Back Into The Swing of Things

Went to Frisco Grille's Troegs Brewing pint night last night, and forgot to pick up a free pint, d'oh! Whatever, a good time was had. While in San Diego I saw in their beer list they had Magic Hat's Odd Notion sour beer and I really wanted to try a taster of that. Sadly, it disappointed. It had some sourness, but as Oliver the bartender said, it tasted like one of those spritzy lime sodas, wayyyyy too light.

Keeping with the theme, they had Troegs' Mad Elf, Hopback Amber and Dreamweaver Wheat on tap. The Mad Elf is a wildly popular, high-alcohol winter ale brewed with honey and cherries. Its a really unique taste, not too sweet, a bit watery/on the light side as far as body/mouthfeel, but good. I'd had a six pack at home and wanted to try it on tap, pretty much the same but always fun to get something fresh out of the keg. I was less interested in the Hopback and Dreamweaver so left those for other patrons.

One interesting thing I saw was a customer ordering a "Mad Dream" where they combined the Mad Elf with the Dreamweaver. The Troegs rep was there as well, nice guy, handed out some literature and whatnot. Sounds like they'll have another Troegs event at Frisco Grille in January to mark the release of Troegs' wildly popular Nugget Nectar, so be on the ready for that if Nugget Nectar makes you happy.

After that it was a pint of the Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale and the Southern Tier IPA. Both were delicious, particularly that Southern Tier. Not all of their offerings are great, but some really hit the spot.

Frisco has clearly become my top spot. It took a little getting used to but the gentlemen behind the bar as well as owner Adam are all nice people, they keep a ton of interesting beers on, the menu's good, and occasionally I can pick up a copy of the latest Mid-Atlantic Brewing News or Beer Advocate if they haven't already been picked over by other customers. Good stuff.

Baltimore and Prohibition

From the latest edition of the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News.

1)On the night the prohibition of beer (through amendment of the Volstead act) effectively ended, brewers from across the region and the nation sent shipments to the White House. Among them, a "five-case consignment from Baltimore's Gunther Brewing Co. by "high-powered touring car".

2)In the words of authors Steve Frank and Arnold Meltzer:

No other state defined the failure of Prohibition better than Maryland, especially in the defiant city of Baltimore. Maryland was the only state to never pass a state enforcement act, proudly labeling itself a wet state and earning the lasting nickname "The Free State".

Unaided by local police, Federal agents trying to enforce Prohibition sometimes found themselves surrounded by angry mobs, pelted with bottles, and occasionally beaten.

Bet you didn't know that!

Personally I'm curious what happened to Gunther Brewing Co., so it's off to Google now.

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.