The AAA Beer City

I've been meaning to discuss this for a long, long time, and yesterday's mention in Kasper On Tap provides a good opening. In it, I'm quoted as saying,

"I really miss the bright hoppiness of the West Coast beers. But I think the beer scene here is kind of thriving. There are a lot of places here that I think would be right at home in other beer capitals in the United States - Portland, Denver, San Diego, Philadelphia. Baltimore's maybe not quite in that tier, but is maybe just a step below, like a Triple-A ballclub."

Ignoring the west coast beers thing for a minute, is my classification of Baltimore/Maryland as AAA to those other areas fair? Accurate?

Beyond that, what kinds of things would make it a "Major League" beer city? Feel free to comment below, there's no right answer and what follows of my own thoughts could be completely wrong, its an open question here.

I haven't personally been to many of the so-called beer capitals, but here's what I like when it comes to a city or region's cumulative beer presence:

-- High volume of great beer bars. Meaning -- lots of taps, rotation, access to great beers from within the region and without, regular beer events, great fridges stocked with amazing bottle collections, meticulous care of the beer and lines, a lack of pretension about the places.

-- Great local breweries. In volume and quality and variety, not everyone making the same beers, a tremendous deal of experimentation and quality overall, reasonably accessible distribution within the area, a decent number of publicly acknowledged great beers produced from within those breweries.

-- Access to great beer. Part and parcel with the two above, plus the various bottle shops and general beer drinking and producing community's commitment to beer allowing access to great beer from outside the region.

-- Miscellaneous. Big beer geekery things like abundant cask conditioned beers and beer engines in a variety of bars, strong connectedness of establishments and breweries in the area, a public that embraces and acknowledges beer's role in the community, things like city beer weeks etc.

-- An accepted city/region style. Call this the center of gravity or identity concept. San Diego has tremendous variety within its breweries but is generally known for its intensely hoppy beers. Portland does the brewpub every other corner concept. San Francisco and Northern California are experimental and progressive, Philadelphia has the best pub culture, you get the picture.

Baltimore hits on a lot of that, through a fairly large geographic area. The limitations I see are that the area doesn't have a ton of great breweries, is missing a bit of an identity, and although in general the variety and availability of beer borders on excellent, there are some great, can't-miss breweries/beer that have not made their way here for various reasons. I'd also add that although the situation has improved *immensely* in the time I've been here, the connectedness of the brewing and bar (and beer geek) community seems lacking, for now (hopefully the suddenly burgeoning beer blog community is an indicator that history is on the march). Hopefully Baltimore Beer Week will be a huge step forward in that department.

One thing that isn't missing is great beer though. At the end of the day all complaining is relative when you have a Max's, a Mahaffey's, a Frisco Grille, a Brewers Art, a Flying Dog and Clipper City, a Judges Bench, and a million other similar places that take this stuff seriously and work their tails off for us, the beer consumer. Its a blast being here and being able to participate -- as a consumer -- in all of this.

Baltimore Beer Guy Featured In Kasper On Tap

See it here. My thanks to Rob Kasper and Co. (that is, Steve Sullivan) for the kind words and attention.

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?

The Lists Grow

As noted in the most recent entry, Baltimore Beer Guy found Fell's Point dining establishment Todd Conner's to have at least one craft beer on tap, and I've read online several places now that people have found them to be craft beer friendly.

Looking at the website for Ryleigh's in Federal Hill, it seems the've got a few craft beers as well. Needless to say we'll be adding them to the various beer maps and lists on here. If you know of other spots and can vouch for them, feel free to send along an email so they can be added and possibly mentioned.

For example, I've hear rumors that a place along Route 40 in Ellicott City named Jilly's has recently put up some excellent craft beer taps. At some point I'll take a look but if you know more on that or other places, feel free to let Baltimore Beer Guy know.

Kasper on Tap recently pointed out several good beer places that weren't on my radar. Westminster's Buffalo Wild Wings will carry a porter made by a craft brewer and produced by DOG Brewing (headquartered in Westminster but pizza/pub locations in Columbia and Federal Hill downtown).

National brewery chain Gordon Biersch with D.C. and Rockville Md. locations is opening again in Maryland, this time in Annapolis in the Town Center at Parole.

Finally, Beer in Baltimore notes that a beer bar with ties to the great Brewer's Art is opening in Northwest Baltimore. It will be called The Parkside. It will be a restaurant, bakery, market, carrying, deli, kid friendly, basically a lot of things to hopefully a lot of people.

Update: Also, a new burger bistro and bar called the Abbey Burger Bistro in Federal Hill has promise. Anything to do with Abbeys should have some beer ties, particularly Belgian beer right?

We'll note these in Baltimore Beer Guy's various maps and lists soon.

Save The Date: Max's Beer Event

Just found this in the comments section at the Baltimore Sun's beer blog, Kasper on Tap:

MAX'S TAPHOUSE RARE & OBSCURE BEER EVENT
Thursday, Nov 20, 2008Time:5pm-till
Cost: cash Bar
No entrance feel
Location:main bar downstairs

If you've ever been to Max's events, you know they're pretty special. I'm still giddy from the Belgian Beer event they held all the way back in February. Speaking of ...

Max's Belgian Fest 2009
February 13th - February 15th 2009

Don't miss it (!!!)

Why Do The Big Guys Fail Craft Beer?

Interesting find from the Sun's Kasper on Tap blog. Beer writer Rob Kasper notes:

Meanwhile, the Miller Lite Brewers Collection, an attempt to mix craft and light beers, is all but dead. A spokesman in Milwaukee said the brewers collection -- a blonde ale, a wheat and amber--- had been "suspendend" in August and there are no plans to restart it.

Now, Coors does make the wildly popular "Blue Moon" Belgian wit styled beer, so there's hope for the big guys, but I'm curious what people think about why the macros fail.

I know there are stories out there about the hilariously arrogant attitudes of the large beer producers, and that craft beer drinkers are also notoriously skeptical and perhaps hostile to the big guys. However, the big guys should still be able to push out at least a small handful of broadly accepted craft beers.

In many industries, the phrase "content is king" defines success. I hunch this is the problem with the macros' attempts into micro beer. Look at the generally bland offerings named above -- a blonde, a wheat and an amber. Those are all solid styles but none that are likely to excite the macro crowd or the micro crowd.

If I were at Budweiser and I was serious about making a few new beers, I'd be aiming for that which is not safe. Belgian styles (other than the wit), a variety of porters, an American macro stout on nitro with some unique flavor to differentiate from Guinness but with the same cascading effect. Lambics. You name it, try it. Not everything will sell, but it will look like you're serious and finally acknowledge the value in painfully crafted but flavorful beer.

Now, maybe they've already considered this. Hell, it'd be corporate suicide if they haven't. Maybe the numbers aren't there, as far as their business model and plant is concerned. I don't know. But a lot of beer drinkers are probably curious to find out. Transparency might not be such a harmful thing in this situation, let people know what you've tried and why you've said no to various projects.

Perhaps an effort to go open source, and let a small army of beer drinkers and brewers storm the castle and lend their ideas and expertise about smaller volume business, sustainable brewing, local brewing and so on. Maybe even build partnerships, buy and distribute hops at discounted prices, work with breweries to be less a force of competition driving them out (Wal Mart?) but a way to grow their business in parallel.

Its strange that a few incredibly powerful companies atop the beer industry with all their resources hasn't successfully tapped into the craft beer market yet. That can't last forever, but in the meantime its overdue.

Great Tap Handles

The Sun's Kasper On Tap blog makes note of a local craftsman named Mark Supik who creates some really unique tap handles including the Resurrection made for Brewer's Art. He'll have a brief demonstration at his shop (1 N. Haven St.) from noon-1 p.m. on Saturday October 18.

Seriously: What's up Baltimore?

I just spent about a week in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. On the way back I began to ponder the difference between that area and the Baltimore/Maryland area as far as beer culture and availability and enjoyment.

I've got some thoughts and I'll add them along the way, but what prompts this entry is that the Baltimore Sun's Rob Kasper at his Kasper on Tap blog asks: "Do we need a Baltimore Beer Club".

My short answer is: maybe, more likely no, weird, but we need something. Got all that?

He specifically mentions meet-ups or a social network (MySpace/Facebook) type deal. Thoughts?

We Win! We Win!

Or something.

Good news out of the World Beer Cup (San Diego, CA): several Maryland brewers have won awards in the prestigious competition.

Notable: Gold medals for Clipper City Winter Storm (International Pale), Wild Goose IPA (English-Style IPA), Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter (Imperial Stout).

Other local winners can be found in Kasper's link below, and a full listing is available at the World Beer Cup link above. Congratulations to all the local winners!

(Hat Tip: Kasper on Tap)

Post-Mortem: Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival

I didn't go. I was out of town that weekend, but the Baltimore Sun's Rob Kasper and colleague Steve Sullivan went. You can read their thoughts and the names of some of what they sampled here.

An amusing take from Kasper:

When I arrived at 1:30 and saw the long lines, my first impression was that this beer festival thing was becoming a new form of adult weekend recreation.

Good observation, and probably something the Sun should find a way to make an entire article out of in the future.

Whoever thought of this particular festival is a genius. The concept is simple, but it's three items that are very much Americana and make for a great time. I believe in the 60's Congress actually went to the trouble of designating Kentucky Bourbon America's official distilled beverage.

Culturally this is a good place to hold the festival anyway, in a region with Southern ties but links to both the North and the South. Craft beer seems to be much more heavily brewed and appreciated in the North, while Bourbon is more of a Southern thing. Barbeque brings everyone together. Like I said, brilliant.

Notable beers available, per Kasper: Oxford, Stone, Flying Dog, The Raven

Anyone else go? What were your thoughts?

(Image: Spider-Man, MorgueFile.com)

Update: Camden Yards Beer

The Baltimore Sun's Rob Kasper comes to the rescue.

Kasper went to the ballgame today, and provided several details as to the beer scene at Camden Yards. As reported earlier, the Orioles converted an Irish pub named Bambino's (Babe "The Bambino" Ruth was born not more than a few yards from the Orioles' present-day location) into a "Bud Light Warehouse".

Ack.

Double ack: $7.50 Stella Artrois. That's a fairly standard draft beer at a special beer price. Said Kasper:

It reminded me of Heineken, not especially exciting or flawed.

Exactly.

Other finds at the Warehouse included Busch's Shock Top Belgian White. Back on Eutaw Street, Kasper ordered Frederick's Wild Goose Pale Ale (Or did he mean IPA? $6.50 at the microbrew stand).

Things turned dark as the weather soured and the Orioles' 2-0 lead evaporated.

I craved a dark beer, a Guinness. So apparently did many other fans. By the sixth inning, the taps of the Guinness stand on the first level behind home plate had gone dry. No Guinness meant gloom and an Orioles defeat.

Opening Day left me with three questions.

Has anybody else tasted the Stella?

How about the Shock Top?

Finally, is it anti-American to drink beer in the comfort of a stadium pub, rather than sitting outside and sipping brews in the cold weather.

Dispiriting to say the least. Sorry, Rob.

To answer the questions:

1)Yes, several times. It's a respectable import distributed nationwide. A college friend of mine from Northern California took a liking to Stella but I always felt it was a fairly undistinguished beer. It's good in an emergency when there's nothing else on tap except bud/miller generics, less acceptable when more inventive options are available.

2)No on the Shock Top, but the liquor store nearby carries it. I didn't realize it was a Busch product. This must be their toes-in-the-water attempt to compete with Coors' Blue Moon. Best of luck to them, I suppose.

3)Absolutely not, at least when the weather turns. It's anti-American for baseball to be played in such gloomy weather if you ask me. My experiences at Petco Park and Wrigley Field attest to the value of some mid-game liquid refreshments.

Don't spent an entire game at the stadium pub, but an inning's pit-stop (or two) is a fun part of the experience. Wrigley doesn't have its own pub, but fill-ups before and after the game at the bars literally just steps away from the entrance are a rite for any of-age Wrigley visitor.

Unlike other games, baseball is just as much about the crowds and atmosphere as the timeless game on the field. Or maybe that's the Cub fan in me talking (hey, any team can have a bad century).

Orioles' Opening Day

I'm a college football man at heart, but it's impossible to ignore baseball's opening day no matter what sport you follow or what city you live in (Cubs/Padre fan personally). Fortunately, this city loves its Orioles -- we are called "Birdland" after all. Right now the Orioles lead the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 in what is an openly admitted rebuilding year. Update: The Orioles lost 6-2. It's going to be a long year.

Regardless I'm excited to make a few trips down to Camden Yards this year. My question dear reader is this: what is the beer situation down there? As it is a ballpark, I hold no illusions about the beer prices, but what brands are offered/in what areas of the ballpark?

I read in the paper the other day that an Irish pub in one area of the ballpark was replaced with either a Bud Lite or Miller Lite station, which is disappointing.

Here's some thoughts in the comments section I found at the Baltimore Sun's Beer Blog, Kasper on Tap:

Pickles Pub [Outside the stadium, I've seen this place before but have yet to set foot inside - Ed.] has the Sam Seasonal on Draft for like 3 bucks on game days. Once inside the park I go to the microbrew stand on Eutaw Street.

And

We start and/or end at the Wharf Rat. Once in the stadium, their is a microbrew stand between home and third on the first level that has DuClaw Porter and a few regional IPAs. Many of the "restaurants" have Clipper City on tap. If we are in the bleachers, there is a bottle vendor run by some Marines that usually has a micro or two for a warm summer day.

And

I don't know what you all are complaining about. I go to Boog's and visit my buddy and get free beer. That's way better than what you all are getting. Free beer is the way to go. [Again, another place I've heard of but haven't hit up yet, Boog's BBQ inside the stadium which is supposed to be very good - Ed.]

And

Oriole Park does have a good variety of brews to choose from. There are a number of Maryland microbrew carts that sell the likes of Wild Goose, Backfin & Clipper City. I have also seen Guiness and Harp on tap in some of the eateries.

They also have some other bottle & can carts with a variety of brews - including Natty Boh. Nice to see Mr. Boh at an Orioles game - it gives the outing a nice touch of history.

Overall, from what I've seen in the many ballparks I have visited, Oriole Park has one of the top beer selections.

Any further comments that need to be added? Sounds like the Wharf Rat is the place to be pre/postgame.

Non-Beer Orioles Notes

Today's starting pitcher is Mark Guthrie, who was a hell of a player in college. At Stanford, he fought USC ace Mark Prior to a draw in two 2001 battles. Prior was incredibly dominant that season, having one of the best seasons in collegiate baseball history, yet Guthrie very nearly bested him twice with great outings of his own.

Today's weather is dreary and cloudy, with some light rain/drizzle. Definitely not baseball weather.
Other Orioles Blogs

Camden Chat (links to other Orioles Blogs inside)
Baseball Savant (sort of adopted the Orioles last year)