Even the Great American Pastime can’t fend off the forces of automation.
If Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game next week is any indicator, ballpark beer sales might eventually go the way of frozen yogurt, gas station coffee and soda.
Two self-service beer stations were rolled out in Minnesota’s Target Field on Sunday for the Twins and Yankees game as a test run for the upcoming All-Star Game on July 15. The DraftServ machines allow fans to choose from four beers and pour their own draught.
Related: The 11 Worst Fast Food Restaurants in America
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Target Field is the first MLB venue to have a DraftServ machine. Pete Spike, general manager for concession provider Delaware North, which created the beer stations in partnership with Anheuser-Busch, said he was unaware of any other professional sports league to use them.
The machines won’t be assembled and left unattended for patrons to pour at will — and they won’t eliminate the need for stadium workers: Customers must present proper identification to an employee to verify their age and purchase a $10 or $20 card (for the All-Star Game, a $50 card will also be sold).
After swiping their card, customers can choose from four beers and buy their selection by the ounce, although no more than 48 ounces may be poured by one customer in a 15-minute period (that’s the equivalent of four traditional 12-ounce cans). Fans who choose to buy less than a full cup will only pay for what they’ve poured.
Related: The 10 Best Fast Food Restaurants in America
Bud and Bud Light cost 38 cents per ounce, while Goose Island 312 Urban Pale Ale and Shock Top Lemon Shandy will cost 40 cents an ounce. Earlier this spring, a Business Insider report on beer prices by each Major League Baseball team showed that the Boston Red Sox have the priciest beer at 65 cents per ounce and the Angels have the cheapest, at 28 cents, so the Minnesota pricing falls squarely in the middle of that range.
For customers who have been spoiled by bartenders for so long they’ve forgotten how to pour a beer, a video screen on each DraftServ provides step by step directions.
Regardless of who is pouring the beer, one baseball nuance won’t change: Beer sales still stop by the seventh inning.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: