May Pint Nights at Frisco Grille

Great lineup this may at Frisco Grille:

Wednesday May 6th -- Konig Ludwig Weissbier
Wednesday May 13th -- Troegs w/Pils, Hopback, Nugger Nectar
Wednesday May 20th -- Sierra Nevada w/Summerfest, Brown Saison, Harvest, Pale Ale
Wednesday May 27th -- Stone

Free featured brewer pint glass with first purchase of featured brewery after 7 PM

Brickskeller Items

Down there in D.C. ...

Flying Dog/Wild Goose Tuesday May 26th, format to be announced but they'll have the brewer on-stage presenting a selection from both brands.

Stoudts (w/Carol Stoudt) Thursday May 28th, tasting offered at a "very special" price and with news about new areas the brewery is entering.

In honor of all thats going on and only while SAVOR etc. is going on, the Brick will be offering "a rare beer list of sample portions of some of our rarest and scarcest beers. 21 year old Thomas Hardy Ale is just a hint of the samplings".

Lupulin Reunulin Friday May 29th at RFD back room (!!!!!!!) Tomme Arthur (Port/Lost Abbey), Vinnie Vilurzo (Russian River), Adam Avery (Avery), Rob Tod (Allagash), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head).

"Every year this tasting lineup is the most astonishing and highest quality selection of beers presented in the city" Tickets go on sale online this week and will sell out.

Stone Brewing Monday June 1 at Brickskeller with Greg Koch.

Doors open at 6 PM, events sometime around 7 PM.

Mahaffey's Gets Stoned

One more update, just got an addendum email from them.

Now, here's the let down: It's all about beer. We are putting on a plethora of Stone products from Escondido, CA. including the first-time-to-Maryland Levitation. This is the smallest beer the brewery makes at 4.4%. Although small on ABV, it is big on flavor. It's a very well balanced American amber with a nice hop presence.

Also, all pints of Stone brews will be $3.50 all weekend.

So come on in and get Stoned with us. Is it 4:20 yet?

Wayne

So there you go. Check out Mahaffey's website here, their online beer list here, and locate them and other great beer bars with Baltimore Beer Guy's custom Downtown Baltimore Beer Map along with other useful custom beer maps on the menu at right.

San Diego Day II

On this day I was finally able to check out the famed Pizza Port. Pizza Port is a pizza and beer place that is basically the same company as the great Lost Abbey Brewing. Where Lost Abbey operates as a Belgian inspired brewery with tasting room, Pizza Port is the classic pizza and beer joint, except with incredible beers. There are three Pizza Port locations, in Solana Beach, Oceanside and San Clemente (Orange County).

I made a stop at the Solana Beach one since it was easily the closest of the bunch. Unfortunately it also happens to be the smallest, so there was no bar, but rather a walk-up order counter and their famous first-come picnic table seating. Not feeling supremely hungry I ordered some beer buddies (see their menu) and a Lil' Wednesday "Extra Pale" Belgian pale ale. I've got a thing for Belgian style beers, and this thing lived up to the general style. It was exciting, light and refreshing but with that weird flavor created with Belgian yeast, a creamy texture, slightly cloudy, just hit the spot.

After that I ordered what I think was called Black Spider, a black west coast pale ale, on cask. Usually I'm conservative when ordering new beers and I had wanted to try several other of Port's options, but the risk paid off, another delicious offering with a huge frothy head thanks to the cask kicking just as my pour went through.

Pizza Port has exactly the right concept of family friendly vibe with various video games and pizza on the menu, to go with that beachy feel. There were several surfers taking a break inside while I was there. Its a few blocks from the beach in one of my favorite beach areas in San Diego, Solana Beach, not far from the Amtrak station there and a street designated purely for artsy type shops. The pizza + beer thing reminded me of the Russian River Brewpub in Santa Rosa. Its all very relaxed and unlike most pizza joints paired with great beer.

I guess at the other two locations there's an actual bar to sit down to, and multiple levels. Next time. On the way out they had memorabilia, glassware and a few bottles of their own creations as well as those of Lost Abbey for sale.

After that I started getting a little beer heartburn, which seems to happen after I've been drinking strong for a few days. Its painful and slows me down so the rest of this day's trip was colored by that.

After leaving Pizza Port, I ventured down to the AleSmith brewery hoping their tasting room might be open. No go, however, as they're only open on Friday and Saturday.

From there I almost decided on a return trip to Ballast Point since I had so much fun, but instead went to Stone Brewing Company's World Bistro and Beer Gardens. I've been here a million times before but its always a great stop with all it has to offer. Unfortunately the heartburn was still flaring up so I grabbed a single beer before departing. It was an Echt Kriekenbier, another Belgian offering. I should have enjoyed this more, as its one of my favorite beer styles, a Flemish sour cherry ale and quite tasty when one is not in pain, heh. The rest of Stone's draft and bottle menu was great as usual, so a return trip would definitely be in the works.

However, that was it for Day II of the beer adventures.

Follow along with yet another custom Baltimore Beer Guy beer map.

Stone Night at Frisco Grille

This will be jammed with people, be forewarned.

Wednesday August 27th starting at 7 p.m.

This is something of a release party for the new (to Maryland at least) Levitation amber and the Anniversary 12 bitter chocolate oatmeal stout. In addition, Adam and the gang will be pouring 5 mystery Stone beers that they've been saving for a special occasion (guess this qualifies).

This event takes place on pint night, which typically means some local or regional representative from the brewery will be on hand to answer questions. Also, customers receive a free pint glass with the first purchase of the featured beer/beers.

Baltimore Beer guy should be in attendance, hooray.

Beer Tasting: Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

In progress ...

22 oz. bomber of this sucker poured into a nonic shaped pint glass, dark black, one finger head which is surprising as Steve from Summer of Beer couldn't coax a head out of his pour. There's a certain "Stone"ness to the aroma, a certain hop and malt character. The obvious whiff of coffee, but not overpowering which is good. Roasted grain.

Nice creamy first sip, a bit watered down for a craft stout, which is fine by me. No notable alcohol flavor -- again, nice. There's a certain mellow sweetness to this, not just malt, which I'm guessing is the chocolate working its magic. I'm not picking up the bitterness necessarily, but an overall more smooth profile.

There's a ton of writing on the back of the bottle, but the ingredients are the important part: barley, oatmeal, chocolate, hops, water and yeast. Easy does it, right?

I'm curious how this would be on tap (hopefully I'll have a chance to find out at the Stone night at Frisco Grille on the 27th), better yet on cask.

Going down better than expected, as this is my first real roasty, heavy beer in a while. I've been on a major Belgian beer kick, even avoiding my customary ridiculously hopped IPA preference. Maybe the tastes are changing? We'll find out, in time. In the meantime this isn't bad, I'm enjoying it cold but things will almost certainly improve as the beer warms up a few degrees.

Back! OK got sidetracked watching this. A wine guy doing beer, interesting. That's like when I throw a few great beers in my old man's direction. He's coming around to beer a lot more than I'm coming around to wine. I don't think that's an accident, and he's a huuuuuuge wine guy. Moving along.

I'm finally getting the chocolate out of this, it's quite good. The chocolate aspect, not so much the beer, not to knock this painstakingly crafted Anniversary offering from Stone, the beer gods of all beer gods in my world. This thing is getting a little more thick and creamy, without being slick, which I like. The chocolate is starting to come out. Its a little more bitter now, which might be the chocolate or it could be the alcohol too. The back of my tongue is now very much engaged after feeling sort of lonely for a while there.

Wrapping things up ... nice offering, high quality, few complaints although lacking some distinction. Interesting choice with the bitter chocolate. Didn't pick up much of the oatmeal or maybe it presented itself in the creamy character of the beer? Good stuff regardless, be sure to grab a bottle at The Perfect Pour if they have any left.

New Beers At The Perfect Pour

My favorite beer store in Maryland, FWIW.

Southern Tier Creme Brulee
Stone 12th Anniversary
J.W. Lees Harvest in Port Casks

I've had bottles of the Creme Brulee and Stone 12th. The Creme Brulee was well executed, but I thoroughly didn't enjoy the taste. The Stone 12th was tasty but I was a bit buzzed at the time which made it a little more difficult to accurately review and have since gone back to purchase another bottle.

Latest Brew Reviews

They can all be found at Beer Advocate.

Sierra Nevada 2008 Summerfest (Czech Pilsener)
Flying Dog Garde Dog (Biere de Garde)
Smuttynose Hanami Ale (fruit beer)
Grozet Gooseberry & Wheat Ale (Scottish Gruit/Ancient Herbed Ale)
Fraoch Heather Ale (Scottish Gruit/Ancient Herbed Ale)
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale (American Strong Ale)
Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock (Maibock/Helles Bock)
Clipper City Heavy Seas Red Sky at Night (Saison/Farmhouse Ale)

The Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale got my highest grade, an A-/4.15. I'm still getting used to the "ancient ale" style, so the Fraoch and Grozet were difficult to grade.

Maryland Natives Clipper City and Flying Dog both fared well.

Also, be sure to enjoy Flying Dog's brewer video about what went into making the Garde Dog.


Flying Dog Brewery Garde Dog Biere De Garde from Flying Dog Brewery on Vimeo.

American Craft Beer Week

It's a big week for brewers and beer fans alike. All this week, from Monday May 12th to Sunday May 18th it's American Craft Beer Week.

American Craft Beer Week (May 12-18), which is celebrated annually, highlights
the industry and culture of craft beer. This year, breweries and beer makers
will also recognize their collective charitable contributions. For the first
time ever, the Brewers Association announced U.S. craft breweries' charitable
contributions, and for 2007 they are estimated to be more than $20 million.

Changed to a weeklong event in 2006, the inaugural American Craft Beer Week
was recognized by the U.S. Congress with House Resolution 753 (PDF file). The week has continued to grow with interest and support from beer enthusiasts and the media. In 2007, more than 150 brewers registered their community celebrations at http://www.americancraftbeerweek.org/.

So, uh, celebrate!

Be sure to get out this week, there's an incredible amount of interesting beer events in the area, and they should be taken advantage of.

All week long at Max's in Fells Point will be their 2nd Annual Craft Beer Fest. They'll have an incredible amount of good beers on tap, and will feature a brewer or style each day of the week. That looks incredible.

In D.C., many of the nation's most prominent brewers will offer their selections and lecture in various salons at the SAVOR "An American Craft Beer & Food Experience" event. Tickets are pricey ($85/day), but it will run from Friday through Sunday. Again, that looks like an incredible event.

With all these great brewers in the area, we're fortunate that some will host a handful of interesting events. Notable:

Tuesday 5/13 and Wednesday 5/14: The Lupulin Reunulin/Kill Dave Tasting featuring five great brewers at D.C.'s The Brickskeller. Pizza Port/Lost Abbey, Russian River, Avery, Allagash, Dogfish Head. Tickets are $35, I believe.

Thursday 5/15: Sierra Nevada Fresh Hop Ale Tasting at the Brickskeller in D.C. They'll present their "Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale", which is much-anticipated.

Thursday 5/15: Stone Brewing Company Pint Night at Axis Bar & Grill in D.C. Stone's a personal favorite of mine, from my old hometown of San Diego. Giveaways, pint glasses, reps, and brews like the Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard and Smoked Porter (which is delicious).

Friday 5/16: Samuel Adams Beer Dinner at Mie N Yu in D.C.

And, unrelated but important, it's the Preakness on Saturday! Maryland is privileged enough to host the second leg of horseracing's Triple Crown and Kentucky Derby winner (and potential dynamo/Triple Crown winner) Big Brown will be running.

Saturday 5/17: Pints for Pets Brewfest in Hollidaysburg, PA. All proceeds benefit the Central PA Humane Society. Tickets are $25 to $30, and they expect upwards of 50 brewers and distributors to attend.

Saturday 5/17: Brandywine Valley (PA) Craft Brewer's Festival. Tickets are $30, hosted by Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant.

Saturday 5/17: 7th Annual Virginia Beer Festival in Norfolk. Tickets are $25-$30.

Saturday 5/17: 1st Annual Yardley (PA) Beer Fest supporting the Yardley Flood Relief Mitigation Fund. Tickets are limited.

Brew Review: Ommegang Three Philosophers

Ommegang is America's foremost Belgian-style brewer. They are good, and every beer fan should be tasting some of what they offer. Tonight's offering was another solid example of the unique craftwork achieved in the Belgian style.

The Three Philosophers is their "Quadrupel" beer. Their description says:

Created by blending a rich, malty, Belgian-style ale with authentic Kriek, a classic cherry-Lambic from Belgium.

Got it? Oddly, if this was purely a Belgian-style ale I wouldn't have enjoyed it. The blended beers did much to make this an interesting beer. Overall I wasn't blown away and there are some things less enjoyable that can be noted, but overall the craftsmanship stands out.

I did things a little different tonight, pouring the 12 oz bottle into a 10 oz specialty glass from Stone Brewing (obtained at a "Double Bastard Ale" event at their brewery/restaurant a while back). It poured a cloudy gold to brown color, with minimal head that acted up a bit before rapidly dissolving. There was some light carbonation, but the beer was still active and alive without a heavy bubble presence. Hmm ...

The best thing about this beer was its aroma. It smelled like cider, raisins, apple, spice, and a lot more I couldn't quite pin down. It was intoxicating and I spent a good deal of time taking that all in. That's fairly unusual so far in my beer tasting experiences, so I made the most of it.

As far as taste, it had a certain weird thing going on at the back of my tongue, it was sort of harsh and that was a bit of a fight. Still, the taste was more mild than the aroma and had to be appreciated with a little bit of time. As several reviewers at Beer Advocate noted and the bottle advises, this should be served at about 50 degrees. It certainly improved as I let it warm up. The cherry Lambic part of this brew was quite mild initially, but presented in earnest once it warmed up. That helped things quite a bit, and should provide guidance for the next go-round.

Overall this beer rated a 4.11 by Beer Advocate readers, well above average.

Can't Get Enough Victoria

It's pricey, but Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia (on Snowden River Parkway) is easily my favorite haunt. Victoria is part authentic upscale pub, part newfangled pub grub restaurant. I'll have more to say on their menu and the overall look and feel of the place later, but for now: beer.

The beer and food menu changes fairly regularly, but I swiped a paper copy of their menu this weekend so this should be up to date. In total they usually carry about 18 draft beers and another 40 or so bottled beers. Some of the draft and bottled selections (Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud, Sol) take up space where a better beer could go, but at the same time not every customer wants craft beer. I've made my peace with that.

What they do offer is a real selection. I went with the family for a casual lunch on Saturday and we traded tastes of the Brewer's Alley Kolsch (eh), Ommegang Witte (bottled) Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball (just arrived on tap), Clipper City Baltomarzhon (drink locally!), Stone Arrogant Bastard (representing my old home San Diego) and Fisherman's Brew (Cape Ann Brewing Co./Mass).

Good times.

We paired those with servings of their fantastic poutine and also their rosemary duck fat fries.

What's interesting about Victoria is that many of their draft pours come in either 10 or 20 oz servings. This takes some getting used to, but they also supply sturdy goblets and nonics to sip from.

In time we'll discuss Victoria further, including their fun happy hour beer list and late night experience.

Map It

Hop, Beer Prices Rising

Every beer nut knows this already.

Consider this an excuse to unload a video on the topic as I learn the ropes with this RedLasso video grabber program. The story is from a San Diego news station and they go to the authorities in the region: Stone Brewing. Good call.



I grabbed a few other beer-related videos tonight and will post them in the future as discretion merits.

Flying Dog's Maryland Connection

It's deep.

Flying Dog is a Denver, Colorado brewer (one of our nation's beer capitals, more on that later) brewing in the spirit of Gonzo --- Hunter S. Thompson.

Seriously.

Long time friend, neighbor and co-conspirator of Flying Dog owner George Stranahan, Hunter was a large influence on George's life and subsequently on the creation of the Flying Dog brand; whether it was riding motorcycles, blowing shit up, or just getting a good, old-fashioned drunk on at the Woody Creek Tavern. These two were fast friends long before Flying Dog Brewery was even a thought. When George opened up shop in Aspen, Hunter would have been one of his best customers; if he had ever paid his tab.

Hunter's greatest contribution to Flying Dog is, of course, introducing George Stranahan to another long-time friend of his, Ralph Steadman. The Gonzo artist creates all of Flying Dog's signature labels.

Putting Thompson aside for a moment, Flying Dog is one of the bigger names in craft brewing with a national distribution. What I didn't realize until tonight was that they produce their full line of beers out of Wild Goose Brewing's Frederick facility. That's good news for Maryland beer consumers everywhere.

I must confess I haven't tried much of Flying Dog's lineup (yet). They were actually one of the rare national craft brewers of reliable distribution while I was living in the Florida panhandle. However, what I usually saw on the shelves was their Pale and Golden ales. Ho hum. I love Stone Brewing but it's hard to get excited about their Pale Ale, even though it's a good one. Same goes for those two, although Flying Dog clearly has enough self-respect to produce a dizzying line of other beers.

In other words, add them to the list of beers on my mental shopping list. Talking to Summer of Beer's Steve tonight he mentioned several quality brews they produce so now I'll be on the lookout for them in store shelves. Plus the Frederick facility isn't tooooooo far, maybe I can pair a stop over there with a stop at Brewer's Alley and Wild Goose (also in Frederick).

Many thanks to Flying Dog's own Creative Manager Josh for alerting me to this news. Josh also sends along this video of MojoHD's "Beer Nutz" visiting Flying Dog. Synergy, folks.

The Washington Post's Beer Madness

Drawing inspiration from college basketball's "March Madness" tournament, the Washington Post recently held its second annual Beer Madness. The Post selected 32 brews from a variety of styles, and held blind taste battles between them.

Nine dedicated beer-drinking readers and the post's beer columnist Greg Kitsock were the judges. They already held the tasting, but the winners are being revealed with the winner announced April 6. Kudos to the Post for holding this competition, which connects the paper to its readers and shows it is paying attention to niche communities like beer nuts.

Unfortunately they're advertising that this may be their last Beer Madness as the Post is reluctant to pony up the approximately $600 needed to purchase the brews.

Brooklyn Brewery's Brooklyn Lager was last year's winner, but the panel bumped it in the round of 16, losing out to Colorado's Old Scratch Flying Lager. Baltimore native National Bohemian lost to Brooklyn Lager in the opening round.

The Stone Pale Ale from my old stomping grounds in San Diego has made it into the round of 8, facing off against Pennsylvania brewer Troegs' Hopback to be crowned king of the Ales. That winner advances to the final 4 against the winner in the Lager category.

What's In Your Fridge?

Since Baltimore Beer Guy is new and has maybe one reader, it's doubtful anyone will reply to this query. We press on, however, since content is king.

What's in your fridge?

It's an ever-changing situation in my fridge as the supply is occasionally drained and the assets liquefied. At present are 1-3 bottles of the following:

La Fin Du Monde (Unibroue/Quebec)
Hop Wallop (Victory Brewing Co./PA)
Hoegaarden (Belgium)
Blue Moon (Coors/CO)
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (Dogfish Head/DE)
Troegs Nugget Nectar Ale (Troegs/PA)
Green Flash West Coast IPA (Green Flash/CA)
Stone Ruination IPA (Stone Brewing Co./CA)
Guinness Extra Stout (Guinness/Ireland)

There's nothing particularly special about this group of beers other than they are all quality brews. What I do find interesting is the variety within the group. In a single sitting we can go from Belgian Wit styled beers to massively hopped West Coast IPA's and a fantastic East Coast IPA to the classic Irish stout and then a finely crafted golden ale. These beers span the states and the world.

Thanks to the creativity and craftsmanship of brewers through history and into today our society has developed a taste for quality beers and an amazing variety of them. In turn, this demand has created a fairly efficient market and marketplace that makes their collective nationwide and worldwide availability possible. But a market will always live and die with the consumer, so my message in closing is to consume!

Buy locally, but also buy globally. Try new beers (do your research so the names at the store aren't overwhelming) and keep that market alive so everyone can continue to enjoy this unique time in the history of beer consumption.

(Image: Stuart Whitmore/MorgueFile.com)