers Nation turned its lonely eyes to … baseball. The Edmonton Riverhawks baseball team began their fourth season of summer collegiate wood bat baseball in June. The bridge between hockey and baseball in Edmonton is championship-era Oilers defenceman Randy Gregg, who led local investors in launching the Riverhawks in 2022. As Gregg noted to the Edmonton Journal, “in Canada, the sport will always be hockey… and it’s a fabulous sport, indeed. But we don’t play hockey in the summertime.” Gregg knows baseball well, playing at the national level in the 1970s.With clever marketing, quirky promotions, a good on-field product, some Canadian players and RE/MAX Field—one of Canada’s prettiest ball parks—the Riverhawks have become the most successful team in the West Coast League, with nearly 132,000 fans this season. As Dale and Heidi Jacobs noted in their fantastic and fun book, 100 Miles of Baseball: Fifty Games, One Summer, sometimes the most enjoyable baseball comes from games outside the big leagues where friends and families gather for the sheer love of the game and the pleasure of a hot dog and cold drink.
For the Riverhawks, the secret sauce might be beer—local craft beer brewed right here in Edmonton (making RE/MAX Field the only city-owned major sports facility to serve Edmonton-made beer—I’m looking at you, Rogers Place and Commonwealth Stadium). Support local and the locals will support you. The Riverhawks teamed up with Edmonton craft beer pioneers Alley Kat Brewing to serve only local craft beer at Riverhawks games. In turn, Alley Kat has collaborated with other local brewers to bring their beers to the park. As Randy Gregg noted in 2023, “We did this not because we wanted to make a lot of money, we did this because it was good for the community.” So, let’s root, root, root for the home team. If they don’t win, it’s a shame!
Some people say mass-produced industrial lagers are best for baseball. Those people are wrong. Here are five craft beers you can enjoy at ball games and one for the hockey fans.
Baseball beers
Some people say mass-produced industrial lagers are best for baseball. Those people are wrong. Here are five craft beers you can enjoy at ball games and one for the hockey fans.
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Alley Kat Squeeze Play Grapefruit Ale, Edmonton
This renamed version of Alley Kat’s popular Main Squeeze is a light wheat ale, flavoured with real ruby red grapefruit and hopped with Cascade hops for a nice light bitterness. All in all, a fantastic, thirst-quenching beer, perfect for an afternoon in the bleachers at RE/MAX Field.
Manual Labour Bat Flip Red Ale, Sherwood Park
A baseball-friendly version of Manual Labour’s My Wife’s Red Ale, on tap at Riverhawks games this season. An Irish Red Ale, made with classic British ingredients: Fuggle hops, light crystal malt and roasted barley. Balanced and refreshing, with fruity malt up front and a crisp finish.
Town Square Sunset Slammer Salted Lime Cerveza, Edmonton
A refreshing, light (4.3 per cent ABV) beer perfect for a sunny day at the ballpark. Or your backyard. Brewed on a pilsner base, with a squeeze of tangy lime and a dash of salt, this beer is eminently quaffable.
Hard Knox Dawgs Water Blood Orange Blonde Ale, Diamond Valley
The Okotoks Dawgs are a successful baseball team playing in the summer collegiate Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks, near Calgary. Alberta craft beer is available, including this blonde ale with zesty citrus notes from Hard Knox Brewing, in nearby Diamond Valley.
Bellwoods Jutsu Pale Ale, Toronto
I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that the Blue Jays share part of their name with Labatt’s number one beer in 1977, Labatt Blue. Toronto has come a long way from the no beer days, with great craft beer at Rogers Centre (SkyDome) if you search hard enough. Jutsu is a juicy, light and hazy pale ale.
Arcadia Coliseum Blonde Ale, Edmonton
Arcadia’s beery homage to Northlands Coliseum, where Dr. Randy Gregg and the classic Oilers won the Stanley Cup five times: 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. At Arcadia you can sit in actual seats removed from Northlands, enjoy this light, easy-drinking blonde ale and hope for better luck next year.