Clipper City Update

Their full list of events is available at the Baltimore Beer Week website, but a couple stand out:

-- "Back to our Roots" (Thursday October 16th 6-8 PM at Ryleigh's in Federal Hill) Clipper City returns to its roots, at Ryleigh's which was originally Sissons. Enjoy oysters while learning the history of brew pubs in Maryland.

-- Pyrates Plan Raid of The Judges Bench (downtown Ellicott City Friday October 16th 5-8 PM). They'll have 10 Clipper City beers on tap along with special cheese pairings. The highlight will be a rare 2008 Below Decks on draft plus its a keep the pint glass event.

Flying Dog Item

Flying Dog Beer Dinner at Alexandra's Restaurant at Turf Valley Resort

Saturday September 26th 2009, $45/person, reservations required
(410)480-2400

The menu

Cheese reception (featuring international & domestic cheeses)

Baby spinach Salad w/walnut & balsamic viniagrette and roasted pears w/stilton (Snake Dog IPA)

Veal sausage, dijon mustard spaetzel & braised red cabbage (Dogtoberfest)

Smoked breast of duck served w/potato puree, roasted asparagus and pumpkin seeds (Double Dog Pale Ale)

Dark chocolate raspberry cheesecake (Gonzo Imperial Porter)

Also Elsewhere in Ellicott City

The *fairly* recently opened Win Bin in downtown Ellicott City, directly across from The Judges Bench. They've got a nice enough beer section in back, for a wine place. Its an open and inviting interior. Nice touch that first picture, a basket of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA's.

Elsewhere in Ellicott City

1) Het Anker's Gouden Carolus Ambrio (fascinating taste!) at The Judges Bench

2 & 3) Outside shots of the Ellicott Mills Brewery

Real Time

Other notes at The Judges Bench:

- Other goodies include Delerium Tremens, Racer 5, Victory Golden Monkey tripel, Tripel Karmeliet on tap with Avery Maharajah and St. Bernardus Prior 8 on the way.

- Cheese plate now on the menu

- Kwak glass at the bar, thats new, plus Kwak bottles in the fridge

- Update: Forgot to mention they had Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA on tap. They operate on a "pin" system so the beers tend to kick a lot more often there, selection tends to change quite often.

Miscellaneous

-- Concert for a Cure honoring Mike Lacey tonight (Thursday April 23rd) at Looney's North (Bel Air). All day and night, benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Guest bartenders, raffles and 50/50, door prizes, giveaways, silent auction and raffle for a signed Joe Flacco (!) uniform.

-- Another reminder, the City Paper Brew Fest is this Saturday April 25th at Fells Point. I won't be going, but sounds like fun in a good location there central to many solid beer stops (Max's, Cat's Eye, Slainte, Duda's, DuClaw, Ale Mary's, Wharf Rat, John Steven Ltd. etc.).

-- DuClaw's Bel Air location is pouring two firkins this Friday: Raspberry Kangaroo Love and Double Dry Hopped Venom (pale ale).

-- The Perfect Pour beer tastings are Friday (April 24 5-8 PM) Lindeman's lambic and Saturday (25th 3-7 PM) "favorite 22 oz's" for the spring including Magic Hat #9, Southern Tier Cherry Saison (yum!), Abita Andygator and Abita Abbey Ale.

Not sure if I've mentioned it before on here but it sounds like The Perfect Pour is acquiring the space next to them and will expand into that area. Its actually a huge store but their entrance is but a narrow doorway hugging the elbow of the shopping center they occupy in Columbia.

-- Flying Dog has updated its website, more social media-y stuff going on. Among other participatory events already named on here recently, they'll also be at Alexandra's Restaurant (Ellicott City) for their "Spring Beer Dinner", $45/person on Saturday May 2nd. Alexandra's is a classy french place, haven't been but I believe it was named in Baltimore Magazine's top 50 restaurants issue.

Real Time

Beautiful day turned rainy. Dinner (no drinks) at La Palapa in Ellicott City which was recently reviewed in The Sun.

Ellicott Mills Brewing in fine form but off to Judges Bench. Mmm Allagash.

Judges Bench Second Anniversary Celebration

Not sure what all will be going on, but The Judges Bench in downtown Ellicott City will hold a 2nd anniversary celebration on April 1st (yes, April Fool's Day).

Be sure to congratulate owner Mike on transforming the place into an excellent stop for craft beer nuts.

Clipper City Meet The Brewer at Judges Bench

I might actually attend this, its nearby and I've fallen back in love with The Judges Bench in downtown Ellicott City.

Clipper City will be there on March 25th for a "Meet the Brewer" event from 5-8 PM.

Judges is a tiny place, but it has 17 taps and flies through them because it doesn't use a normal keg system but something smaller so things go on and off with great frequency providing great variety.

More Diamondback Tavern Info

We've written a bit before about the Diamondback Tavern, a Maryland-themed eatery and bar in downtown Ellicott City.

One of the managing partners, Lee, emailed yesterday to clarify some things about their beer program. As suspected, Guinness and Yuengling probably aren't going anywhere, but they've got four other taps to work with and continue to rotate things in (Lee mentioned Rogue's Dead Guy Ale is on right now).

They're doing their best to not simply sell out to big sellers of the Bud/Miller/Coors variety, which is admirable especially at a new place in a bad economy in a location that simply hasn't done as well in Ellicott City for whatever reason. Their efforts are risky and should be applauded in that department.

They'll also be working on hopefully acquiring at least one very recognizable and popular local tap, I'll leave that to them to announce if/when that happens. In the meantime, they've made it clear they care about good beer and are putting their money on some good taps. I encourage you to visit them.

First enticement: $2 draught beer all day on Sunday. You know you want it. Parking is in the lot just across the street from the Tavern, just off the main drag. The Tavern itself is up the hill a touch from the T-intersection at the center of downtown Ellicott City. I strongly recommend visiting them to grab a bite and a beer as a pregame of sorts before strolling the Ellicott City shops or taking on its other beer wonders: Ellicott Mills Brewing and The Judge's Bench.

Quickie Diamondback Tavern Update

As previously noted here and other places, the Diamondback Tavern is officially open. It is in the former Tiber River Tavern in downtown Ellicott City, just up the hill from the main drag there. It has a Maryland theme, and is quite nice inside, about as nice as a place can be given the facility.

The menu is decent enough, the old man and myself had some wings, the unique scotch eggs and a smushed meatball sub. As for the beer -- they've got two bars that seat I think about nine each, one on the main floor and one upstairs. There are six tap handles: Guinness, Smithwicks, Yuengling, Fordham Tavern Ale, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and Clipper City Winter Storm.

Could be worse, and I'm sure they'll rotate a bit. I hunch the Guinness and Yuengling will be permanent fixtures but the rest should allow for creativity and inspiration.

I enjoyed the view from my table downstairs by the bar, you can look onto the street, down the hill or watch people going by. Its fairly spacious overall, looks like they didn't try and cram a bunch of tables in where they could have gotten greedy and done so -- makes it a more inviting and friendly space. Its a unique building, with a few twists and turns here and there, very Ellicott City.

There won't be a craft beer crowd here, but its a nice place to grab a bite, get a decent beer and bring friends or family before heading elsewhere in Ellicott City (Judges Bench or Ellicott Mills Brewing Co., perhaps?).

Beer Rumor

We hear the former Tiber River Tavern in downtown Ellicott City will be reopened under new ownership and be called the Diamondback Grill. There will be a strong Maryland theme in the menu and taplist. I've heard they'll have something like six taps potentially featuring Maryland natives Clipper City and Flying Dog, and maybe another handle for Stone mixed in there.

Stay tuned.

Update: CORRECTION, lets call it Diamondback Tavern, not Diamondback Grill.

Two Different Howard County Beer Stops

On Wednesday evening I went to one of my favorite places, Frisco Grille in Columbia. At some point there will be a proper review of the place here at Baltimore Beer Guy but in brief they're the most craft beer friendly taphouse in Howard County. It's someplace I now regularly frequent.

Anyway, once there I had the Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale on tap (famously sold in cans around the country) which is one of my favorite "common" craft beers. I also had the Victory Festbier. Almost everywhere right now there seems to be an abundance of "fest", pumpkin, and Oktoberfest beers. Rightly so, but I've never gotten that into them.

The Victory surprised me a bit, it has some malty sweetness and wasn't off-putting while tasting, well, seasonal. For people who dig that kind of beer, this is your time of year!

Anyway, from there I made a short drive up Snowden River Parkway to Victoria Gastro Pub. They too, never a proper review from Baltimore Beer Guy. I haven't frequented them as much lately, but it was a good visit. I actually arrived at the peak of SIN (Service Industry Night) so the dining area was closed down and the bar was jammed with various people. They had a discount on tap beer, and I had a truly delicious Saison DuPont.

I've been on a huge saison kick lately, and while DuPont is a saison I have mixed feelings about, this thing was particularly fresh and refreshing that evening. Normally I think Victoria would serve that in a 10 oz chalice, but the 20 oz nonic glass really worked out well with this most recent pour.

On Friday I again went out, first to stock up at The Perfect Pour (my favorite bottle shop right now and a tremendous place for beer nuts) and then for some beers in downtown Ellicott City.

The first stop was at Ellicott Mills Brewing. I hadn't been there in a while, but decided to have some German brews which are seasonal without being cutesy like some of the true seasonals I've found lately. I tried the Firecracker Dunkel (I believe?) which was delicious and just about out, and then some kind of bock. Both were solid. Right now it seems Ellicott Mills is doing a ton of unique brews. I enjoy their standards -- the Marzen is particularly good and sessionable -- but it's nice to see variations on their Alpenhof theme so now is a good time to get in there.

From there I walked just up the street to The Judge's Bench. I had mixed feelings about this place the first time I went in, but I'm liking it a lot more now. They have a really good bottle selection and 17 taps along with a clean bar surface. Sticking with my saison kick, I went with an Ommegang Hennepin which was fresh and yummy if not quite as tasty as I've had it on tap before. The owner here is really nice and I timed it right, arriving before it got crowded and the beer drinking crowd focused on standard brews instead of their great tap offerings.

I need to make those kinds of trips more often. I'm more than happy to camp out at Victoria or Frisco's in particular, but the other stops went so well I'm itching to return.

ALSO: See my custom made "Howard County Beer Map", one of the new features here at Baltimore Beer Guy. I'll be updating the various beer maps (linked on the menu at right) as I turn this site into more of a beer resource for the area, feel free to suggest additional maps, locations on maps, revisions, etc.

Two Publications Of Note

I made a great discovery at the entryway of Ellicott Mills Brewing Co. last Saturday: copies of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and the Ale Street News. Both publications are obviously focused on beer.

I gave only a cursory glance at the Ale Street News, but the MABN has a great deal of information inside. Their feature article was about "Brew Year's Eve" or "New Beer's Eve" as it was called at the time. There are some interesting Baltimore connections and side-stories.

Both publications are free at the doorway but I'll probably put in for a subscription to one or both once I review each further.

Two Brews at Bare Bones

Bare Bones is located in Ellicott City in the 'Burbs of Baltimore. It's a BBQ/ribs joint with a full dining area and a sizable bar. They also offer a handful of in-house beers.

Since "light" and "gold" beers don't excite my taste buds, I had a pint of the McClune's Irish Stout and later a pint of the Tiber River Red. Both were solid if unspectacular efforts.

Before we go any further, I should explain a particular bias. I'm really into flavorful brews. I like it when beer "pops" in my mouth. Usually, that favors hoppy beers like IPA's, but I can just as easily enjoy flavorful beers in other styles. Not every beer is designed to "pop" nor should every beer be that way. The subtleties and nuance of flavors can easily be hidden behind hop flavor and other elements to certain beers.

I appreciate those beers as well, and when I've got the time and energy to work through what's going on with more subtle beers, they often prove remarkable. But I also don't like having to strenuously dig for a beer's taste combinations either.

That was sort of the experience I had at Bare Bones. The two beers weren't bad, I truly did enjoy them, but they didn't excite me or make me all that excited to order up another pint. The Stout capably met its style, and the more roasty elements started to get coaxed out of the pour after a few bites of food seemed to change the tastes in my mouth. The red proved a bit more frustrating and perhaps I needed a second pour to reasonably assess it.

Lack of excitement aside, I'll be back as I live nearby. If you can get out of work early enough and beat the freebie loving crowd that settles in around 5, there's a free buffet of various food items in Bare Bones' bar area from 4-7 nightly. They've got a decent variety of beers on tap (including a hefeweizen, a brown ale and an IPA) and the pulled pork sandwich off the menu is above average.

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