T-Bonz Movin' On Up

Hidden gem T-Bonz in Ellicott City keeps doing good things. So many, in fact, that I've had to adjust my Howard County beer stratification to include them. Gone is the Holy Trinity, arrived is the Big Four, the Mighty Rectangle of Liquid Delight the ... anything to do with four, basically.

T-Bonz has ascended and can now safely join Frisco Grille, Victoria Gastro Pub and The Judges Bench as craft beer elite in Howard County.

Besides being the home to some of my absolute favorite ribs, T-Bonz now serves up 12 craft beer taps (with more planned) which much like Frisco Grille, can easily be seen on their website updated instantly. No guesswork! Kudos for also adding the "on deck" section. Every beer bar should be doing this, but I digress ...

T-Bonz was also the very first place in the area to hold a "Pints and Pancakes" event (soon to be copied at Mahaffey's later this month), which was an absolute blast. It was so successful another one is in the works but featuring winter themed beers, set for a Sunday in July just as soon as entertainment can be worked out.

Also in the works is an expansion, with another bar area to be held in the basement as sort of a brickskeller, with an additional set of craft taps to enjoy.

Further down the road, a Friday The Firkenteenth is planned for August 13th. T-Bonz recently jumped on the firkin bandwagon and more firkin events are under consideration.

Finally, a Howard County pub crawl with T-Bonz is in the planning stages (set for I believe Saturday May 22nd). For a fee there would be a bus making stops at the fearsome foursome -- T-Bonz, The Judges Bench, Victoria Gastro Pub and Frisco Grille -- and have some kind of smaller sized glassware involved so as to not get too carried away. I like the concept, as the bars are all a relatively close drive to each other but obviously not walkable.

Apologies for any errors as my notes were terrible while talking to bar manager Chris -- who has helped make T-Bonz an excellent beer destination after he came over from Fells Point's Red Star. I'll check back for more concrete details on much of this but hopefully this is a good general overview of some exciting things happening at yet another excellent beer bar in Howard County.

Oh, and one more item about their beers: they have a house offering called 33rd Street Ale in honor of the Orioles' old Memorial Stadium. The actual establishment is well appointed with Ravens and Orioles memorabilia as well as beer taps along the walls similar to how Frisco Grille has made use of their unused handles.

Maryland: Home to World Beer Cup Winners!

Not only is Maryland about crab cakes and football, its about award-winning beers.

Several Maryland breweries came away with prizes at the 2010 World Beer Cup held this weekend. Notable:

Flying Dog
Silver: Gonzo Imperial Porter Vintage 2007 in the Aged Beer category

Heavy Seas
Gold: Heavy Seas Gold Ale in the Golden or Blonde Ale category
Bronze: Heavy Seas Marzen in the Vienna-Style Lager category
Bronze: Heavy Seas Pale Ale in the Classic English-Style Pale Ale category

Brewer's Alley
Silver: Brewer's Alley India Pale Ale in the English-Style India Pale Ale category

Rock Bottom (Bethesda)
Gold: Highland Courage in the Scottish-Style Ale category

Congratulations to our Maryland winners!

Pratt Street Ale House Invades Victoria Gastro Pub

Be sure to stop by Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub (conveniently located immediately off Rt. 100 on Snowden River Parkway) for a neat Pratt Street Ale House event.

Victoria will be pouring eight (!) PSAH taps including Hot Monkey Love (first batch!), Cherry Blossom Ale and 3 Spires Ale.

Brewmaster Stephen Jones should be on hand at some point in the evening, as well as souvenir pint glasses.

April Flying Dog Bitch Session

Today is the first Thursday in April which means 'Bitch Session' time with Flying Dog. The Bitch Sessions are hosted at various locations around Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

The big one locally will be at Frisco Grille, featuring two amazing firkins (the Doggie Style Pale Ale which is ridiculous and a brand new firkin of Snake Dog IPA) plus two Flying Dog beers on tap: the Raging Bitch Belgian IPA and the In-Heat Wheat.

Plus, a top secret beer.

Festivities should commence around 6 PM although most of the beers should be on tap sometime before then.