Real Time

Ommegang Rouge, tremendous Flemish Red, at Frisco Grille

Back In Town

I'll try and get some local updates in here soon.

Random Hopmonk Tavern

Garlic fries and two Pliny's, outside

This Wont Make Sense

The bathroom at Russian River smells like heaven

Real Time

Russian River Brewing Co. Perdition and Pliny the Elder

Umm

Pics are all out of sorts, will try again when comp is up and I can respond to comments.

Travel Day III (Part II)

Chimay cheese during complimentary wine tasting at the hotel

Russian River Damnation 750ml at Brasserie by the hotel

Travel Day III (Part I)

At Moylans in Novato, Hopsickle, Summer Kolsch, Wet Hop Hopsickle, the beer board and bar/taps

Quick Thought

Anchor Steam, Fat Tire and even Pliny the Elder are ubiquitous here but the Marylander in me feels like such a criminal each time I pass them up!

Travel Day II (Part II)

Three pics of the 60+ taps at Jacks Bar at The Cannery in San Francisco

Travel Day II (Part I)

Only beer pics (er, mostly) from here out.

1) Dungeness crab and sourdough bread at the Wharf, very cliche, with a contract amber made by Marin Brewing

2) Great find, Jacks Bar at The Cannery, 64 taps. This is the first round of Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, El Toro oatmeal stout and Racer 5

3) My second beer, an awesome floral pale ale from Mt. Tam

4) Magpies towel, I believe theyre the rugby club Russell Crowe owns?

Travel Day One (Part IV)

Sorry for all the posts, phone mail has a size limit for image uploads

As you can tell it's the wharf in San Francisco around sunset, great setting

Travel Day One (Part III)

1 and 2)Sunset dining at Alioto's at the wharf in San Francisco, the Golden Gate bridge off in the distance on No. 2

Travel Day One (Part II)

1)Outside shot of the famous Toronado pub in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district

2)Marin Brewing's contract brew and some sourdough at Alioto's on the Wharf

3)Seafood sausage, interesting

Travel Day One (Part I)

Care to guess where? Details to explain the pics soon.

1)Southwest travel mag had a lengthy feature on Baltimore

2)Stopover in Denver, Boulder Brewing's IPA and Pale Ale

3)Snow capped mountains somewhere in the American west

4)The guy looked like President Obama

5)One of those weird Go Cars, somehow street legal

6)Moonlight Brewing's Twist of Fate bitter at the famous Toronado in San Francisco, yum

7)Twist of Fate and Pliny the Elder, Toronado

8)Its hard to see, but the clock in the corner says Guenther Brewing, a former native of Maryland

9)A delicious sausage sandwich from Rosamunde's next door to the Toronado

Picture Dump

1)Frisco Grille's gone biker friendly, at least on alternating Mondays, started just yesterday.

2)Also, be sure to sign up for the extremely limited Frisco Grille trip to Flying Dog on June 5th, I believe the cost is $25, you get to rid to/from Frisco in the custom Flying Dog van, with tasting, tours, cookout, etc. Looks like a great time.

3,4)Um, duplicates? Oh yeah, mug! That tattered booklet needed 100 unique beers and the 100th being a shotgunned Natty Boh (worst idea ever, but hey its tradition), all signed off by one of the main bartenders, and then you join the mug club, ~3 extra ounces of beer with each pour. Inquire within Frisco Grille to get your booklet and start that journey.

5,6)A couple Chimay whites at Kali's Court in Fells Point. I was thrilled they had appropriate glassware.

7)The Lagunitas Correction Ale.

Lagunitas Correction Ale

... is fantastic. We need more beers like that being made here in the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast.

Real Time

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (English Barleywine) 2006 at Frisco Grille

Real Time

Homebrew Belgian strong golden turned tripel in honor of Summer of Beer Steve's USC pharm school graduation

Its best served in a tulip but I couldn't resist the Ayinger glass I got from Frisco Grille recently

Real Time

Troegs Nugget Nectar, Troegs pint night at Frisco Grille

Real Time

Starr Hill Northern Lights IPA at Frisco Grille

Miscellaneous

-- Yours For Good Fermentables takes American Craft Beer Week a step further asking us to support LOCAL beer. Sounds good to me.

-- A rare picture of Mahaffey's upstairs bar. I've yet to trek up there, worth the visit?

-- Beer in Baltimore has details on tonight's cask event at Max's. Also, a first day report from Max's great American Craft Beer Week event. Another excited report from BeerInBaltimore.com.

New Beer at Pub Dog

Via Midnight Sun: Pub Dog's new beer will be called "Melon Dog". Iiiiiiinteresting.

The most recent melon beer I think I've had was a watermelon at 21st Ammendment in San Francisco, where they actually placed a small watermelon piece on the rim of the glass. It was decent for a few sips before losing much of the melon flavor. Enjoyable but more novelty than great beer.

Hopefully Pub Dog's efforts prove worthy.

UPDATE: From Alexander D. Mitchell III, Beer In Baltimore blog maven and writer for Mid-Atlantic Brewing News

Yeah, but you'll have to read Mid-Atlantic Brewing News to figure out who's doing the OTHER melon beer this summer!

Mothers Day Picture Dump

1)Cheese plate at Grand Cru in Belvedere Square. That block in the lower right is Chimay cheese from the Trappist monks responsible for Chimay beer!

2)A small piece of Chimay cheese. It has the consistency of muenster, if a bit sweaty and a slight zip.

3)Troegs Sunshine Pils at Grand Cru

4 &5) The bar area at Grand Cru, draught beers are written on a blackboard like system above the bar. They have an impressive eight taps and a beer engine for cask beer plus several fridges worth of beer. Sneaky good, especially for a wine place.

6 & 7)Went to DuClaw in Fells Point later, then wandered over to Fells Point Square where there was a crap I mean craft fair going on. To the right, obscured slightly by a tree, the great Max's. To the left, world famous Bertha's which carries an English bitter on cask from Oliver's/Wharf Rat brewing.