Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow

At Sunday's game, I sat next to two fellows who said they were with the brewers. In town for the Great American Beer Festival? No, with the Milwaukee Brewers, they corrected me, and since their team beat the Padres, the Rockies really owed them some thanks.

Or at least a few beers.

The Brewers have their own baseball brewhaha going. In 1973, the mustache- and lederhosen-wearing Bernie Brewer became their mascot. His antics were based on those of an actual fan, and after every home run, Bernie would celebrate by sliding into a giant, frothy beer mug. But when the team moved to Miller Park in 2001, Bernie's beer mug did not make the trip. Instead, Bernie — who now has a full-body costume and a large foam head — just slides down onto a platform. No beer, no fun. And that's inspired a fans' campaign (www.truebrewcrew.com) to bring back Bernie's mug.

In case Milwaukee passes on that opportunity, the Rockies should be ready to buy the next round and bring the mug to Denver. Every game, a new fan could serve as that day's mascot and make the slide into a giant, frothy mug filled not with some Milwaukee dreck, but a fine Colorado craft beer. A Coors, even, while it's still made with Rocky Mountain spring water — or what passes for it in Golden. Think how it would polish this state's image as the largest beer producer in the country. Picture how refreshing it would be for some fan. Imagine how it would boost morale.

It's time to replace the drippy Dinger with a true liquid asset.