BOSTON — As Scotland returns to the field at Boston Stadium in Foxboro, the Tartan Army is ready for round two, sending a playful message to restaurants and bars that have run out of beer: “Be more prepared.”
Scotland fans just arriving in Boston for their country’s match against Morocco on Friday say they are not surprised that the Tartan Army ran beer lines at some of the city’s busiest bars completely dry last weekend, forcing emergency deliveries.
“You should be more prepared for us coming,” Scottish fan John Collins told the Herald atop the Sam Adams’ Taproom roofdeck at Faneuil Hall. “Preparation is key.”
Sam Adams is ready for Friday’s challenge, coming as the federal Juneteenth holiday converges with the U.S. versus Australia match at 3 p.m. ET, to be followed by Scotland’s second tilt of the tournament in Foxboro.
The first week of the World Cup has sparked “unprecedented” demand at the Taproom, according to assistant taproom manager Sam LeBlanc, greeted by a strong crowd of Scottish fans when he opened the establishment’s doors at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Sam Adams ran out of Boston Lager three days in a row, last Friday through Sunday, LeBlanc told the Herald. He added that the Taproom added an extra 12 kegs on Saturday after going dry on Friday, but it did not survive.
The same story played out by 7 p.m. Sunday. The Taproom pivoted to selling an exclusive beer, “Market Lager,” a Vienna lager, similar to the Boston Lager, but it didn’t slow down the Tartan Army’s drinking.
That forced the Taproom to call for emergency deliveries from the Sam Adams brewery in Jamaica Plain, LeBlanc said.
“We just did not understand the voracious appetite that the FIFA fans have for Boston Lager,” he said, laughing.
Heading into Friday, LeBlanc confidently vowed, “We will not run out.”
On Wednesday, a Jamaica Plain brewer visited the Taproom, filling two of the establishment’s 10-hectoliter tanks, containing about 16 kegs each, with Boston Lager.
“We are learning day to day,” LeBlanc said. “Business has been fantastic during games, but on Scotland gamedays, it is all day; it is an all-day affair. That’s what we are expecting and ready for.”
Collins, who had just flown into Boston late Wednesday night, and his friends hung out at Sam Adams early Thursday, around 11:30 a.m. He described Scottish soccer, or football, culture as similar to how Americans watch sports.
“People sit around enjoying alcoholic drinks,” Collins said, “and the football is second.”
Over by TD Garden, Nick Giannotti is preparing for a busy Friday at The Tip Tap Room, where he is a general manager and beverage director.
This past week, Giannotti’s beer supply has run dry, especially last Saturday, he said, when the Tartan Army arrived at the eatery when doors opened at 11:30 a.m., well in advance of the 9 p.m. kickoff in Foxboro.
Giannotti said even the staple lagers that the bar doesn’t usually go through a keg of in a day have had to be reordered: Veltins, a German pilsner; Mast Landing, a Maine lager; and Stiegl, an Austrian brew, to name a few.
“I’ll be honest and say that I think the volume caught me a little off guard,” Giannotti told the Herald. “I did not expect the Scottish to roll so deep and have so many people in the city.”
“These guys are all pretty awesome,” he added.