Scotland fans drink Boston bars dry at World Cup
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Boston Beer Co. said its Sam Adams Boston Taproom ran out of flagship Boston Lager after Scotland's Tartan Army supporters drank four times what the bar normally stocks over a four-day holiday weekend, prompting an emergency Saturday delivery and extra shipments this week.
- The White Bull Tavern sold out completely — including its top-seller Tennent's — leaving only Bud Light, according to Scottish fan Dave Orr and bar manager Paul Morris.
- Hennessy's Bar saw sales "triple St. Patrick's Day" levels, chief operating officer Noelle Somers told the Boston Globe, with the 30-year-old venue saying it had "never seen anything like it."
- Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday in the team's first World Cup match in 28 years, and faces Morocco there next on Friday.
- The Red Sox hosted "Scotland Day" at Fenway Park on Sunday after the Tartan Army led a march of at least 5,000 fans from Evans Way Park to the ballpark behind a bagpipe cohort, with thousands more filling the stands to watch Boston play Texas.
Why it matters: Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years brought tens of thousands of Tartan Army fans to Boston, driving bar sales to 3-4x normal holiday-weekend levels and forcing Sam Adams into emergency restocking. For Boston's hospitality operators, the weekend offered a real-world stress test of concentrated fan tourism tied to marquee international matches.
Ask SkimNews
