If This Isn’t Reason Enough For A New Stadium I Don’t Know What Is

Important investigative journalism — going to a day game at Yankee Stadium and checking the temperature of the beer:

Armed with a thermometer and a fistful of twenties, the Daily News found that beer at yesterday’s afternoon game was as warm as 60 degrees — closer to room temperature than freezing.

“The guy only makes it down a couple of rows before they get warm on a 90-degree day,” complained Scott Fried, 33, of Long Island.

It wasn’t much better Tuesday night when the temperatures dipped into the 60s.

“It’s warm. $8.75 for a beer, it should at least be cold,” said Bob Henderson, 44, of Clinton, N.J., holding a bottle of Miller Lite.

Vendors blame balky coolers in the bowels of the Stadium for the perennial problem, and say they don’t like hawking lukewarm beer to customers.

For a while, they were dumping ice in their bins to keep the bottles cold — until management banned it Sunday, apparently so customers wouldn’t be splashed with melting ice water.

One longtime vendor gave The News a copy of his flyer that says “any vendor that is found with ICE in their bin is subject to disciplinary action.”

“I just don’t like selling warm beer,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll come in and they’ll tell me, don’t work behind home plate, the beer there isn’t right today.”

. . .

The News’ two-day survey found numerous examples of beer being served at 50-plus degrees — way too warm, according to Miller and Anheuser-Busch, which says beer served over 45 degrees “quickly loses its zest.”

“The recommended serving temperature for Miller Lite is around 36 degrees,” said Miller spokesman Pete Marino.