One of the monthly specials: Banana Bread Beer Shake.
What could be more refreshing than a cold beer during a hot baseball game? According to Johnathan Schumacher, food and beverage director at minor league baseball’s Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs, a beer shake. Venues Today’s panel of judges agreed, granting the RiverDogs’ Beer Shakes the Silver Spoon Award for Best New Menu Item in 2013.
Since introducing Beer Shakes in April, the RiverDogs have already sold more than 3,000 at a cool six bucks a pop.
Schumacher said that he first got the idea to bring beer shakes to the RiverDog’s Joseph R. Riley, Jr. Park through a trade news email that talked about a restaurant chain’s experiment with Samuel Adams shakes.
“I looked at that, scratched my head and thought, ‘this could work,’” he said.
In April, the RiverDogs introduced three flavors of the concoctions that are always available, as well as a rotating monthly special. The three constant flavors include Guinness Caramel, with vanilla ice cream, caramel syrup and Guinness; SweetWater 420 Strawberry, with strawberry ice cream and 420 Extra Pale Ale from Atlanta-based SweetWater Brewing Company; and Palmetto Espresso Porter Chocolate, with chocolate ice cream and syrup, with locally-brewed Palmetto Espresso Porter, accented with espresso from Charleston Coffee Roasters.
For the monthly specials, the RiverDogs with ownership group, The Goldklang Group, teams with Advintage, a local micro-brew distributor. The Banana Nut Bread Beer Shake special just ended for July. Fans who come to the park in August can try an Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie Beer Shake, made with Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout and Rum Raisin ice cream.
“When they first started doing the Beer Shakes, I only delivered a few cases of Palmetto Espresso Porter because we didn’t know how it was going to go,” said Larry Lipov of Palmetto Brewery. “Their GM called and said they had blown out of the Espresso Porter.”
Because Palmetto Brewery is a local business, they brew in small batches and didn’t have a surplus of the flavor. “I actually had to go out into the retail trade and buy Palmetto Espresso Porter back from our retailers to bring to the ballpark,” Lipov added.
The recipe is very important since the alcohol in beer tends to break down ice cream more quickly than milk. In order to keep a traditional milkshake consistency, Schumacher changed the liquid-to-ice cream ratio. Each shake contains about 7 ounces of beer, an equal amount of ice cream and, if used, an ounce of flavored syrup.
“It’s going to sound weird to a lot of people who aren’t sure how those flavors will mix, but we’ve done beer dinners with desserts involving ice creams with complimentary and contrasting flavors,” said Lipov. “John [Schumacher] is really creative in looking at the local foods and figuring out a twist for them.”
On big nights, the RiverDogs will sell around 150 shakes, with just under 100 per night as the average.
“Sales are really split right down the middle as far as male and female,” said Schumacher. “Usually we see couples come up and get two different flavors so they can try some of both.”
The three mainstay flavors and one monthly special are sold from one point of sale, with plans to expand to four constant flavors and a monthly special next season.
“Sales were very strong at the beginning and we were wondering where it would level off, but it’s still holding a very decent number,” said Schumacher.
Most people only enjoy one per game — after all, beer shakes are very rich and filling.
“We get people having one or possibly two,” he said. “The heavier beers like the porters and the stouts work well because they’re thick and rich, and when you mix the ice cream in all of the flavors of the beer immediately come out.”
He said that intoxication from the Beer Shakes hasn’t been an issue because they’re so naturally filling. In fact, Schumacher said he considers the item more of a dessert with a hint of beer than an alcoholic beverage, though customers still need to have their IDs checked before purchase.
“Obviously you have to be 21 to order them, but it’s not like taking shots of Jagermeister.”
He said that this is a great opportunity to work with the go-local craze and the popularity of craft beer. Not only could a ballpark partner with local breweries, but also could expand the idea to use a local ice cream manufacturer. And the press attention has really raised the profile of the South Carolina ballpark.
“We were lucky because the media really jumped all over it,” he said. But it’s not just the media that’s showing an interest. Chefs and venues have reached out to Schumacher asking if he would have a problem with others taking the Beer Shakes idea and incorporating it at their facilities.
“I say, ‘hell no, go have fun with it!’” he said.
“It’s not like we’re trying to monopolize these,” he added, pointing out that it’s an easy item to test out because everyone has beer and ice cream in their inventory.
Interviewed for this story: Larry Lipov, (843) 224-9518; Johnathan Schumacher, (843) 723-7241