Masters Tournament Is Dealing With An Odd Beer Issue, Source Tells OutKick
Masters patrons are confused by the cups that drinks are being served in at this year's tournament.
What started out as a simple message sent to OutKick for my Screencaps column about beer foam at the 2026 Masters Tournament has turned into actual news.
On Thursday morning, Anonymous Masters Employee, who has provided some very detailed reports from inside Augusta National over the last few years, told me that beer foam has been a serious challenge for tournament organizers.
Did you notice an abnormal amount of head on your 2026 Masters beer? I want to hear about it: joe.kinsey@outkick.com
Beer foam is reportedly an issue this year with certain plastic cups at The Masters tournament. (Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Network)
"We’ve been having some foaming issues with the green Masters cups. So, we switched to serving tea, soda and sports drink products out of those and the Domestic Lite beer (Miller) and the Import (Stella) are now being served in the clear plastic cups with Masters logo and 2026 on them," Anonymous Masters Employee wrote.
"The Crow's Nest (wheat ale similar to a Blue Moon) is still being sold in their signature cups. I think this is the policy at ALL the concession stands."
Some laughed off the tweet as complete nonsense. Screencaps readers recognized it as a news nugget that you're typically only going to get from America's Greatest Daily Column, as named by the readers.
Then, it happened. The Big Js started to take notice of the beer cup situation.
By Thursday afternoon, Sports Business Journal writer Josh Carpenter tweeted that there's confusion on the grounds.
"Update from the grounds: Non-alcoholic beverages are now being served in green Masters cups, while import and domestic beer are in the clear cups. Cashier shrugged when I asked why," Carpenter wrote.
Meanwhile, Masters patrons are starting to take note of the Screencaps report.
"Truly had everyone confused Tuesday morning! Even the security working the gate as we were leaving made a comment she hoped my green cup was not beer," a patron told OutKick.
"Yep they made the switch during ANWA. Makes you wonder what the hell is in those green cups," wrote another patron, referencing the Augusta National Women's Amateur tournament that was held over the weekend.
An Augusta National Golf Club employee pours beers into souvenir cups at the 2023 Masters Tournament. (Photo by Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Does Augusta National Have A 'Nucleation' Issue This Year With Its Beer?
What is nucleation? Let's keep this as simple as possible.
It's the reaction that results from the beer hitting "rough, porous, and sometimes statically charged surface of plastic," according to Google. The rough, porous plastic "provides thousands of microscopic points for carbon dioxide to escape, create a rapid, often excessive, head of bubbles."
The result: Too much head on the draft beer.
It's unclear if that's exactly why the Masters beer department made the cup change.
Why is Crow's Nest, which is the Masters' house beer, still being served in the green cups? Again, it's unclear, but Internet beer experts do contend that beers with higher alcohol content typically have less foam. The alcohol will break down the foam.
Again, this is all a Masters mystery that we may never get to the bottom of.