Fans making the trip to Minnesota next week for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will get to experience an interesting new way of ordering their ballpark beers.
Target Field, home of the Twins, recently debuted a new service called DraftServ that basically serves as a soda fountain for suds. Fans are able to preload money onto a card, walk over to one of the self-serve pouring stations and use the card to fill their cup as much — within reason — or as little as they like.
Four beers are currently available at the park, with Budweiser and Bud Light costing 38 cents per ounce and Shock Top Lemon Shandy and Goose Island 312 Urban Pale Ale costing 40 cents per ounce.
“It’s a way to engage with the customer and allows the fan to have greater control of what they’re drinking,” Jerry Jacobs Jr., principal of concessions giant Delaware North, told ESPN.com. “There’s obviously some novelty value to this, but it also allows people to pour what they want. If they want a half of a cup, that’s all they will pay for.”
The system does employ security measures to prevent underage drinking or overconsumption, as each machine will be manned by an ID-checking attendant and each card limits its owner from pouring more than 48 ounces within a 15-minute span.
The 2014 All-Star Game, the first Minnesota has hosted since 1985, will be held next Tuesday.
Photo via Twitter/@darrenrovell
