You can't go see a baseball game without indulging in the great American cuisine that is ballpark food. First of all, the game lasts 3+ hours, gotta eat.  Second of all, ballparks in the new millennium have some of the most diverse, and it most cases quality, food you'll find in any sport, or maybe venue in the city.  The ballpark food renaissance began in the 1990s, and now there is even a Major League Baseball Foodfest for who has the most imaginative cuisine representing their area.

For barbecue, you might think a close competition might be between Texas and Kansas City.  Memphis would be in the mix if they had a Major League Team.  But since the construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992, Big Boogs BBQ has been a staple near Eutaw Street, inspired by and named after 1970 American League Most Valuable Player Boog Powell, the Orioles slugging great of the 1960s and 70s.

For Texas, Houston BBQ, known for it's East Texas style (there are actual multiple styles of BBQ in Texas, yes, the state is that big) has been surging to match that of the more nationally renowned Central Texas style.  Jackson Street Barbecue, with a location just a block from Minute Maid Park, has moved inside the stadium to delight local and out of town guests with some of the best BBQ in Houston.

So which is better?  As former boxing referee Miles Lane might say "LET'S GET IT ON!!!!"

Tale of the Tape

Boog's BBQ

Founded: 1992

Order

Big Boog's $15.75 (with chips)

Boog's Beans: $2.75

Beer Pairing: Yuengling (can 18 oz.) $9.25

Jackson Street BBQ

Founded: 2015

Order:

Chopped BBQ Sandwich: $13.50 (with chips)

Beer Pairing: St. Arnold Amber (draft 20 oz.) $12.50

The Battle:

Big Boogs is Big Flavor

Boog's BBQ brings it strong with meat piled upon meat on the "Big Boog".  A smaller version exists
(Boog's Sandwich), however if you get chips with the sandwich, it's essentially free to upgrade to the Big Boog.  And if you know Boog Powell, he is big.  So it makes sense.  The Big Boog (or Boog's Sandwich) can feature beef, pork or turkey, but how can you not go with the beef?  My only complaint is that the meat to bread ratio is so high, the bread melts under the juiciness of the meat and becomes irrelevant.  By the end of the sandwich, I was unabashedly shoving huge chunks of tasty meat in my mouth by hand, no bread.  I needed a second stomach to finish it along with the chips (didn't get finished) and beans (shouldn't have ordered...not because they are bad but because, again, only one stomach).  For mid-Atlantic BBQ, the meat was tender and tasty.  It did not have the smoke flavor I have become accustomed to in Texas.  Plus points for the chips flavored with crab seasoning, a nice regional touch to complement a great, albeit huge, dinner.  The beer pairing didn't add as much to it, but Yuengling is a versatile lager that goes with most so it was a decent add.

Jackson Street Chopped Sandwich brings the smoky flavor

Jackson Street BBQ began selling sandwiches at Minute Maid Park in 2016, just a small stand only on weekends.  Two persons operated it, they literally walked the meat down the street from the restaurant, cut and serve.  As I became a regular, the server would recognize me and mention he had some off the menu items (like ribs).  Flash forward to 2019, it's a full stand behind home plate (first base side) with a broader menu and army of workers, open all home games.  While several meat/plate options exist, I go with the chopped beef (staple).  Sauce comes on the side, and you dress to your flavor (whole other blog about whether or not BBQ sauce belongs on meat at all).  The meat has a great smoke flavor, some of the best in the entire city.  It's a bit fatty, which gives it juice but could be just as good a little leaner.  I sometimes wish they would just slice the beef instead of chopping, I'll put that in the suggestion box.  The bread was also plus, very fresh and the meat to bread ratio was ideal.  The sauce is not my favorite in the city (so many to choose from) so was used sparingly.  The chips were right down the middle, but it does pair well with St. Arnold Amber that complements the flavor of the meat in a way only available in Houston.

The Verdict:

Meat
Tenderness: Jax
Flavor: Jax
Cut: Boog
Portion: Boog

Bread: Jax

Chips: Boog

Beer
Value: Boog
Flavor: Jax
Pairing: Jax

In a best of nine series, Jackson Street BBQ nudges Boog 5-4.  Neither is a bad choice and both are worthy of a stop at the ballpark!

Houston is ALL SYSTEMS GO!
ALL ABOARD!!!
(http://thegame.podbean.com/2008/04/23/houston-is-all-systems-go/)

Cracked a bottle of Firemans #4...B'd up hours ago. Got a plate of extremely tasty, leftover brisket-tacos in front of me. Thanks, Mrs. Smokeypants!

Did'ya know J.R. Ewing has his own twitter page (www.twitter.com/longhorndave) and he tweets with Ms. Footer of Astros Footnotes fame...must be nice...

Bottom of the 2nd:

Nice timing...finally get on the blogosphere to live-blog the 'stros vs. the fat friars and some no-name male nun (Alphonzo) goes yard. WTF?!

Inning over...why does Keystone Lite spend money on commercials...although I think they did give us the Mr. Dumass commercial...moving on, why is Natural Lite blowing up my tv with ads lately...seriously, no one buys that swill based on the commercials

Top of the 3rd:

drink! Brownie said "Cheo"...drink! JD said "Brownie"
Why drink, you ask, because nicknames in baseball are one of its great contributions to Americana. And this is my game, so I makes the rules

Oh, I should probably watch the game and report instead of focusing on the commentary...hard to type, watch, and listen...

Mr. Outback (32 yr old rookie Pad pitcher Silva, only weeks from serving bloomin onions and pitching in the Mexican league to the likes of Julio Franco) has set down 9 in a row (with 2K's). Yuck. Looks like 'stros are back to being spellbound by pitchers they've never seen before

Bottom of the 3rd:

drink! JD made an Outback reference

Moehler strikes out Mr. Outback...way to go...do you want a cookie...

Tony Gwynn's son is up...looks like a replica of Gary Matthews son -- who somehow got a $50M contract from the halos for being over 30 yrs old and mediocre
drink! another "Brownie." Okay...real props to Moehler this time...another K...
sit down Junior

Eckstein up...why can't this guy stick with a team...he's like Scrappy Doo...definitely a keeper...WHOA...Eck beaned...almost square in the noggin...
lucky he raised that shoulder

Flip...Hairston (another son of a former MLBr) sinlges...Moehler might be rattled after nearly taking off Scrappy Doo's head

Two on. Adrian Gonzalez up...grrrrrrrreat, their only dangerous bomber. Whew...ground out to Kaz

drink! JD dropped a "Chulo Vista" (AG's hometown)...just sounds cool

Inning over:

drink! Taco Bell pot-munchies commercial
drink! Most Interesting Man in the World makes his first appearance...
I hope I have his hairdo in thirty years...including badass beard

Trivia time: 1965 NL Rookie of the Year? (cue Jeopardy music)
Brownie can't help but give hints...Padre coach...still don't know it...Jim Lefebvre...
Who does he think he is, Brett Favre?!

Top of the 4th:

Bourn...out...can't complain...he's having a decent year

Tejada...single...big surprise...he's Mr. Slappy since he got off the B-vitamins...have to say I am impressed with his doubles total thus far though

Berkman nails one through the shortstop's glove...nawice...
Big Puma is really gettin on a roll lately

drink! JD picks on shortstop [insert your Cabrera here] for not spitting like a real baller

The General Lee whaps a long single...Miggy scores...I'll drink to that...game tied 1-1
drink! "Caballito" spotted by JD in the stands...
Way to represent on the road, H-town fans
drink! another "Cheo"

Blum up...uh oh...0-13 against the Padres
drink! Brownie dropped a "Blummer"
JD mentioned something about Harry Smith and "the black darter"...don't know what to do with that
drink! JD tells a story about catcher Joe Mauer on the Twins...my favorite AL team
Wow! Another hard hit ball gets through the infield...Yo Adrian got a glove on it but can't stop it or contain it. Geof (I disagree with his spelling) ends his 0-fer against this sad sack team. Puma scores. You know what that means...drink! Score now 2-1 'stros
another "Blummer"...not drinking...that nickname isn't creative

Pudge up...no drinking to that nickname...it was stolen from Carlton Fisk...
nice line out to right, old man

Erstad up...walked...Mr. Outback is not long for this world...
sure enough, bully getting warm

Matsui up...0-1 with bases loaded this year...did we really need that stat? Single up the middle, shortstop [insert your Cabrera here] can't handle it AGAIN. His deseparate attempt to flip the ball to second is a hilarious lame duck...quack quack...bang...sorry buddy, Fatty Lee scores. 3-1

JD drops "acrobatic play," "hand grenade throw," and "backdoor" in one sentence...
that trifecta of verbal artistry deserves a drink

Thankfully we're getting to Mr. Outback somewhat, even though we've never seen him before. Still no extra-base hits...welcome to the 2009 Astros offense

Moehler up with the bases still bloated...hits a chopper to third...Fielded...that's an upgrade compared to earlier efforts this inning...but...OH NO! Padres are kicking the ball around the stadium...third sacker misses first bagger...then 1B misses home plate by a country mile...that's two big errors...3 runs score on the pitcher's grounder....ouch. We got 6 runs...Ho-lee Cow! Game is now 6-1. This is unheard of. I don't know what to do with myself...oh yeah, I know -- drinkX3!

JD's "big can of ugly" describing the abortion that is the Padre infield does not deserve a drink

Bourn out again...somehow they managed not to boot his groundie

Bottom of the 4th: BREAK (getting another Fireman), Moehler surprisingly unphased

Top of the 5th: new no-name pitcher for the priests

Miggy grounds out to third...two grounders fielded in a row....Way to go Pads! Except for Yo Adrian, this is a minor league team...
I can't believe we coughed up the booty last night

Lancy Pants...I can call him that because his AVG is so bad..but his stats in this park are nasty...he attributes that to the nice hitting background...huh, whatever, I get it, but I'm not buying it...Puma launches a rocket to left...Hairston robs him of a homer...dagnabbit

Lee flies out to Hairston too...he's so fat

Bottom of the 5th:

Tony Gwynn's son grounds out

The Big Puma snares Scrappy Doo's soft, funky liner on a full-out dive.
Reflexes like a cat...sh*t...

JD notes that the Padres are sporting an all son-of-former-major-leaguer outfield...sweet...I didn't know about Venable (the ou D-coordinator?).
drink! that's just kewl...
goes back to another great contribution of baseball to Americana: father/son moments

Hairston walks...blah

AG up...Hairston steals on I-Rod easily...ugh...we should just put AG on -- now that there's an empty bag...Moehler obliges (not intentionally) to JD's loud dismay ("WOW!")...don't worry, be happy...we've got this in the bag

Headley (who?) flies out. Kaz earns his paycheck for once with a reverse basket-catch

Inning over: FSN wonders what's on Puma ipod -- country...big surprise...no problem here. Respect. I'm down with that

Break: Mrs. Smokeypants calling from A-town, kid is kicking like a Brazilian futboller...by the way, nice going on Sunday, USA Soccer...choke job

Top of the 6th:

Blow-U's D-coordinator flies out to the left fatso

Longhorn spotted in the outfield...drink!

Alphonzo doubles...dang...he's got Moehler's number

Insert-your-Cabrera-here is finally up...K! very nice.
Moehler's got 8K's through 5 and 1/3...Say what?!

Insert-your-Rodriguez-here is up for their no-name middle reliever...drink to boredom...JD remarks on the "slow-moving ballgame"...grounder to Puma...third out

Inning over: by the way, big thanks to the 'stros on-line peeps...you are the only MLB team that did not post its press notes for the public today...I was trying to do some research, guys...come on...help a brother out...and big ups to you, Alyson Footer -- Astro's red-haired hotty, you haven't blogged for days...I forgot what's your new job-title...oh yeah, professional blogger...try logging on while you're in the Gas Lamp District

Top of the 7th: need another #4...enough with this game for a while

Got beer. Scarfed down rest of tacos and spicy rice...yummm!

Bottom of the 8th: still 6-1 'stros...yawn...this Fulchino character the 'stros have in middle-relief seems pretty good. Got us out of the 7th, after Moehler's impressive 6 innings, and still effective

No Seinfeld references from JD yet. Disappointing. That would've been a shot --
a la Iron Chef''s "man alive"

JD wonders "anything exciting going on out there." I'm feelin ya

Under-rated baseball movie: Ferris Buehler's Day Off. The scenes at Wrigley are great. Cameron: "Hey batter...hey batter...hey batter..." Too bad Mia Sara is a beatch, at least according to Sean and John at 1560AM The Game

Top of the 9th: 'stros are lucky this is a laugher...6 runs were in one inning...only singles and errors...typical of the 'stros offense this year

Bottom of the 9th: Hawk in to close. How does this old dog still throw mid-90s!?!
ASTROS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post-game show:

What's the opposite of "drink!"? Someone just said "boo boo"...that'll make you throw up in your mouth a little bit

Everybody is killing this game for being boring...whaddya expect...it's baseball...
that's why I luv it...they don't call it a pastime for nothin

Kevin E. accidentally lets slip a "San Diahhhgo" (Ron Burgundy-style)..."Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina."

On that note...virgin venture into The Ferm's blogosphere by Mr. Smokeypants done. Over and out. Tune in next time for more-researched takes, Astros memories, and stories on Tom Glavine, Mark Grace, baseball groupies, and slumpbusting. Goodnight teenagers

The final chapter.

For those new to TheFerm blog, Part 1 and Part 2 will set the stage for the dramatic conclusion of my investigation into beer pricing at Minute Maid Park.

First, there has been a re-re investigation into the size of the pregame special at Larry's Big Bamboo. Larry's felt obliged to call shenanigans on MY shenanigans and reiterate that the pregame beer is 14 oz., not 12 oz. as TheFerm implied (happy hour board at right). I accepted this declaration and re-investigated. The fairest way to re-measure the volume, was to open a brand new St. Arnold Texas Wheat, and re-pour it into the cup. The result here proved that the pregame special cup is greater than 12 oz. Now with head and a sloppy pour, 12 oz. might be the expectation. But I cannot say it is a 12 oz. pour. It looks like 13-14 oz. and I'll take their word and declare it 14 oz. I hereby have to accept my broom flogging.



As the latest intricate research was concluded, the cup was washed out and put in a drying rack (in case further testing was needed). It was noted that the cup comes labeled as 14 oz. on the bottom. I declare it 14 oz. This has to be the same cup as the $5 regular small draft from concession stands throughout.

Other cups were then scoured for measurement, the St. Arnold (lower level) cup clearly declares itself 473 ml. Now that's only 16 oz! But is that 16 oz. with a head, or a flat 16 oz.? Back to the drawing board! Clarity is gained when a distinct 45 cl line (centiliters...really) is found on the side, with at least a cm to go above (or course the widest part of the cup). It is my belief that the 16 oz. is conservative, that is, a few oz. of head is anticipated, and with a good pour it can be exceeded. I will split the difference in the CPMMO analysis, I think the average pour here is 18 oz with a bit of head.

The rest of the third Minute Maid sortie was info gathering. A 16 oz. bottle from the beer guy costs $7.50 as has been previously remembered. For the $10 premium, 24 oz. options, they include Heineken, Corona, Shiner, and XX. The Latin Cafe (behind home plate) as the unique options of Negra Modelo and Modelo Especial. For $8, a 23 oz. pour, like the other good drafts. Lefty's was the only place (besides Larry's Big Bamboo) that a Shiner draft was found, presumably the $8/23oz. kind. Blue Moon is also at Lefty's and Larry's, not available for the pregame special, but presumed for $8. Confirmed, there is still a $6.75 for a 12 oz. St. Arnold Amber pour at Larry's Little Bamboo upstairs. I asked the vendor how much, and he quickly told me that you get a bigger draft about 10 steps to his right at the upper level premium stand. And the St. Arnold draft is still 23 oz. up there, and still only $8. Sirron got jobbed, although I note the extra ounces for the $2 vs. downstairs makes it the second best St. Arnold deal.

So the final CPMMO for 2009 is as follows:
Italics = No longer available
Bold = J.R. Ewing Recommends

27 CPMMO: Ziegenbock/Bud/Miller at Larry's Big Bamboo - 14 oz. pregame only
32 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Ziegenbock 23 oz. draft (all levels)
35 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 23 oz. cup
35 CPMMO: Sam/ShockorDropTop/Landshark/Shiner/BlueMoon/Modelos 23 oz. draft (all levels)
36 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Ziegenbock - 14 oz. "small" draft
38 CPMMO: Bud/Miller 24 oz. cans
42 CPMMO: Heineken/Corona/Shiner/XX in 24 oz. cans
42 CPMMO: 2005 World Series Mug* 24 oz. (Bud/Miller draft)
43 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 23 oz. cup (Opening Day "SirRon special")
44 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 18 oz cup (lower levels)
47 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Coors 16 oz. plastic bottles
56 CPMMO:: St. Arnold in 12 oz. bottle poured into cup at Little Larry's

We'll do the whole thing again next year, I don't think we ever go by a year when Uncle Drayton doesn't raise everything by .25 - $1.

Update Opening Day 2010 (4/5/10): Good news folks! It appears that beer prices have stayed the same in 2010 as reported here for 2009.

Editor's note: Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 3 of this investigation

Another research sortie took place last week to Minute Maid Park. Previous research had raised some additional questions and proved to be incomplete.

First order of business is that I need to retract one charge of shenanigans on Minute Maid Park. I had previously declared that some of the craft beers were $9 at the upper level, but $8 at the lower level. This proved to be untrue, the sign next to the stand did not apply to the craft beers. Craft beers appear to be $8 for 23 oz. at all levels.

However, a new charge of shenanigans needs to be levied. At the same stand that SirRon got a $10 St. Arnold (23 oz) on opening day, I received the same for $8. As front line Minute Maid employees are involved in the process, the blame presumably lies there. Either the vendor on opening day overcharged, or the vendor this week undercharged. Hopefully the former. There is a secondary shenanigans charge as a result, $8 now gets two different quantities of St. Arnold on the lower (20 oz) vs. upper (23 oz) levels. Maybe they figure us po' folk up top need a bit more beer for our $?

Before I delve into more CPMMO analysis, another issue needs to be brought above the table. The one (1) upstairs craft beer stand still has "line issues". The Cubs/Astros game I attended was light on fans, but the line still took one full half inning, and part of another. With only 5 people in line in front of me. The problem is plastic. Everyone that was charging beers was slowing the vendor down 1-2 minutes per transaction as she was not equipped to just swipe and go, she had to wait for the whole thing and get the receipt signed. The lady in front of me and I had cash, pour & transaction time reduced to ~60 seconds. Otherwise it was 2-3 minutes for each (x 5 people = 15 minutes). As a PSA, please, please bring a little cash to Minute Maid to grease the skids here. As a second note, Cubs fans almost universally seemed to love their Bud/Miller products, shunning the vastly superior St. Arnold and slightly superior other options. Minute Maid should add an auxiliary stand for the 24 oz. cans (we used to have one behind Section 328, but it seems to have been rolled into this one bottleneck stand).

In other research, the following price schemes were discovered/clarified:

1) 24 oz can poured in a cup in upper is $9 for Bud/Miller, $10 for premium (which I didn’t see any brands out as an option, typically it has been Shiner or Corona in previous years)

2) Pregame Big Bamboo special verified 12 oz.

3) $7.50 draft at standard concession stand is 23 oz. Ziegenbock is one of the options at certain stands.

4) $5 (“small”) draft at standard concession stand “looked like” 12 oz.

5) Bottles are only 16 oz, I think only $7.50 (need to look at the vendors button next game).

This sets the CPMMO (Cents Per Minute Maid Ounce) board as follows:
Italics = No longer available
Bold = J.R. Ewing Recommends

31 CPMMO: Ziegenbock/Bud/Miller at Larry's Big Bamboo - pregame only
32 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Ziegenbock 23 oz. draft (all levels)
35 CPMMO: Sam/Shock/Drop Top/Shiner(?) 23 oz. draft (all levels)
35 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 23 oz. cup (second week of May)
38 CPMMO: Bud/Miller 24 oz. cans
40 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 20 oz cup (lower levels)
42 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Ziegenbock 12 oz. "small" draft
42 CPMMO: Premium 24 oz. cans
42 CPMMO: 2005 World Series Mug* 24 oz. (Bud/Miller draft)
43 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 23 oz. cup (Opening Day "SirRon special")
47 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Coors 16 oz. plastic bottles
56 CPMMO:: St. Arnold in 12 oz. bottle poured into cup

* Mug was collectable, retail value at least $2, knocking price down to 33 CPMMO.

Future work needs to be placed in finding what 24 oz. costs $10 (according to signs) and general Shiner availability. One fan was seen purchasing a St. Arnold in a bottle at Larry's Little Bamboo upstairs as well. Dos Equis is available downstairs, and the options at Lefty's Pub needs to be fully vetted.

Editor's note: Be sure to check out Part 2 and Part 3 of this investigation

I considered doing a full investigation before going to print, but thought some blog-o-sphere, I mean theferm.org fan interaction might give me some ideas into my next pursuit.

TheFerm enjoys a ballgame at Minute Maid park as much if not more than the next baseball fan. TheFerm is also aware the beer prices are exorbitant at ball parks, but it's just part of the experience. It didn't take me long to do the math and realize that my ticket is usually around $20, my beer tab, should I go for round 3, will almost always exceed that.

Because the beer price can be so high at ballparks, many of the beer loving crowd are forced to do a little more math than usual to find the best deal. It's not completely dissimilar to the economy...when things are a bit out of whack, time to think before we spend.

It started on Opening Day of this year. Three "partners" of "TheFerm" wandered into the ballpark, and were excited that the largest Houston Craft Brew (St. Arnold) was rumored to be more prevalent throughout the ballpark. While I personally partook of a pregame special at Larry's Big Bamboo (more in a minute), one of our crew grabbed a St. Arnold in the upper level (only stand up there). For $10, he received a pretty tall pour of St. Arnold Amber. Seemed steep, but it was a National Holiday (Opening Day should be a National Holiday).

At a future game, it was realized that there are $8 St. Arnold DRAFT pours in the lower level, but in another (specialized w/ St. Arnold on the side) sized cup. It was not immediately clear which size was bigger. Hmmm. I absconded with various cups to my personal research lab for further testing.

It was discovered that the $10 was 23 ounces, the $8 was 20 oz. As a point of reference, the 23 ounce size UPSTAIRS appears to be $9 for Shock Top, Drop Top, and Landshark (these brews explicitly boycotted by The Ferm, FYI). Two Ferm partners also recall that last year St. Arnold was $6.75 for a 12 oz. bottle pour, and it has been reported that a draft pour of Bud/Miller is $7.50 for what is believed to be the 23 ounce size. In what is also a shocker, I later received a 23 oz. pour of Sam Adams (cup actually used to verify draft size), which was next to the Shock Top and Drop Top (DOWNSTAIRS) for only $8. At this point, I believe Minute Maid park as a direct price discrepancy b/w the upper deck and lower deck (Various Tops = $8 down, $9 up). Bottles run $7.75, I do not recall if they are 16 ounce or 20 ounce. I believe 16 oz. Upstairs for $9, a 24 oz. Bud can was also being purchase, assume Miller/Coors the same.

The aforementioned Larry's Big Bamboo runs a $3.75 pregame special, again the cup size is in question, but it is believed to be 12 oz. (keg cup, but not those really puny ones). During the 2005 World Series, there was a mug special for $10, turns out to be a measured 24 oz.

So how does all this stack up? Let's measure all beer in CPMMO, Cents per Minute Maid Ounce.

Italics = No longer available

31 CPMMO: Ziegenbock/Bud/Miller at Larry's Big Bamboo if 12 oz. cup - pregame only
32 CPMMO: Bud/Miller draft (all concession stands)
35 CPMMO: Sam/Shock/Drop Top/Shiner(?) downstairs
38 CPMMO: Bud/Miller 24 oz. cans (at Larry's Little Bamboo upstairs, maybe other places)
38 CPMMO: Ziegenbock/Bud/Miller at Larry's Big Bamboo if 10 oz. cup - pregame only
39 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Coors plastic bottles if 20 oz.
40 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 20 oz cup
42 CPMMO: 2005 World Series Mug* (Bud/Miller draft)
43 CPMMO: St. Arnold in 23 oz. cup
48 CPMMO: Bud/Miller/Coors plastic bottles if 16 oz.
56 CPMMO:: St. Arnold in 12 oz. bottle poured into cup

* Mug was collectable, retail value at least $2, knocking price down to 33 CPMMO.

Top Secret photos from J.R. Ewing's Lab:

L. to R.: 23 oz, 20 oz (St. Arnold only), 2005 World Series special 24 oz.

Further research to take place.
Top 5 list of things to be determined:
1) Size of pregame special draft at Larry's Big Bamboo.
2) Size of $7.75 bottles distributed by beer guys around stadium (might be 16 oz, making it one of the worst values in the stadium).
3) Verification of upstairs vs. downstairs pricing scheme
4) Any different deals in Lefty's Pub
5) Investigation of beer options not discovered as of yet.

In other shenanigan news, during this investigation, there was a large, dare I say HUGE discrepancy in line length for beer. The one and only premium beer stand upstairs (Larry's Little Bamboo) had a constant line of 1+ innings. I was frustrated to wait and only find people ordering Bud 24 ouncers (at one point the lady ran out and the whole line was stuck until she could get more Bud to the people). After two passes on this line, I went downstairs and realized that the special Bud stands down there were overrun BUT the premium stands were walk right up. A few snapshots (none of these staged, it was like this the whole game).

If anyone can see what I'm waiting for in this line let me know!

Ahhh, this is a line more my speed

I encourage TheFerm followers to post suggestions for follow up work. Also, if you live in another baseball market, please offer some price comps. Is the Minute Maid ~$8 average price as ridiculous as we think? What about Wrigley? Yankee? Fenway? Or how about the smaller markets (come on, can KC charge more than $6 with a straight face to the 8K fans that bother to show up)? I have been constantly frustrated that the Houston Aeros minor league hockey club seems to have the same pricing scheme of the Houston Rockets very major league basketball club...come one, I'm not paying $8 for a beer at a minor league hockey game. But that's another blog for another day.