Major League Baseball team the New York Yankees have been forced to backtrack on plans to introduce an innovative beer delivery system at Yankee Stadium after the league intervened.
Earlier this week, a new partnership between New York-based Blue Point Brewing Company and the Yankees was unveiled through which the brewery has developed a Pinstripe Pilsner that will only be available at the stadium.
It was also reported that fans would be served with their beers in a unique manner, with a delivery system called Beer Ripples able to personalise their drinks. It was said that the machine would imprint images such as Yankees logos, players’ faces and stadium outlines onto the foam of the beer when it is served.
However, MLB has now moved to act on the reports as league rules do not permit active players to be involved in the promotion or advertising of alcohol-related products. “We were unaware of the images,” a spokesman for MLB told the Newsday website. “We spoke to the club, the club wasn’t aware, either. To the best of our knowledge, they have told them it’s not authorised, to cease doing it.”
A spokesman for the Yankees added: “Our hospitality team took Monday’s event as an opportunity to test the image machine with various Yankees-related logos and photos. However, the Yankees have no current plans of incorporating this decorative element on concessions items this season.”
The company behind Beer Ripples has also denied any official involvement in Monday’s activation. A spokesman said: “Ripples is the company behind Beer Ripples, the device that can print any image, picture or message onto beer.
“We are currently working with Legends, the company that runs the food and concessions stands at Yankee Stadium, who are in the process of testing a number of Beer Ripples machines. Ripples, however, was not involved with this particular activation.”
Image: Matt Hecht
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