Beer is full of gimmicks, some super useful (growlers with temperature control and draft capabilities, for example), some less so (sup, Fizzics). Last week, VinePair reported on another questionable technoligical beer breakthrough: Ripples, a company whose specialized 3-D printers make beer foam art.
The invention prints pre-set images or text onto beer foam (and other food and beverage items) in a matter of seconds.
The Yankees and Blue Point Brewing took a swing at the gimmick, printing players’ faces on Blue Point’s NY Pinstripe Pilsner during a media event at Yankee Stadium on Monday. After sports writer, Jeff Eisenband covered the event, and tweeted a photo of said Yankees’ beer foam faces, Major League Baseball was not pleased. (According to Newsday, MLB players are not permitted to advertise alcohol.)
1. I went to the @Yankees' Tasting Event yesterday.
2. I noticed the bar printing #Yankees players on beer.
3. I posted a photo that got picked up by https://t.co/aYIavlRYOa, Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, etc.
4. The #Yankees have been "reprimanded" for this.This has been weird. https://t.co/n5EGu9Q2MI
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) March 27, 2018
In the Post Game, Eisenband said the foam faces were being unveiled as a new offering in Yankee Stadium’s exclusive Audi Yankees Club, where a bar would feature a Ripples machines to print the likenesses of Yankee players on beer, coffee, and food. Players programmed into the Ripples machine at the event included Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aroldis Chapman, with more to come, Eisenband said.
We usually root, root, root for the home team, but in this case, we’ve gotta call foul on this one.