Top Menu

Old Style to be part of Wrigley taps through 2013

Old Style BeerOld Style, on tap at Wrigley Field since 1950, will remain available to Chicago Cubs fans for the next two years under a deal between the team and brand owner Pabst Brewing Company.

It wasn’t that long ago — 30 years or less — when Chicago wasn’t the corporate-swill town it is today; we remember when Guinness was a novelty and perfect with a boiled egg at Sterch’s, and we remember being able to find plenty of bars along Rush Street serving Augsburger, Old Style and Special Export. Today G. Heileman is no more (though, thank goodness, the brewery is still in business), Augsburger is no longer being produced (though you’ll see the odd Augsburger sign around town) and it’s impossible to find the latter two brews outside of a liquor store with a wide selection of cheap brews.

Which is too bad. Old Style is a fine example of a lighter American lager. It’s now part of the Pabst Brewing Company, a private firm that holds right to many of America’s iconic beer brands, including Pabst Blue Ribbon, Lone Star, Schlitz, Ballantine, Falstaff and Stroh’s beers. Sadly, the firm now retains few connections to the Upper Midwest: its headquarters was moved to Los Angeles earlier this year and its beers are brewed under contract by Miller Brewing. Lots of ghosts now associated with the brew taken nationwide by Russell Cleary.

The agreement to keep Old Style at Wrigley Field calls for updated signage throughout Wrigley Field, more engaging fan events and additional promotional opportunities next season.

“For more than six decades Cubs fans have been drinking Old Style beer at Wrigley Field and it has always been part of the game day experience at this legendary ballpark,” said Daren Metropoulos, co-owner of Pabst Brewing Company. “It was important for us at Pabst Brewing Company to continue this long-standing tradition.”

“Cubs fans have grown accustomed to enjoying a refreshing Old Style while catching Cubs baseball at Wrigley Field,” said Cubs owner and board member Todd Ricketts. “I’m excited as a fan of both organizations that the Old Style tradition at Wrigley Field will continue.”

“The Old Style and Cubs partnership is one of the longest running in professional sports,” added Evan Metropoulos, co-owner of Pabst Brewing Company. “We’re extremely excited about continuing to support the community and the city’s cherished sports franchise.”

—-

Share your news with the baseball community. Send it to us at editors@augustpublications.com.

Subscribers to the weekly Ballpark Digest newsletter see features before they’re posted to the site. You can sign up for a free subscription at the Newsletter Signup Page.

Join Ballpark Digest on Facebook and on Twitter!

, , , , , , , , ,