Man, Outside Lands was already two weeks ago? Time flies. For those who don’t know or need a reminder, Outside Lands is a three day music and arts festival in San Francisco. It’s held annually in Golden Gate Park, I live a few blocks away, and I go every year. This year they had reusable aluminum pints for sale. You buy a beer and for an extra six bucks you can get a reusable cup with the Outside Lands logo on it. The handle was a carabiner so you could clip it onto your bag or whatever. It was a great idea. Save the planet from unnecessary plastic and a cool souvenir. So I bought it on the first day with my first beer and I was stoked.

But apparently the OSL staff were completely unaware of what reusable means. I bought the cup so they could pour beer directly into it. Some venders did just that. Most venders did not. I brought my cup back on the second day of the festival and the first vendor I saw refused to use my reusable pint. She asked me when and where I bought it. I said I bought it at the same stand the day before. She said she couldn’t serve me a beer in it because I bought it yesterday. She said this while standing in front of a giant poster advertising the REUSABLE OUTSIDE LANDS ALUMINUM PINT. Whatever. I bought a pint in a plastic cup, then poured the pint into my aluminum cup, put the wasted plastic cup on her table, looked her in the eye, and took a sip. Refreshing and defiant. Delicious.

That seemed to be the theme of the remaining weekend. I would buy a beer and 75% of the venders would hand me a pint in plastic. I feel like I bought the cup for nothing but a souvenir. I wanted to reduce my carbon footprint with beer. They didn’t want me to. I’m still glad I bought it though. It’s a nice cheap vessel to drink booze with. I just wish they saved the plastic they were promised I would save. They used me. They should have used my cup.

Critically Rated at 8/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young