Good evening, Chicago! My name’s Tonzi and I’m new to the Chi City Sports crew, so please let me introduce myself.
I was raised in New England and recently moved to Chicago from Washington, DC. You may hear me ramble a bit about the state of the Red Sox or how the Redskins will never make the playoffs again, but I’ll keep my homerism to a minimum (maybe). Besides, I wasn’t brought on to talk about my sports allegiances. I was brought on to talk about beer. Yes, the beverage that we all know and love. The beverage that puts a smile on our faces. The beverage that makes us all sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” at Wrigley, no matter how horrendous our voices are… which brings me to my topic today.
Since this is my first post, this is a sports blog, and I’ve recently moved to Chicago; I’ve decided to do something most Chicagoans have already done: watch a Cubs game and work my way through a six-pack of Old Style. Here’s how it went:
1:20 – The game is starting, which means the drinking’s starting. Here comes the first Old Style. Old Style is from the old Heileman’s brewery, which is now run by Pabst, so this beer’s pretty much a PBR (blasphemy!). Listed as an adjunct lager (rice!), this beer is pale yellow and very carbonated. It smells like someone tried to put some hops in it, but they got a little lazy. The flavor is fairly dull with nothing overpowering it (except the bubbles), it’s light, crisp, and fairly refreshing. All that being said, it’s the perfect ballpark beer. Nice and light, and I’m sure it’ll keep you hydrated during a hot afternoon game.
1:34 – The Cubs scored! Also, I’m nowhere near halfway through this thing. I better stop typing and get to work.
1:48 – One down. Also: what a ridiculous play to throw out Molina at second. Good defense so far from the Cubs. Manufacturing runs and keeping the Cards at bay. I need to keep pouring these Old Styles in a glass. The carbonation out of the can is killing me.
1:52 – Poured my second Old Style into a glass and the carbonation overflowed. Maybe I should stick with the cans (what a dilemma).
1:56 – Cubs score on an error… to match my poor pouring skill.
2:18 – 3 innings down, Cubs are up 2-0 and I’m on my third Old Style. Old Style doesn’t seem to be getting better the more I drink it. It’s still light and refreshing, but it seems to be building a film on the back of my throat.
2:31 – 5th inning, 4th beer. I’m slacking.
3:00 – it’s becoming a pitcher’s duel. My daughter just passed out, which means this game’s really boring, or it was time for her nap. Bottom of the 6th and I’m finishing up beer 5, I’m hoping for some pitching changes to give me a breather, or a reason to drink more.
3:18 – The Cards are sneaking in. It’s the top of the 7th, the Cards just scored and I’m finishing up my 6th beer. That throat coating I mentioned is getting worse.
3:25 – Chef Graham Elliot is singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and he isn’t too bad. Well done Chef. Beer 6 gone!
3:47 – Home run from Beltran to tie the game. I can feel it sneaking away, much like my sobriety.
4:13 – 9th inning, tie game. I’m starting my 9th beer; I get the feeling this is going to turn out badly.
4:25 – We’re in the bottom of the 9th, the Cubs have a man on 1st, and there are 2 outs. Gonna be a long evening. Side note: man whistling into the crowd microphone… I hate you.
4:31 – Extra innings. So, I finished 9 beers. Old Style is light enough to enjoy 9 in a game, but it starts to make you wish you had a water in between each, just to clear your throat.
4:44 – Home run Rizzo!!! Walk-off! Well done Cubs. Go Cubs Go! Victory beer! 10 beers. That Old Style still tastes as mediocre as the first. A good beer to rip through multiple at the ballpark, but not something to relax and enjoy.
I’m gonna go take a nap… for 12 hours.
See you next time Chicago!