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2/21 Update: Former Caps beat writer Jason LaCanfora is reporting that there will only be one tap of Natty Boh available at OPACY. “From what I gather, the big beer companies want a bigger stake in stadium sales,” LaCanfora writes. “Boh was by far biggest selling can at Camden Yards. As of now, no Boh cans – not even the sweet 16oz orange ones – will be available, the previous big seller. Hopefully that changes by April.”
2/19 Update: According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles will still be selling Boh, but only at one location. Per an Orioles club official, the Natty Boh bar will also now have new branding in 2016 and serve a variety of beers.
Original story: Maryland’s signature beer, National Bohemian, aka “Natty Boh,” aka “Bohs for Os, hon, le’s’go, Cal, git ‘er dun for Dundalk,” is a staple of any visit to Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles and best baseball stadium on the planet. Except change that “is” to a “was” because rumor has it that OPACY won’t be selling Natty Boh this season.
Maryland Craft beer enthusiasts Beer in Baltimore shared the rumor on Thursday night, sending shockwaves from Ridgely’s Delight to Arbutus and all the way to Fredneck.
MASN’s Roch Kubatko said on Thursday that he could not yet confirm the rumor.
@knownbadboard You're the 3rd person to ask. Don't know. Apparently so according to twitter
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) February 19, 2016
It sounds like Camden Yards will sell only drinks from the Belgian behemoth InBev, who acquired Anheuser-Bush back in 2008. They own lots of beers that seem like they might be good but really aren’t.
If OPACY is truly selling only InBev beers, that may leave local craft beer faves like Heavy Seas in limbo. Your boy Dan Steinberg wrote about Heavy Seas’ Cal Ripken-themed beer just last summer. A locally owned brewing company, Heavy Seas might not be included in an InBev-only Camden Yards. That’d be a dramatic shift away from the craft-friendly haven the stadium has been in recent years.
For its part, National Bohemian is no longer a local institution. After being brewed in Maryland for over a century, Boh was purchased by Pabst Brewing Company, who in turn handed the brand over to a Russian interest.
It’s a sad demise for a once-beloved brand. O’s games won’t be the same without that beautiful orange can, but it’s not what it once was anyway. This has been a very sad RMNB story about beer.
https://twitter.com/BmoreBeastMode/status/700511338708099072
