Talk began last fall that LSU wanted a beer garden in Tiger Stadium in time for this football season. LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva has been a big proponent of beer sales in the stadium, saying it would enhance the fan experience and boost revenues and attendance at games, according to our sister publication Daily Report.
A few obstacles stand in the way, namely SEC rules against selling alcohol at games (you can get away with it in the stadium club and suites, though, which are somehow not part of the stadium). Also, based on online comments for that Daily Report story, the public seems pretty divided on whether beer guzzling is good or bad for the fan experience.
LSU officials have lately been mum about negotiations with SEC brass to find a creative solution to the beer garden conundrum, and they had no updates for 225 as of press time.
But that got us curious about the beer garden trend itself.
The traditional German “biergarten” got its start directly above the underground cellars where early breweries kept their fermenting lagers cold. They planted broad-leafed trees to keep the ground cool, and the shade also attracted local beer drinkers.
Thus, the beer garden was born. One of its largest examples is Augustiner-Keller, opened in 1807 in Munich, Germany, with its vast rows of picnic tables under chestnut trees, giant steins of beer and soft pretzels bigger than your face.
These days, though, use of the term doesn’t always adhere to tradition, meaning any patio outside a bar with a few chairs can call itself a beer garden.
Corporate Brew & Draft, while a favorite of serious beer drinkers, claims a small fenced-in plot behind its Citiplace shopping center space as a beer garden.
Barcadia outside LSU’s north gates installed an inviting beer garden last year, removing its adjoining parking lot for communal tables and landscaping.
While not labeled as such, Curbside’s sizable gravel courtyard and picnic tables under shady trees makes for a pretty faithful take.
The minds behind Radio Bar have been planning a beer garden on Government Street for a few years now. The few renderings released show something akin to authenticity, with all outdoor seating, grassy areas and plenty of picnic tables. But they still haven’t broken ground as of press time.
As for Tiger Stadium, adding a “beer garden” would require getting creative with the definition. Taking up any open space inside the stadium might mean eliminating seating; along the exterior would mean fencing off areas under nearby stately oaks. There’s also space deep within the bowels of the stadium itself, but that’s the equivalent of a fluorescently lit lounge.
Either way, if a beer garden ever becomes a reality in Tiger Stadium, expect to share that coveted picnic table and soft pretzel with 90,000 of your closest friends. Prost!\
This article was originally published in the August 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
