Beer Lit

Just picked these up brand new Wednesday at Frisco Grille. I love beer lit.

Beer Notes

--- Be sure to follow Baltimore Beer Guy on Twitter @MDbeerspotter and as a friendly shout out, also check out Woodberry Kitchen's Twitter.

--- Beer consumption by country, a representation

--- Dogfish Punkin and Southern Tier Cherry Saison are on tap at Gilly's

--- DCBeer has undergone a redesign and just launched a pretty cool newsletter worth signing up for if you like venturing into DC for their excellent beer offerings. Check out their review of the nifty and novel canned beer only offerings (good ones!) at the Red Derby.

For a sneak peak, here's their tap findings this week around DC featured in the email:

- Birreria Paradiso in Georgetown is going strong on Victory Brewing Company beers -- they've got Victory Festbier, Victory Kolsch, Victory Scarlet Fire Rauchbier, Victory St. Victorious and Victory Prima Pils
- Pizzeria Paradiso Dupont has a new 21 Amendment beer Back in Black!
- RFD has Speak Easy Midnight Run India Black Ale and Brooklyn Sorachi Ace Farmhouse Ale.
- Black Squirrel has Weyebacher Imperial Pumpkin on tap

--- Ruddy Duck Brewery in Southern Maryland (Solomon's Island) has a new tap: 'Helles' German style lager. They also have Belgian Dubbel, Imperial Stout, Belgium Trippel, Pale Ale and IPA on tap. Coming soon: Oyster Oatmeal Stout (!), Hefe, Martzen LAger and Pilsner. I've added their taplist (hopefully they'll keep that up to date) on the menu at right under 'Online Beer Lists' that highlights establishments that are smart enough to electronically keep their customers informed of whats on tap.

--- Speaking of Eastern Shore, this Wednesday Delaware's Evolution Brewing is the featured brewery at Frisco Grille's Pint Night (starting at 7 PM). Their Lucky 7 Porter has been popping up on tap all over town but I look forward to trying their Primal Pale Ale.

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.

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.

Miscellaneous

-- Tonight (Tuesday) is Max's weekly Beer Social night starting at 6 PM. This week they'll feature a cask from York Brewery (England) called Oakham Attila at 4.3% ABV. New drafts this week can be found at the bottom of this post.

Future Beer Social events include:

April 21st Dieu Du Ciel Equinoxe Du Printemps (maple scotch ale) and Dieu Du Ciel Solstice D Hiver (barleywine)

April 28th De Hoevebrowers, a "new little brewery in East Flanders Belgium", featuring Toria (blonde) and Kekelaring (brown ale).

-- The Brewer's Art now has the much-anticipated Charm City Sour Cherry on tap as well as the Green Peppercorn Tripel. I thought the Sour Cherry wasn't as good as last year but I'll be back to try it again soon. The Green Peppercorn Tripel, on the other hand, was spectacular, vastly superior to their bottled version and absolutely lively and delicious. Do not miss either.

-- Wednesday is Stoudt's meet the brewery night at The Judges Bench from 7-9 PM.

-- Wednesday is also pint night featuring Virginia's Starr Hill brewing (with brewmaster Mark Thompson) at Frisco Grille.

-- Thursday is beer bottle night at Mahaffey's, $3 for most 12 oz bottles. Their bomber this week is Avery's Collaboration Not Litigation. Oddly, they'll be featuring a mead on tap this week. Finally, on Saturday will be Mahaffey's anniversary party, with a free catered buffet from 7-9 PM.

-- Thursday night at 8 PM is the nationwide one night only theatre event called Beer Wars. It is only being show in six Maryland theatres, I'll be at the Snowden Square one. Be sure to check it out, tickets are $15 and there's a hosted panel afterwards with several major brewers broadcast live from Hollywood. The movie's theme is about the ongoing battle between craft brewers and the major breweries while obviously providing some more general content about the brewers, the industry and whatnot.

-- Local Clipper City Brewing Co. just released its beloved Belgian-style saison ale, "Red Sky At Night". I'll have to pick up some bottles before its all gone. Anyone know if they plan to put it on tap?

-- American Craft Beer Week will be May 11-17 this year. This is an awesome nationwide event with local flavor.

Some of the goings-on:

May 11th-17th: Max's Craft Beer Week, weeklong selection of GREAT taps, approximately 80 throughout the week. More info as it comes in but there's a preliminary list at the bottom of this email. Do not miss this.

May 11th: Clipper City taps several firkins at Max's including Loose Cannon (great!), Peg Leg and Red Sky at Night

May 16th: Clipper City's Real Ale & BBQ Fest at Clipper City noon-4 PM, $49/ticket

-- Clipper City is hosting a home brew competition. Anything goes, so long as the beer is above 7% ABV in keeping with their Heavy Seas line, and they'll favor those which are big and assertive. Entries must be submitted between June 8th and June 19th, winner announced July 3rd.

-- Clipper City is also having a beer dinner at Sotto Sopro in Mt. Vernon on April 30th. On May 7th they'll have a beer dinner at The Melting Pot in Gaithersburg. On May 11th they'll be part of a Meet The Brewery event at Max's. On May 23rd they'll participate in the Kayak, Tunes and Brews event at the Wisp Ski Resort in western Maryland. And on May 30th they'll be at the Maryland Brewer's Spring Fest.

-- Reminder, City Paper's Brew Fest is April 25th in Fells Point.

-- The Brewer's Association just released its annual top 50 craft breweries list (by sales) and Maryland's own Flying Dog checks in at No. 30. Congratulations to Flying Dog! They also check in at No. 41 overall in the United States once you factor in the mega breweries.

-- Max's new drafts this week are: Abita Purple Haze, Allagash Black, Allagash Curieux, Cazeau Tournay Black, Cazeau Tournay Blonde, Contreras Valeir Blonde, Contreras Valeir Divers, Dogfish Head Black & Blue, Dogfish Head 60 Minute, Dogfish Head Midas Touch, Dominion Spring Buck, Ommegang Rouge, Peroni, Redstone Black Raspberry Nectar, Redstone Sunshine Nectar, Rogue Dead Guy, Southern Tier 422, Southern Tier Unearthly, Southern Tier Uber Sun, Stone Pale Ale, Stone Russian Imperial Stout, Whitemarsh Station Bitter

-- Max's anticipated drafts for Craft Beer Week: Allagash Four, Allagash Interlude, Allagash Black, Allagash Dry Hopped Barrel Aged Mussette, Avery Collaboration Not Litigation, Avery Maharajah, Cape Ann Eclipse, Cape Ann Green Horn Double IPA, Cape Ann Tea Party, Dogfish Head 120 Minute, World Wide Stout, Black & Blue, Red & White, Fort, Midas Touch, Burton Baton and Palo Santo Marron, Ommegang Rouge, Redstone Nectar of the Hops, Southern Tier Chocolate, Southern Tier Gemeni, Southern Tier Jah Va, Southern Tier Oaked Unearthly, Troegs Mad Elf, Uinta Barleywine, Victory Abbey 8, Victory Rauchbier Porter and casks of Magic Hat #9, Magic Hat Old Ale, Magic Hat Bob's First Ale, Heavy Seas Red Sky w/spices, Heavy Seas Peg Leg w/oak chips.

-- I'll be back with another miscellaneous email soon, but wanted to get these items out tonight.

Miscellaneous

--- Added MALT and the Maryland Homebrewers Guild to the links at right under "Home Brewing". To be honest I know exactly nothing about either group so if a representative is in the house and would like to add more, feel free to comment below or drop me a line and we'll see if there's a way to deliver pertinent information in a condensed format on here.

--- Also added (The) Thirsty Brewer's website. Is The Brew Pot in Bowie, MD still open? How about Danny's Home Brew in Leonardtown?

--- Howard County Beer Map update coming in just a few minutes, thanks Dick for the helpful comment.

--- Columbia's Second Chance Saloon has added a tap list (and bottle list) to its website. For that, I'll merrily add it to the prestigious "Online Beer Lists" section on the menu at right. Hopefully they dutifully keep it up, and hopefully that Milwaukee's Best tap won't scare the beer geeks.

--- Also, we're tentatively adding the online beer list at Taps, although its still mostly the regular stuff we spot Stone, Dogfish Head, Magic Hat, Clipper City and Flying Dog. And, with a little navigating (Home -> Menu -> Draught Beers) you can find the same at John Steven Ltd. And yes, they carry PBR to go with their much-coveted Brewer's Art Resurrection account. Oh, how we love Baltimore.

--- Oh, and we're also adding The Abbey Burger Bistro (.pdf). EVERY establishment that cares about beer should have 1)an online beer list that 2)is updated within the hour. It doesn't hurt to add style, location, ABV, information like that if possible. If you build it, the beer geeks will come.

--- UPDATE! Add Lures in Crownsville/Annapolis to the mix!

--- "Free Beer". At the 31st Annual Clyde's American 10K. I haven't been at Clyde's in a loooong time, I know they had a couple Stone taps on when I was there though, hopefully they're keeping things up and being craft friendly with the 10 or so taps they have. Feel free to rat them out on here if not, heh.

--- Not that I advise abusing yourself too often in the name of great beer, but here are some hangover cures from around the world as seen in a recent National Geographic (my Mom tore the page out and thought of you, dear BBG readers):

Coffee in Italy, pickled plums in Japan, tomato juice and eggs in the good ol' US of A, tripe soup in Romania (pass), salt in Denmark, sour pickle juice in Poland, strong green tea in China, beer in the Netherlands, shrimp in Mexico (for when you're crudo) and leafy birch branches, while whipping the hung over subject, in a sauna, in Russia.

--- Ruddy Duck, a rare brewery out in the more Chesapeak-y areas of Maryland (for lack of a better term) in Solomons Island, is holding a job fair for all positions at the Hilton Garden Inn right next door to their facility - 13100 Dowell Rd., Dowell Md, 20629 on April 8th from 10 AM to 2 PM and April 9th from 10 AM to 2 PM and 6 PM to 8 PM.

One day, we promise, they will open. In the meantime you can go to the website and have a slightly agitated duck randomly quack at you while looking at construction photos.

--- As first reported at Rob Kasper's site but finally arriving in my inbox, there will be a one night only screening on April 16th of a documentary film about the craft beer industry called "Beer Wars". Several suburban theatres will present the film so be sure to check that out and report back what you thought of it. That or make an event of it although my weak bladder and sitting at a theatre for more than an hour after having a beer or two beforehand is not the best of ideas.

The participating theatres are:

Regal's Bel Air 14, Bowie Crossing 14, Snowden Square 14, Germantown 14 and AMC's Columbia Mall 14 and Owings Mills 17. Tickets can be purchased online. Any of those theatres stand out as most comfortable? I know the Columbia pair are the closest to where I live.

--- DuClaw writes to correct that although Colossus will be released on 4/1, it will not come numbered and signed by brewmaster Jim Wagner, apologies for the inconvenience.

--- There will be a Brewer's Alley beer dinner at Victoria Gastro Pub (.pdf link) on April 14th starting at 6:30 PM for $85 (10% discount for beer club members).

--- Be sure to check out and bookmark the brand new "Beer in Baltimore".com website. Welcome to the Maryland/Baltimore beer blogging community!

--- The Baltimore Snacker reviews The Wine Source and finds them carrying Southern Tier and Brewer's Art. Nice.

--- Join the fight. Seriously, this state is ridiculous in prohibiting the private shipment of beer and wine in and out of its borders. Backwards, even.

--- Self-service beer taps, as seen at Beer in Baltimore. This has potential, but I don't see it ever fully taking off. This kind of idea is exactly why alcohol is regulated as it is, and its right at the edge of being overcomplicated and user-unfriendly. A few years ago a hotel bar in San Diego had planned to add a few of these but the state stepped in at the last minute and put the kibosh on the whole thing.

--- SPBW membership gets you deep, deep discounts at Red Brick Station. Nice. Pub Dog may open a third location in Fells Point near Max's, where the former Admiral's Cup was (great location, potentially!). Its too bad Mr. Mitchell's limited in his beer access of late due to health, I want to say his site's really gotten good the last few months, the man definitely finds his way around town and uncovers the (beer) goods.

--- Via the great HowChow, Greg from Food and Wine Blog reviewed Ellicott Mills Brewing Co. and came away less than impressed. That's too bad, I don't go there as often as I should, but its not terrible for beer. For a beer geek, those oddly shaped taster glasses really don't do their beers justice nor does a flight. Sometimes you have to sit down and take in a few pints over a few visits and single out the one or two or three that you find suitable, it helps put them in perspective. Regardless, Greg also does excellent work in his own way, hits up some interesting spots and posts notes on his own home brewing activities.

--- What are your perfect 5.0 beers?

Miscellaneous

As noted at Yours For Good Fermentables, Brewer's Art is now selling bottled versions of their Green Peppercorn Tripel which is a fantastic brew.

Be sure to also check out YFGF's photo review of the new Abbey Burger Bistro in Federal Hill.

Also, a more comprehensive, informed discussion of the history of beer and cans.

On February 11th, Frisco Grille will have a firkin of Troegs' famed Nugget Nectar.

DuClaw has a growler fill special all this weekend, Friday through Super Bowl Sunday. New growler fills will be $4 off, and regular refills will be $2 off.

Just ... dammit.

HowChow ably explores the Howard County beer scene, with some too-nice words to say about this little project that is Baltimore Beer Guy. The "Sudsy Triangle", I like that.

Nice thread find at ChowHound -- finding Russian River and Bell's beers in Washington D.C.

Just a reminder given the snowy weather of late, $1.50 National Bohemians at Todd Conners in Fells Point on snow days.

They also have a "weekly draft beer special", rotating every Friday and selling that selection at a Happy Hour price all day and night.

The Perfect Pour in Columbia is will be pouring samples of Innstadt Bock Weisse, Old Suffolk English Ale and Rogue Mocha Porter on Friday from 5-8 PM, and Anderson Valley Brewing (High Rollers Wheat, Hop Ottin IPA and ESB) on Saturday from 3-7 PM.

They're also selling cases of loose bottles of Yuengling for $14.99 and 12 pack bottles of Tsingtao for $11.99 to mark the Super Bowl. They also promise Iron City and Iron City Light by 5 PM Friday for the Steeler faithful (boo!).

Amusingly, Frederick based Flying Dog (whose tasting room BBG reviewed this week) announced the arrival of their French styled Garde Dog -- named after the French Biere De Garde style -- this week "wee wee, haw haw!" heh.

Garde Dog has a lighter body and is subtly sweet but also has a complex yeast character and balanced malt profile. Traditionally brewed in the winter and consumed in the Spring and Summer months, "Biere de Garde" means "beer for keeping," but you'll have to pick it up soon because it's just a seasonal brew

They've got a busy week ahead of them. There's an in-store tasting at Ye Old Spirit Shop in Frederick on the 30th from 4-7 PM, an in-store tasting at Westridge Liquors in Frederick on the 31st from 2-5 PM, and a tasting at Tenley Whole Foods in Washington D.C. from 1-4 PM on the same day as part of a regional tasting.

They'll also participate at the "A Taste of Blakefield" at Loyola Blakefield from 5-9 PM on February 7th. They'll then appear at the Montgomery County "Beers & Cheese" on February 8th from 1-4 PM as part of a regional beer tasting.

Finally, later in the month they'll arrive at the venerable Brickskeller in Washington D.C. for a strong beer tasting on Feburary 25th at 7 PM. I hunch that'll be one of those $35 Brickskeller events so you might want to check out the Brick's website if you plan on attending.

Oh, and they're also on Twitter. Should BBG set up a Twitter page?

Mahaffey's change of course: they've found an old school beer they haven't done before -- Old Milwaukee Light. Be on the lookout for that.

They're taking pre-orders for 1.5 L bottles of Duvel, $30, let Wayne know ASAP if you want one.

Upcoming beers: Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, Ommegang Rare Vos. Oh and they still have the Ola Dubh 40 cask on as of last night. Only six were made available in the entire United States.

Reminder: the week of February 1st is IPA week at The Judges Bench in downtown Ellicott City. Its been a while since I've been there, I'll have to sneak in for a late night at some point.

We're getting that much closer to the great Belgian Beer Fest at Max's as well. It runs February 13th-15th. Just about time to start doing my homework on what beers I most need to target. Here's the final tap list, posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.

Beer Haiku Daily has a dilemma about the beer fest that isn't. Everyone knows about it, for better or worse and its gonna be jammed just like last year.

Hmm

Found via flickr

Miscellaneous

Tom Cizauskas at Yours For Good Fermentables (and fellow C.R.A.B.B.) writes prolific on mild ales. I confess ignorance, but this was an education and gives intrigue to a potential visit to Oliver's/The Wharf Rat. These beers are right up their wheelhouse.

Also more Baltimore Beer Week talk (see here, here) and the Sun's "winter beer tasting" featuring an all-star cast of local beer folks to be published at an unknown date and time.

Greg at Food, Wine, Beer, Culture had a nice night at Max's recently.

HowChow reviews Frisco Grille, probably my top beer hangout.

But it's also fun if you're a neophyte who wants to taste a few beers before you order your pint. Frisco Grille has no pretentions. You can sample and explore.

Ram's Head Tavern has a blog. I'll add that to the links soon.

Finally, an interesting profile of Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione and by extension the entire craft beer industry at the New Yorker. Gives yourself a few minutes to work through this, it's The New Yorker after all (via Kasper on Tap).

Best Beer Bar Concepts

I've used this term before but it has relevance in the beer world: barrier to entry. The beer world can be sort of intimidating if you don't know the ropes, and often requires you to ask a lot of questions, sometimes of people that don't want to be bothered even though its to their benefit they answer them.

For whatever reason, many beer bars have this speakeasy feel where you are supposed to either know everything by the tap handles (which might be all over the bar instead of in one place, or away from where you're seated and blocked by the heads of the people sitting directly in front of handle row) or ask a million questions to find out.

I've gotten accustomed to this and rarely complain, but there's something not right about it. Sure its more social but paradoxically isn't all that inviting either.

The places I've most appreciated remove that information barrier.

For example, the bars the have an ever-updated tote board of wooden signs with the names of the beers (and their brewery) available on tap. Better yet ones that also mention the style of beer, its alcohol percentage and if it will be served in something other than a standard pint glass.

We need more of those.

In the absence of that, paperwork showing what's available. The problem with the papers is that they cost money and are out of date as soon as a new beer is added and another one removed but at least they provide the general feel for what's going on and a few simple questions can usually bring you up to speed on what is available.

I'm a huge fan of two things they do at Frisco Grille in Columbia. Number one, they post the available tap beers on their website, so ahead of time I can look them up and see if there's something I want and/or Google the items I'm less familiar with. They also do a great job of keeping that listing up to date, as its posted online the minute they take a few seconds to make a simple update in their website.

For example, I saw yesterday they had Lagunitas' Hop Stoopid on tap and made sure to trek on down there to get a pour. Maybe some of my other favorite places have an interesting item on tap, but I don't know and would rather avoid the guesswork and that makes me a less frequent customer than I could be.

Once at the restaurant, they also have a video board high on one of the walls listing what's available. It would help to also list the style and ABV, but this is already more than most places do and you can look at the board from the entire establishment if you're not sitting at the bar and still know whats available.

Those are some of the concepts I prefer in good beer establishments. What say you?

Smaller Pints

I like!

From Chow.com:

Good news for British drinkers who think that a pint is too much beer to tackle at a sitting: Reuters reports that Britain’s National Weight and Measures Laboratory is considering allowing the sale of two-thirds of a pint. Says Reuters: “Currently, pubs can only serve pints, half pints and a third of a pint, a measure rarely seen in pubs but popular at beer festivals where drinkers try lots of different ales.”

Two points, from an American perspective: First, a pint is, in fact, an awful lot of beer. A typical bottle is 12 ounces; a pint is 16. Secondly, in an era of massively video-documented binge drinking, any law that lets bars serve less alcohol to people who want less alcohol is probably not a bad thing.

I'm all for the occasional half-pour of craft beer anyway, sometimes I later realize I don't like a beer as much as I thought I would and would rather finish half my glass and move on without being rude.

My Beer Sweet Tooth

We all have a "sweet tooth", but I think after a certain age I lost much of mine. It's not like I don't enjoy certain fruit, or ice cream, or chocolate or candy, and so on. But over the years I've come to realize sweets don't pull on me the same way they do most people.

In truth, for the most part I can't stand most fruit. I think it's because generally they tend to spoil and rot pretty quick, and don't really deliver flavors to my liking straight up. I much prefer vegetables over fruit, oddly. And hearty food over sweets. As a larger issue, I simply don't seek out much "sweet" things other than the occasional binges on say, Dr. Pepper/Barq's Root Beer or a raspberry snowball at the local snowball stand.

However, one thing that occurred to me tonight while having a bottle of the Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour: beer is becoming the device by which I quench my sweet tooth. I absolutely love a Flemish Sour beer, as well as several other well crafted sweet beers. I'm talking about you, Brewer's Art Resurrection.

The Resurrection itself isn't really "sweet", but it's got some sweetness and some sourness on top of a fantastic Belgian base beer. It's ridiculously delicious and part of the enjoyment of it comes from just the right amount of sweetness in the beer. I'm hooked.

Same goes for something like a Rodenbach Grand Cru, another fabulous Flemish sour with the right kind of light sweetness. I could drink those beers all day, any day and some of their personal appeal is the sweet qualities within them.

Now, I don't seek out all sweet beers. I've never really fallen in love with most fruity lambics (enjoyable and refreshing as they are). They're just not the same. But it's interesting to think that of all things, beer is what satisfies my sweet tooth lately. It's a trip.