Troegs' American Craft Beer Week Events

Monday May 17th 5-8 PM at Max's Taphouse with a firkin of Javahead Stout, Scratch 27 Chocolate Stout, Scratch 29 Belgian IPA and limited Flying Mouflan on draft

Tuesday May 18th 5-8 PM Victoria Gastro Pub To Live and Die in P.A. Night

Pennsylvania Brewery Night with Troegs: Firkin of Hopback Amber plus Scratch 29 Belgian IPA and limited edition Flying Mouflan on draft

Wednesday May 19th 6-9 PM Troegs Pint Night at Firestone's Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland. Will include a firkin of Javahead Stout, Troegenator on draft, all year-round bottles and 22oz bombers of Flying Mouflan

Thursday May 20th 7-10 PM pint night at Racer's Cafe with all Troegs year-round beers on draft, Flying Mouflan on draft and the last pin of Nugget Nectar available in Maryland!

Troegs Pint Night at Frisco Grille

Tonight, Wednesday, is the Troegs Brewing pint night at Frisco Grille in Columbia. From 7 PM onward they'll be pouring a big offering of Troegs beers including the much-coveted Nugget Nectar.

After 7 PM, the first pint you order of the featured brewery merits a free piece of glassware (be sure to ask the bartender/server).

On tap:

Mad Elf
Nugget Nectar
Troegenator
Hopback Amber
Dreamweaver Wheat

Frisco Grille Items

-- Tonight (Wednesday) at Frisco Grille is a 'show us your (Beer) T's event with Flying Dog, show up in your best (preferably vintage) beer t-shirt, there's some sort of competition, 7-10 PM.

-- Tomorrow is their second Firkin Thursday, with special casks of Troegs' awesome Nugget Nectar and also their Javahead Stout. Those will go fast-fast-fast so be sure to get there in time, probably around 7 PM.

Beer Notes

--- Via Beer In Baltimore, a really informative rundown from Whats Up Magazine of the breweries in the Annapolis/Southern Maryland/Delaware area. Be sure to participate in the voting for best beer award.

--- If you're headed to Fells Point this weekend, be on notice its Fells Point Fun Festival on Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM - 7 PM, its going to be crowded but there's probably many opportunities for great beer both from the establishments and whatever vendors participate.

--- Frisco Grille's Wednesday Pint Night schedule is up for October:

October 7th: Clipper City
October 14th: Flying Dog
October 21st: Otter Creek
October 28th: Smuttynose

PLUS

Troegs' Nugget Nectar will be on cask on Thursday October 15th (while it lasts!) plus a cask stout of Troegs' Java Stout. Mmmmmm ...

--- Also along Snowden River Parkway in Columbia, here's the Baltimore Beer Week schedule of events for Victoria Gastro Pub

- October 8th (TH) North Coast 530 PM
- October 9th (FR) Stoudts 530 PM
- October 10th (Sat) Lagunitas 12 PM and St. Bernardus 7 PM
- October 11th (Sun) Oliver Ales 11 AM & Dogfish Head 730 PM
- October 12th (Mon) Flying Dog 530 PM
- October 13th (Tue) Otter Creek 530 PM
- October 14th (Wed) Unibroue 530 PM
- October 15th (TH) Clipper City 530 PM
- October 16th (FR) Brewdog & Cooper's Ales 530 PM
- October 17th (SAT) Troegs 11 AM & Saranac 7 PM
- October 18th (SUN) Rogue 12 PM & Lancaster 730 PM

'Come taste many unique and rare beer offerings with limited availability and talk with the brewery representatives. The breweries will also be offering many FREE giveaways'

Real Time

Troegs Nugget Nectar, Troegs pint night at Frisco Grille

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

Freeze Frame

At Frisco Grille:

Rogue Frog In The Rye (Rye IPA)

Rogue Anniversary Glen

Troegs Nugget Nectar

The Anniversary Glen ended up tasting, oddly, like Orval. It shouldn't, and I have no clue as to why that came to be.

Condolences to the Maryland Terrapin fans, that beatdown at the hands of Memphis was brutal to put it mildly.

Troegs Nugget Nectar at Frisco Grille

No, it won't be from a Firkin this time but it'll be just as good. Available Wednesday and it sounds like they have some extra kegs so it may appear a few more times in the coming days.

They also have Flying Dog's excellent Garde Dog in the Bier De Garde style on tap right now. Yum.

Nugget Nectar Firkin at Frisco Grille Tonight

But you knew that already.

Update: Very, very good stuff. The cask kicked in 90 minutes.

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.

Mahaffeys Update

I'm on their email list so occasionally I'll post some news from those emails.

For example, on tap for the first time is Dogfish Head's Worldwide Stout. I've had that sucker, it's pure alcohol, but they say it won't last so if you dig the WWS, head down there. Mad Elf is done for the season, although he's saved a keg for "Christmas in June".

Tonight's bomber is Southern Tier Choklat, one of Summer of Beer Steve's favorites. Their "Old School Beer" featured tomorrow will be Colt 45.

On Sunday they open at 3 PM --- "Go Ravens".

For the uninitiated, Mahaffey's is a corner pub in Canton with a great beer rep. As a bonus they actually post the beer list online so there's no guessing when you arrive. As we all know, Baltimore Beer Guy appreciates such establishments.

And whats not to love about a place carrying DuPont's Avec Les Bons Vouex, Allagash's Grand Cru and Southern Tier's Krampus?

Back

Thank you for your patience. I'm pondering a way to package the rest of the trip in a way that doesn't just read and read and read and hits the key points. In the meantime its back to Baltimore/Maryland beer business (yes!).

Of note: I'll probably be at Frisco Grille tonight for their Troegs Brewing Pint Night. Look for me.

Also, I'm going to find a way to make it to my beloved Brewer's Art to try their Holiday seasonal, St. Festivus. Have any of you great readers tried it yet? Thoughts?

Tis The Season of Winter Beers

Fall came and went, and many beer drinkers fell in love with the various Fest beers, Marzens, Oktoberfest beers and pumpkin beers. But not I. No sir, those are a tough sell, but my heart is warmed as the weather cools by the arrival of some pretty cool winter beers.

As noted earlier, Sierra Nevada has released its "Celebration" Ale, a tasty IPA that reminds me of some of the better flavors I get from the great Firestone Brewing's pales and IPA's. Right now I'm knocking down a bottle of Harrisburg PA based Troegs' Mad Elf, a sort of sweet winter ale made with cherries and honey. This is a much coveted brew and I gotta admit I'm enjoying it.

But then, I'll enjoy almost any decent cherry beer (Brewers Art Charm City Sour Cherry, any of the various Belgian cherry lambics, Mad Elf, etc.).

Elsewhere, I definitely recommend the Corsendonk Christmas beer available on tap right now at Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia.

Locally, I've talked to several people who swear by Frederick MD based Wild Goose's Snow Goose. And then there's Clipper City with its Winter Storm, a "winter warmer" that is on draft all over the place (Frisco Grille, Judge's Bench, etc.).

Lest I forget, the great Brewer's Art downtown should have some form of a winter beer available (I think its called St. Festivus?) if it's not already on tap.

Feel free to email me with other notables or comment below.

Related: cask conditioned beer/ale in Baltimore and Maryland, pumpkin, Oktoberfest and fest beers (bier) in Maryland

As always, be sure to use my various links on the side as resources in tracking down beers, places to drink and local breweries. Particularly useful for this entry are the Howard County Beer maps and Maryland Beer and Breweries Maps.

Not That You Care, But ...

What I had tonight at Frisco Grille:

A taster of Southern Tier Imperial Pumking, considered the best pumpkin beer around. Eh, but I'm not that into fall/Oktoberfest/pumpkin beers. It was enjoyable for a taster and I can see where pumpkinheads fall in love with it, but not my thing.

A pint of Southern Tier Harvest, sort of a pale/ESB, enjoyable but a bit mild.

A pint of the Troegs Dead Reckoning Porter on cask. In a lot of ways this is a great beer but also disappoints. I love cask beer but even for a cask, this seemed a bit watery and flat. Its flavor was still robust but something was not quite perfect about it, but definitely the kind of beer you want to put on cask.

Lagunitas Imperial Red, which was fantastic. I'm not a red/amber fan by any means, but this was hoppy and fresh and complex and flavorful and very sessionable. Highly recommended.

Frisco Grill Tonight: Troegs Pint Night

One of my favorite beer stops in Maryland, Frisco Grille is having is weekly (every Wednesday night) Pint Night. After about 7 p.m. they give away a free pint with the first beer purchase of that night's featured brewer.

Tonight is Troeg's night and their website lists them as having the Troegenator (good!), the Hopback Amber and the just-released Dead Reckoning Porter (on cask!) available. Sounds awesome.

BTW next week's pint night is listed as "TBD". Hmm ...

Brew Review: Troegs Troegenator Doublebock

Yet another sampling from Harrisburg, PA's Troeg's Brewing.

Tonight's sample was from a 12 oz bottle, poured into a standard pint glass. You know how that goes.

It didn't stay long, but the initial aroma jumped out. It was that sweet, slightly chocolate/coffee smell you usually find in a thick, syrupy porter. The head was thick and lumpy, but quickly settled to something quite flat once I took a sip. In color it was a nice mix of brown and orange and burgundy, which seems to have been reasonably approximated on the bottle label. Nice job guys!

The taste was malty, and a little sweet. I struggled to draw out any specific flavors to reference, but just doing some quick reading on double bocks it seemed to be a more than adequate representation of the style. One thing that stood out is that this was dancing all over the "sour" areas of my tongue. I didn't really taste sour, but that's the area of the tongue that demanded attention.

Overall this is a good beer to sit down and enjoy. I had no complaints, and would drink it again. If anything I'm curious what foods would pair with it, as it might stand up really well to certain more subtle foods with its sweet, slightly creamy, just strong enough taste.

This beer earned a 3.85 (B+) from Beer Advocate reviews.

Update: Speak of the devil, The Baltimore Sun's Rob Kasper has a brief entry about bocks from last week, calling it the beer of springtime. Thinking locally, there's usually at least one bock on tap at Ellicott Mills Brewing, as they're fully committed to making German beers.

Brew Review: Troegs Nugget Nectar

This fine Pennsylvania creation comes highly recommended from Summer of Beer Steve.

I sampled it tonight out of a 12 oz bottle poured into a standard pint.

Right away this thing carries the smell and aroma of an IPA. True to form, the bottle promises a "hopheads nirvana", with "93ish IBU's". There was a modest if undistinguished head with the pour, and it displayed an orange-amber color.

Heavily hopped beers like IPA's tend to carry a "piney" or "citrusy" aroma. Sometimes that's true, sometimes it isn't as I think there's a third smell I can't quite name. However, this time the aroma was most definitely piney. What that means for you I don't know, but it's normal and unoffensive to my general experience.

My general impression is that this has a residual hop taste. It isn't overpowering by any means, but it lingers on. For the IPA nut and "hop heads" this is part of the experience but obviously for the untrained taster it can be disconcerting. I should point out that this isn't an IPA, but rather an Imperial Amber, but the experience is about the same.

Other notes:

Initial tasting comes in real sweet, but as stated above there's a rapid bitter/piney flavor that lingers in the mouth. This is a good beer to sit down with and then wait a few minutes. I finished 90% of my pint and then went to the business of writing this. As I gulped down that last mouthful it suddenly tasted a hell of a lot better. That's kind of how wine works sometimes, so this beer is in good company if you've got patience.

Like another one of my recent tastings, this was a holdover, older bottle that had been hiding in my fridge for a while and sometimes time doesn't do good things to beers like this. That said, this tasting was consistent with the other, fresher bottles of my Nugget Nectar six-pack I'd tried.

Here's the review from Beer Advocate (4.37/A, very well regarded!), and here's a glowing review from Summer of Beer.

Stocking Up: The Perfect Pour

Jackpot!

That's how I feel after entering Columbia's The Perfect Pour last weekend. Their beer selection is fantastic, a better version of what I've enjoyed at west coast beer/liquor chain Beverages & More (BevMo) which tends to have an impressive beer collection.

TPP's entire back wall is at least eight feet high loaded with beers from literally every style imaginable. Trying to name the collection would take forever, but trust me all but the most fussy beer nuts would enjoy their selection. From the outside it doesn't look like much, as the tiny doorway wedged into its strip center hides a decent-sized interior. They also carry a modest wine selection, some liquors, and have a respectable fridge keeping various beverages cold.

The place still smells brand new, like that construction dust smell that you either love or hate. Everything is clean and orderly and I found at least one member of the staff to be quite helpful. This store is actually a second Perfect Pour, as they own another shop somewhere else in Maryland that escapes me right now.

Their website offers nothing right now, but I did sign up for their email list. They advertise various beer and wine tastings, usually on Fridays and Saturdays according to the white board near the door as I left with my clutch of beers. On the day I went, they were pouring a Victory Prima Pils and some other Victory offering I've since forgotten. I tried the Pils and found it above average, but it's not a style I enjoy much. Still, that's a nice gesture to get a taste of a good label beer without having to make a purchase and discover it's not very good.

Speaking of tasting, the best feature of The Perfect Pour and something I took advantage of is that they allow you to buy individual bottles from within their six-pack collections. I've heard of this at Trader Joe's (but not in Maryland stores per ridiculous state law --- yet another item to be addressed later), but never seen it in action. Naturally, I grabbed a generic white six-pack holder they offer customers and selected six beers to take home. Oh, and two bombers of other brews to be listed in a moment.

Again, this is a welcome (and in my mind, wise) gesture from the Perfect Pour. Most of their beer selections are available in various four and six packs on the back wall. An employee tipped me off to this individual bottle purchase option, saying it's a way to try other beers without getting stuck with an entire sick pack. Please take advantage of that policy if you find yourself at The Perfect Pour. I wish more beer/liquor stores would be so considerate.

Feel free to argue with me about this, but for now The Perfect Pour's Columbia location gets a high grade from me. They give beer fans options, decent tastings on certain days, a clean store, helpful staff, and a vast selection of good beers. It's basically all you can ask for in the states other than making a stop at those mythical bars and beer stores with selections you wouldn't think possible.

Ok, so my beer haul from that night (remember last week, "what's in your fridge?"):

12 Oz Bottles

Lancaster Hop Hop IPA (PA)
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA (PA)
Urthel Hop It Blonde Ale (Belgium)
Ommegang Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend (NY)
Troegs Troegenator Doublebock (PA)
Smuttynose Robust Porter (NH)

22 Oz Bombers

Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA (NY)
Avery Collaboration Not Litigation Ale (CO)

All of the following will be new tastes, outside of the Collaboration, which I've had multiple times on tap at Stone's World Bistro & Gardens in beautiful San Diego, California.

Map It (For some reason Marie Curie Dr. isn't on the various map services. It's across from the Costco/in that center if you take the 95 South and exit onto the 175 East, first right and then another right)

(Image: Clara Natoli/MorgueFile.com)

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)