Ohio Brewery News

The Nice Price 

Clevelanders take quite a bit of backhanded pride in the ignominious Ten Cent Beer Night, the 1974 baseball game promotion that went horribly wrong, ending in a fan riot and a forfeit. Powered by a virtually unlimited amount of deeply discounted beer, the Cleveland faithful took it upon themselves to settle an escalating feud with the visiting Texas Rangers.

At least, that’s the noble way of remembering it. In reality, the game was marred from the start by numerous fan encroachments onto the playing field in various states of undress. Ultimately, the game was ended when hundreds of inebriated spectators rushed onto the field with makeshift weapons to fight the Texas players. Even after both teams retreated to the clubhouse, the drunken mob continued to riot for a full 20 minutes before police took to the field to break it up.

There’s plenty of reporting and eyewitness accounts of the events of Ten Cent Beer Night so there’s no need to go into gory detail here, but it’s worth asking the economics question: in a year marked by rising inflation and declining attendance at public events (ballgames, concerts, festivals, you name it), would the public see value in a cheap beer promotion? After all, the 1974 Cleveland ballclub was averaging just 7,000 fans per night, and more than 25,000 showed up for Ten Cent Beer Night, albeit with disastrous results that effectively barred that particular promotion from pro sports from that day forward.

Collision Bend Brewing Company wants to put that question to the test. Located just a half mile from the site where the regrettable Ten Cent Beer Night occurred, the brewery is commemorating the 48th anniversary of that infamous promotion with their own deep discount. On Saturday, June 4 from 3 p.m. until 3:48 p.m. – that’s right, exactly 48 minutes – Collision Bend will sell 12 ounce pours of their Hope Flows Kolsch for just ten cents a piece. To prevent a repeat of the 1974 debacle, brewery patrons will be limited to just two dime pours during this weekend’s event, as opposed to the six beers at a time and unlimited return trips allowed at the ill-fated ballgame.

If you head down to Collision Bend’s brewpub in the Flats this Saturday, expect a robust crowd, don’t make any trouble, keep your clothes on and be sure to bring more than two dimes so you can tip the front-of-house staff appropriately. For more info, head over to facebook.com/collisionbrew or read Marc Bona’s coverage of the event for Cleveland.com