Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium
Teams: Miami Marlins/St. Louis Cardinals (Spring Training) Jupiter Hammerheads (Single A)/Palm Beach Cardinals (Single A)
Affiliates: Hammerheads (Miami Marlins)/Palm Beach Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals)
Ballpark Basics: One of the busiest ballparks in baseball.
Key Stats:
Parking: $15 at the paid lots, but you can find free along the side streets if you’re willing to walk just a bit.
Seats in the Shade: There isn’t much, but the upper levels on the base sides have an overhang (shade hits earlier on the 1st base side).
Situated in the planned community of Abacoa in Jupiter, Florida, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium does a good job of blending in with the surrounding shops, condos and (palm) tree lined streets. The ballpark is covered in a tan plaster that matches the other buildings throughout the entire neighborhood, and holds the distinction of being the only one in the Grapefruit league without a roof. There is a parking garage across the street that charges for parking. However, there is plenty of free on-street parking throughout the entire community that allows for easy parking although you may need to walk a few blocks.
Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium is one of the busiest ballparks in all of baseball. It was the first ballpark in the Grapefruit League to share two teams and is now also the home to the Single A teams for both of its Spring Training tenants, and also holds high school baseball tournaments and numerous concerts and shows. This means that it is in use almost every day from the end of February through the beginning of September.
Entering through the home plate gate you enter the main concourse that blocks the view of the field but does offer shade from the Florida sun. The main concourse runs from along the baselines and offers a number of different concession areas and carts. You climb a small set of stairs to get to the seating area. There is a wide aisle that splits the seating bowl into lower and upper levels. Since you are not able to view the field from the main concourse, they have painted a yellow line to denote standing room areas for this aisle so you can watch the game as you walk around the ballpark. There is very little to no shade for the seats in the lower bowl while a cantilevered roof offers some shade for the seats in the upper bowl depending on the time of day.
With the ballpark sharing two teams, there are matching clubhouses for each individual team behind the outfield walls, with the Miami Marlins behind the left field wall and the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse behind the right field wall. Various practice fields for each team also surround the ballpark beyond the outfield walls.
Best Spot for Beer: On our visit, almost every concession stand had the same selections: Two options from Schlafly, Kona, Goose Island, and then some macro options. However, there was one stand that had Civil Society Brewing on tap down the third base line on the main concourse.
Juggling four different baseball team schedules throughout the year means you have many opportunities to catch a game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, regardless of the time of year.
Civil Society Brewing
Rating: Home Run
Brew Basics: A brewery with quite a following, great beer and can’t beat location in Jupiter.
Key Stats:
Dogs: Lots of outdoor seating options
Good for Groups: Yes
Food: Eat Social (Jupiter location) brick oven pizza and more
Civil Society has two taprooms to choose from, but we picked this one to visit because of its prime location a block from our ballpark destination. It’s easy to find, and tucked into one of those little “town center” planned mixed-use communities that makes up much of central Jupiter. Most of the buildings are three stories, with apartments up top and a variety of shops on the first floors.
The specific building Civil Society calls home has some decent square footage with big windows that let in a lot of light. Outside, a covered walkway lined with ceiling fans divides the main foot traffic from store patrons, and customers who elect to sit in the dog-friendly space can choose to sit at picnic tables, in colorful adirondack chairs, or on stools at a bar railing which looks out into the central esplanade.
Inside, a large white tile bar is the central focus, with lots of seating there and at surrounding high tops. Additional tables and stand up bar areas provide plenty of room to spread out with your crew. Decorated with lots of white and wood, the building has exposed cement block, visible electric and duct work, and a fair amount of other elements that give off the unfinished urban loft vibe; but the cement floors and otherwise industrial feel are softened by murals and neon blue lights, white dropped ceilings with noise dampeners, and even a few chandeliers. While the West Palm Beach location relies on a rotating cast of food trucks, the Jupiter location has the added bonus of including Eat Social as their kitchen, with wings, salad and – the main draw – brick oven pizza, for those who need more than a drink.
Beer Breakdown:
A chalkboard behind the mainly wooden bar has write-in space for information on at least 14 beers. On our visit each spot was full with one guest tap included. Flights are also available for purchase, with an option where they have pre-selected a few or a second option where you select your four. It was a beautiful evening so we grabbed a few drinks for ourselves and headed outside to see what the fuss was all about:
Beach Access (4.9% ABV): A sunshiney, pineapple colored beer that gave off a yeasty aroma. It was a good standard lager with plenty of flavor – you won’t be confusing it for a Coors or a Bud but still a basic beer that veered just a bit from traditional with light lemony notes at the end. This is one of their flagships.
Beach Boat Repeat (4.9% ABV): A blonde ale that was almost identical in color to Beach Access but with a completely different nose of hoppy and tropical notes. Similarly, the palate is light in front with a hop center and then a slightly tropical, hoppy finish. We were surprised at how hoppy this blonde presented.
Fresh (6.2% ABV): A hazy IPA that poured a golden hue and smelled dank. The taste was hoppy and slightly floral with a weedy, earthen finish. Another one of their flagship options made mainly with Columbus and Citra hops.
Magnetic Void (7.9%): Who doesn’t love a good black IPA? And this one, with a robust mix of Simcoe, Chinook, Cascade and Columbus hops didn’t disappoint. Chocolate brown in color and while the bouquet is on the lighter side the flavor was strong. Mostly toasted and bready in the middle with notes of nuts and chicory rounding out a drier, slightly bitter end.
Civil Society Brewing Co. – Jupiter
1200 Town Center Dr, Unit 101
Jupiter, Florida