A Maryland Beer Trail?

I just saw this post at Yours For Good Fermentables talking about a visit to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. I gotta say that's a great idea for Kentucky. YFGF also notes that Virginia has a burgeoning wine trail of its own.

I know Maryland doesn't have the greatest beer reputation around, but there are enough interesting breweries and places to simply get great beer that I think it would be worthwhile for the various interests involved (including the state) to maybe sink a few dollars into something that promotes a segment of Maryland business in difficult economic times.

Think about the various buildings on Brewery Hill near downtown Baltimore being restored for other purposes. Think about the rudimentary colonial brewing history that likely happened in the area (perhaps tie that into a place like Ellicott Mills that is such a big period draw). Link that to the present with the growth of the microbrewing phenomena with the late DeGroen's, and longtime Maryland brewing face Hugh Sisson who had Sisson's before establishing Clipper City.

Baltimore and Maryland used to have huge German populations. Imagine what relevant beer tourist-y things could be uncovered digging into that story.

Then package it all together by linking Maryland's many esteemed beer friendly watering holes from the Eastern Shore and Annapolis to Baltimore to the western edge of the state with nods to our neighbors in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C.

All of this probably at the low cost of a few meetings of interested parties, the expense of putting together some pamphlets and literature to place in hotel lobbies, a simple website, a little advertising in travel magazines and in-flight magazines and local publications like Baltimore Magazine and so on. Mix in a few discounts for those spurred on by this commitment and maybe we're onto something.

One of my frustrations when I moved here in February was that there was no central depository of information and insight into the Maryland beer culture. Lack of information is a barrier to entry for people interested in the beer and beer history of this fine state. Why not removed that barrier?

That's part of the purpose of Baltimore Beer Guy. Selfishly I've accumulated the links and maps on here to keep in one central place for my own purposes, but they're obviously also out there to share with anyone and everyone interested in this niche topic. If a non-native can put this together in a few months, imagine what interested parties could do working together to do something much greater?