Howard County Pub Crawl

Looks AMAZING and since hitting Howard County's four elite beer bars as your own driver is not advisable try this option to check out some really cool beer bars in one swoop. The proprietors and bartenders at all four spots are great people.

Click on the image for more details but essentially, sign up at T-Bonz for the trip with other beer lovers ($50/head) and have them provide a ride to four of the great beer bars in Howard County -- T-Bonz, Frisco Grille, Victoria Gastro Pub and The Judges Bench.

You'll be able to hang out at the various establishments and sample (5 oz) four beers at each stop (more if you wish, on your dime) and then be escorted back to T-Bonz for some delicious grub.

That goes off Saturday May 22nd as part of the annual American Craft Beer Week.

Coincidentally, Saturday is also "New England" day at Victoria Gastro Pub with selections from Harpoon (MA), Smuttynose (NH), Allagash (ME), Otter Creek (VT) and Wolavers (VT). That's some good stuff to try while on the bus trip!

The Barrel Aged Gonzo Is Loose!

After sitting on barrels since early September, Flying Dog has released its Gonzo Imperial Porter!

Look for this much-anticipated release on taps around town starting ohhhh ... now.

On That Whole Beer Tax Increase Thing

Belated, but still worth a mention ...

There was a proposal several weeks ago in the Maryland legislature to dramatically increase the tax on beer, wine and liquor. Fortunately it was defeated but knowing politics the same proposal is likely to return and perhaps even get enacted at some point if folks aren't more informed.

For beer, the tax rate per gallon would have been hiked from $0.09 to an incredible $1.16. Maryland is already a heavily regulated, high-tax state. Mix in the still-sluggish economy and its easy to see where this could have a disastrous effect on the health of the craft beer industry in Maryland.

We're fortunate to be in one of the top craft beer areas in the country, despite all the regulation and barriers to profit. We're not California or Oregon or Colorado but we're not a wasteland like Florida or Alabama, either. However, it wouldn't be too difficult to steadily bleed the craft industry here and bring us closer to the wastelands rather than the promised lands if foolish legislative proposals were to be followed through.

I don't buy the Mom and Pop nostalgia of the craft beer industry, but there is a grain of truth to the image, as most producers, however big or small, are driven more by their passion than profit. This makes everyone not named Bud, Miller and Coors (and their shell brands) more vulnerable than a careless legislator realizes.

This doesn't mean a small tax increase is unreasonable. But it must be small. Maryland last increased its tax on beer in 1972, so its been a relatively stable tax environment for almost 40 years. Perhaps this rate is now outdated and not up with the times and that's a worthy discussion in the legislature.

However, its clear the proposed hike to $1.16/gallon would have given Maryland the dubious distinction of having the highest beer tax in the nation! Next highest is Alaska at $1.07/gallon. The median beer tax in America is just $0.19/gallon.

I've spoken briefly a few times with people from highly regarded craft breweries from outside Maryland that are not doing business here, and almost universally they cite a frustrating dance with the three tier system in place here and sometimes other barriers. The tone I get is that Maryland is just a tough place to bring your beer into. That hasn't stopped many quality craft breweries from doing business here, but it has affected some and that impacts variety and having a more competitive marketplace. For the state they lose potential tax revenues when breweries choose not to sell their product here (and often end up doing so to the frustration of many in neighboring states).

Now throw in a potentially unreasonable tax hike on beer and the business environment here for craft beer could be even more troubled.

Just for comparison's sake I'm listing a few states' per gallon tax rate on beer.

The most famous craft beer states are California, Oregon and Colorado.

California $0.20
Colorado $0.08
Oregon $0.08

And here are Maryland's neighbors. Look at these numbers and try not to think of the Sesame Street 'which one of these is not like the other' skit if Maryland ended up at $1.16. Imagine the outflow of business? Yikes.

Delaware $0.16
Pennsylvania $0.08
Washington D.C. $0.09
Virginia $0.26
West Virginia $0.18

My point?

Maryland should not do what some of its misguided legislators have proposed. The proposed tax increase is punitive and anti-business, so thoroughly steep and outside of how we've been doing business, how our neighbors have been doing business, how the nation as a whole does business and how great beer states do business when it comes to the per gallon tax rate on beer.

There's a worthy discussion to be had on if Maryland needs some kind of reasonable tax hike on beer, but what's proposed doesn't come close to hitting the mark. We need to vote out legislators who are crazy enough to even propose such hikes and potentially cripple a sensitive industry (at the craft end) and the many small businesses involved with it and work with the ones who understand the craft beer environment better and can forcefully speak to its interests.

T-Bonz Movin' On Up

Hidden gem T-Bonz in Ellicott City keeps doing good things. So many, in fact, that I've had to adjust my Howard County beer stratification to include them. Gone is the Holy Trinity, arrived is the Big Four, the Mighty Rectangle of Liquid Delight the ... anything to do with four, basically.

T-Bonz has ascended and can now safely join Frisco Grille, Victoria Gastro Pub and The Judges Bench as craft beer elite in Howard County.

Besides being the home to some of my absolute favorite ribs, T-Bonz now serves up 12 craft beer taps (with more planned) which much like Frisco Grille, can easily be seen on their website updated instantly. No guesswork! Kudos for also adding the "on deck" section. Every beer bar should be doing this, but I digress ...

T-Bonz was also the very first place in the area to hold a "Pints and Pancakes" event (soon to be copied at Mahaffey's later this month), which was an absolute blast. It was so successful another one is in the works but featuring winter themed beers, set for a Sunday in July just as soon as entertainment can be worked out.

Also in the works is an expansion, with another bar area to be held in the basement as sort of a brickskeller, with an additional set of craft taps to enjoy.

Further down the road, a Friday The Firkenteenth is planned for August 13th. T-Bonz recently jumped on the firkin bandwagon and more firkin events are under consideration.

Finally, a Howard County pub crawl with T-Bonz is in the planning stages (set for I believe Saturday May 22nd). For a fee there would be a bus making stops at the fearsome foursome -- T-Bonz, The Judges Bench, Victoria Gastro Pub and Frisco Grille -- and have some kind of smaller sized glassware involved so as to not get too carried away. I like the concept, as the bars are all a relatively close drive to each other but obviously not walkable.

Apologies for any errors as my notes were terrible while talking to bar manager Chris -- who has helped make T-Bonz an excellent beer destination after he came over from Fells Point's Red Star. I'll check back for more concrete details on much of this but hopefully this is a good general overview of some exciting things happening at yet another excellent beer bar in Howard County.

Oh, and one more item about their beers: they have a house offering called 33rd Street Ale in honor of the Orioles' old Memorial Stadium. The actual establishment is well appointed with Ravens and Orioles memorabilia as well as beer taps along the walls similar to how Frisco Grille has made use of their unused handles.

Maryland: Home to World Beer Cup Winners!

Not only is Maryland about crab cakes and football, its about award-winning beers.

Several Maryland breweries came away with prizes at the 2010 World Beer Cup held this weekend. Notable:

Flying Dog
Silver: Gonzo Imperial Porter Vintage 2007 in the Aged Beer category

Heavy Seas
Gold: Heavy Seas Gold Ale in the Golden or Blonde Ale category
Bronze: Heavy Seas Marzen in the Vienna-Style Lager category
Bronze: Heavy Seas Pale Ale in the Classic English-Style Pale Ale category

Brewer's Alley
Silver: Brewer's Alley India Pale Ale in the English-Style India Pale Ale category

Rock Bottom (Bethesda)
Gold: Highland Courage in the Scottish-Style Ale category

Congratulations to our Maryland winners!

Pratt Street Ale House Invades Victoria Gastro Pub

Be sure to stop by Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub (conveniently located immediately off Rt. 100 on Snowden River Parkway) for a neat Pratt Street Ale House event.

Victoria will be pouring eight (!) PSAH taps including Hot Monkey Love (first batch!), Cherry Blossom Ale and 3 Spires Ale.

Brewmaster Stephen Jones should be on hand at some point in the evening, as well as souvenir pint glasses.

April Flying Dog Bitch Session

Today is the first Thursday in April which means 'Bitch Session' time with Flying Dog. The Bitch Sessions are hosted at various locations around Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

The big one locally will be at Frisco Grille, featuring two amazing firkins (the Doggie Style Pale Ale which is ridiculous and a brand new firkin of Snake Dog IPA) plus two Flying Dog beers on tap: the Raging Bitch Belgian IPA and the In-Heat Wheat.

Plus, a top secret beer.

Festivities should commence around 6 PM although most of the beers should be on tap sometime before then.

Beer Notes

-- Heavy Seas' Letter of Marque 'Hop Rye Porter' will be officially released at Mahaffey's on Thursday April 1st from 5-7 PM. It was the creation of homebrewers Frank Butt and Neil Heinlein.

Heavy Seas will host another Ladies Night at their brewery on Friday April 16th from 6-8 PM. Tickets are $10 and registration is required.

And on May 1st there will be a Heavy Seas Beer & Tapas event at Alexander's, listed in Ellicott City (did they mean Alexandra's at Turf Valley golf resort?)

-- The Judges Bench in Ellicott City will celebrate its third anniversary with a Heavy Seas event and a Big DIPA firkin on Friday April 2nd.

-- Upcoming events at Victoria Gastro Pub include the Rogue Beer Dinner on April 14th, the Allagash 'Meet the Maker' event from noon-3 PM with a ton of Allagash taps, a Trappist beer dinner on May 11th and then 'Victoria Day' on May 24th with the raffle drawing for a trip for beer club members.

They've recently redesigned the bar menu a bit, with daily updates of whats on tap, information on upcoming beer dinners and featured breweries on Beer Club night Monday, and much more. Do seek those out.

-- April marks the beginning of IPA month at Mahaffey's, but they've already put 13+ IPA's on tap through late March! Be sure to stop by all month and celebrate one of the tastiest beer styles out there.

Also in April at Mahaffey's: 1)Anniversary Party on April 17th with free catered buffet 2)Pints & Pancakes breakfast on April 18th from 10 AM to 2 PM 3)Allagash Night on April 21st.

-- Timonium's Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival will be held on April 10th.

-- April Fools Day must be the most competitive beer day in a long time with so many events, and DuClaw is jumping in on the action with $1 beers ALL DAY. Much more info from them via their new blog -- bookmark it.

-- Fordham is releasing their Queen Anne Kolsch at Ram's Head Tavern on Thursday, April 1st. For $4 you get commemorative glassware and a first pour, with each additional pour just $1 from 4-6 PM.

There will also be a 'meet the brewmaster' event featuring brewer Walter Trifari at Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits on Saturday April 3rd from 1-4 PM.

-- For those out in the Salisbury area, be sure to check out the brand new Specific Gravity Pizzeria and Bottle Shop. Its brought to you by some members of the Evolution Brewing team. I'm a big fan of the Evolution crew, hopefully that venture's as cool as everything else they've done so far.

Firkin Thursday and Friday

Frisco Grille will have Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter on the bar tonight and it will be full pours (16oz) as opposed to the chalices.

At Max's they'll have Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, Brew Dog Paradox Smokehead, Brew Dog Paradox Springbank and JW Lees Harvest Ale (on the bar).

At Metropolitan they'll have the last Troegs Nugget Nectar firkin of the season!

And on Friday a special firkin from Stillwater Ales, their Stateside Saison at Alonso's!

DuClaw is contributing two of their own: a Cinnamon Vanilla Sawtooth at all three locations and an etra Peppermint Infused Imperial Chocolate Rye Porter (tapped after the Sawtooth is finished) at the Arundel Mills location.

BrewDog Event at Max's Tonight

Also tonight, and you probably already know this, the owner of BrewDog, James Watt, will be on hand at Max's all the way from Scotland.

Festivities kick off at 6 PM and will feature a huge line of their offerings including the pricey and rare Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink The Bismarck.

CASK:
Paradox Smokehead
Paradox Springbank

REGULAR DRAFT:
Tokio
Zeitgeist
Punk IPA
Hardcore IPA
5am Saint
Brew Dog/Stone Bashah

BOTTLES:
Atlantic IPA
Brew Dog/Stone Bashah
Chaos Theory
Brew Dog/Mikkeller Divine Rebel
Dogma
Paradox Islay
Paradox Glen Grant
Paradox Macallan
Paradox Port Dundas
Paradox Smokehead
Paradox Speyside
Riptide
Storm

Evolution Pint Night at Frisco Grille

Frisco Grille's latest pint night event is happening today (Wednesday) starting at 7 PM.

Delaware's excellent Evolution Brewing will be on hand with a cask conditioned Rise Up Stout as well as the brand spanking new Lot #6 Double IPA, the excellent Lot #3 IPA, the Exile ESB and something called Sprung.

Don't miss out!

Heavy Seas Big DIPA Beer Social At Max's

This Tuesday, Max's will feature local stars Heavy Seas showing off their Big DIPA double IPA on tap and on cask. The Clipper City crew will be on hand, and festivities will kick off at 6 PM in the Mobtown Lounge.

ON THE BEER ENGINES:

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Olivers 3 Spires

Flying Dog Doggie Style

NEW DRAFTS:

Avery Mephistopheles

Blaugies La Moneuse Special Winter

Cazeau Tournay

Contreras Valeir Blonde

Contreras Valeir Extra

Fruli Strawberry

Fullers Mr Harry

Italiano Tipo Pils

Lagunitas Wilco Tanco Foxtrot

Otter Creek Raspberry Brown

RJ Rockers Son of A Peach

Smuttynose Big A IPA

Southern Tier 422

Southern Tier Iniquity

Southern Tier Oak Aged Unearthly

The Bruery Rogbrod

The Bruery Saison De Lente

Troegs Nugget Nectar

Unibroue Trois Pistoles

Flying Dog Victoria Gastro Pub Event

Speaking of Flying Dog, they'll be at Victoria Gastro Pub tonight (Monday) from 5 PM onward with a huge selection of beers plus rep Matt Crow and special guest brewer Matt Brophy.

On tap:

Doggie Style Pale Ale (firkin)
Gonzo Imperial Stout (nitro)
Kerberos Tripel (retired!)
Road Dog Porter
Garde Dog (end of the season)
Double Dog Double Pale Ale
Old Scratch Amber
Raging Bitch

St. Patricks Day at Nicks Cross St. Market

Picture from early in the day on St. Patrick's Day at Nick's Oyster Bar at the Cross St. Market in Federal Hill with Flying Dog's Matt Crow and Metropolitan Coffeehouse (+ Wine Bar) owner Bruce Dorsey.

This being a Matt Crow trip there was a tap of Flying Dog's Doggie Style Pale Ale on tap at Nick's. Dorsey smartly closed down his establishment at 3 PM so as to avoid the inevitable rowdies on St. Patricks Day.

Again, this picture, its contents, cannot be independently be verified and are potentially made up by the bozo who took the picture.

It looks like next week's firkin at Metropolitan could be Troegs' Nugget Nectar and they still have a Stillwater Artisinal Ales Stateside Saison firkin in the works while plans are also in the works to run Flying Dog's Raging Bitch Belgian IPA at the upstairs bar alongside the LaChouffe Houblon Chouffe Belgian IPA as sort of an amusing side-by-side comparison of Belgian IPA interpretations.

Also, Mr. Dorsey mentioned the possibility of a 'Friday the Firkinteenth' once a month coinciding with the Friday each month that falls on a 'teen' date of the month (15th, 16th, 17th, etc.).

Ale Mary's St. Patricks Day

This picture of Flying Dog's Matt Crow and Ale Mary's Tom Rivers cannot not be independently verified by the owner, or something.

ByTheWay there are now two Flying Dog tap handles at Ale Mary's because of the gentleman on the left (and right). But maybe this is all faked, or a conspiracy.

Wayne Mahaffey @Mahaffeyspub and Matt Crow @FlyingDogCrow

Beer Notes

-- For those seeking out the excellent, brand new Stateside Saison from Stillwater Artisinal Ales, here's the complete list of local establishments carrying it on draft, firkin or in bottle. And, here's the latest events schedule of where to find brewer Brian 'Stillwater' Strumke and his beers.

3/15 DC launch at Churchkey
3/16 Max’s Tuesday Beer Social featuring Stateside
3/17 Stateside tapping at the Baltimore Tap House

3/19 Stateside tasting @ The Wine Source
3/20 SPBW Real Ale Fest @ Pratt Street Ale House
3/31 Frisco Grille "Pint Night" (although our glassware is not a pint)

4/1 Stateside event with glassware giveaway @ The Brewers Art

4/24 City Paper Annual Beer Fest

-- A picture of Frisco Grille's delicious burrito on Flickr. And the beer board. Why not?

The featured pint night this week, St. Patrick's Day appropriate, is Guinness/Harp/Smithwicks. Be sure to stop by sometime in the evening and try to catch owner Adam's small batch of corned beef, that stuff was delicious last year.

Thursday night's firkin will be Weyerbacher's Hops Infusion.

-- Victoria Gastro Pub has been nominated for a 'Stars of the Industry' award for its wine and beverage program by the Restaurant Association of Maryland. They are asking for votes in seeking the Wine & Beverage Program of the Year award, which you can help by voting at this link. Voting runs through March 23rd.

-- Firkin Friday is returning to DuClaw. On March 26th at 5 PM the following firkins will be available:

Arundel Mills: Cinnamon vanilla Sawtooth; Peppermint infused imperial Chocolate Rye Porter
Bowie: Cinnamon vanilla Sawtooth
Bel Air: Cinnamon vanilla Sawtooth

St. Patrick's Day specials include all day Happy Hour pricing on pints of Celtic Fury Irish Stout, $1 off Celtic Fury growler refills and $2 off new growlers of Celtic Fury.

-- Alonso's received a surprise visit from new raven receiver Anquan Boldin and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron!

-- This Friday Gilly's will have four Belgian beers on tap as part of a Belgian beer tasting. The following Thursday will be a Sam Adams 25th Anniversary event with $2.50 Sam Adams drafts. And on Saturday March 27th they'll have a Troegs beer tasting from 3-6 PM.

-- The 14th Annual City Paper Brew Fest is fast approaching. Tickets are now on sale for $30 from MissionTix. It will be held on Saturday April 24th at Broadway Square in Fells Point.

-- Baltimore's own esteemed Belgian beer writer Chuck Cook has taken to the pages of Beer Connoisseur Magazine to pen a 1,200 word article about Maryland's own superstar beer bar, Max's.

The Great Resurrection Hunt

The Baltimore Sun's Sam Sessa recently asked what establishments have the cheapest Brewer's Art Resurrection on tap. I'm more curious, given its scarcity and huge waiting list, if we can't cobble together the full list of establishments with permanent (or damn close) accounts with Brewers Art to supply the stuff.

Based on my own findings and other establishments mentioned in Sessa's post, here's an incomplete list. Please comment below to help fill in the blanks.

Brewers Art
Frisco Grille
Greene Turtle (Columbia)
Hon Bar/Cafe Hon
Sliders
Mahaffey's
Muggsy's
Bill Batemans
One Eyed Mikes
Captain Larry's
Baltimore Taphouse
Hamilton Tavern
Lures
Rocket to Venus (maybe)
The Parkside (maybe)
The Pickled Parrot
Annabel Lee Tavern
Hull Street Blues Cafe
Red Star
Alonso's
Emerald Tavern

Stoudts At Victoria Gastro Pub

Stoudts Brewing will be making an appearance at Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub Monday. Stoudts family member Eddie Stoudt will be on hand, and he'll have five taps and a firkin with him. The last time he was at Victoria they featured an unusual firkin of Fat Dog oatmeal stout aged with cherries and chocolate.

According to my notes the firkin this time will be their America Pale Ale. The new Karnival Kolsch will be on tap (a sure sign Summer is on its way) and again, according to notes, the Old Abominable barleywine should be on tap.

Festivities begin at 5 PM.

Beer Notes

-- This Thursday at Frisco Grille: Stillwater Artisan Ale's Stateside Saison on firkin.

-- On cask this Thursday at Max's: Flying Dog Doggie Style pale ale, Olivers 3 Spires, Lagunitas IPA, Arcadia Nut Brown, Wintercoat Mols. Things get official around 6 PM.

-- On cask at Metropolitan Coffeehouse, Pratt Street Ale House's Three Spires and White Marsh Brewing's Charlotte's West Coast Amber Ale. Both will be available upstairs for $3 a pint. SPBW will also be meeting there tonight.

-- Stoudt's will be the featured brewery this Monday at Victoria Gastro Pub. Eddie Stoudt will be on hand with Stoudt's Kolsch, Gold, Scarlet Lady ESB and Winter Ale on tap.

The following Monday, Flying Dog and super rep Matt Crow check in. Matt will present seven Flying Dog beers on draft and there will be a special appearance from brewer (Sr. VP of Brewing) Matt Brophy!

On tap: the amazing firkin of the Doggie Style pale ale (I hear the last few bars to get these firkins have been thrilled with the product), Gonzo Imperial Porter (on nitro), Garde Dog Biere de Garde (enjoy it now, it's just about out of season), In Heat Wheat just in time for the warm weather, Double Dog double pale ale, Victoria Gastro Pub staple Raging Bitch Belgian IPA aaaaaaanddddd the recently retired Kerberos Tripel which is absolutely delicious in its own right.

Also: a VGP review from Brewnotes.

-- In other Flying Dog news, the state of New Hampshire has foolishly rejected the distribution and sale of their 20th Anniversary Raging Bitch Belgian IPA. For the anti-censorship activists reading this out there, have at it!

And if it isn't already abundantly clear, Raging Bitch is one of *the* big beers in America this year, soaring through production so as to be made available for enjoyment by its adoring public.

More good news: Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat will be available on draft at Nationals' Park to help drown the Capitol's sorrow in having one of the sorriest organizations in all of baseball.

-- Thursday is 'brew day' for Pratt Street Ale House's upcoming Cherry Blossom Ale. Not sure when the official launch date is, but super brewer Stephen Jones is teasing something called a "Chocolate Covered Cherry" with the Cherry Blossom Ale blended with the Bishop's Breakfast. He's set aside a sixtel of the Bishop's Indulgence to be put on nitro for the Chocolate Covered Cherry at the launch.

Be on the lookout for PSAH casks of Best Bitter and Bishop's Breakfast (oatmeal stout w/vanilla) at ChurchKey and Frisco Grille.

On tap: PSAH's Mocha Java Porter. Yum.

Meanwhile, PSAH's DC successes continue with an upcoming beer dinner with CommonWealth Gastropub on Tuesday, March 23rd. The menu.

If you're searching for an excuse to head down to PSAH, Tuesday nights are Cask Appreciation Night with $3 cask pints from 5 PM until close. Parking is a hassle but I've located a reasonably affordable garage a few blocks away at Pratt and Light Streets for $5 I believe after 5 PM.

-- Mahaffey's will feature Irish food specials on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday. They'll open at 9 AM on Wednesday with $1.50 Guinness pints with a price increase as the day goes on. Oddly, they'll have a doorman checking ID's on those days (don't give him a hard time, says Wayne).

April activities: Heavy Seas Letter of Marque release, Pints & Pancakes breakfast (something like this), Opening Day, Allagash Night (April 21st, we assume?), the 8th Anniversary party and Mahaffey's 'National IPA Month' celebration all month.

-- Its Thursday, which means discounted Belgian beers at Kooper's Tavern in Fells Point.

-- Brewers Art's latest entry in their Zodiac Pale Ale series is out, called Pisces 2 made with Slovenian Celeia hops. Sounds very, very interesting! I've also seen the Sublimation in at least one spot around town (Hamilton Tavern).

-- Now on tap at the elegant and esteemed Woodberry Kitchen: Flying Dog Imperial Gonzo Porter, Smuttynose Robust Porter, Evolution ESB, Victory All Malt Limited Lager, Brooklyn Pilsner, Allagash Belgium White ...as always, Anchor Steam. Be sure to check out their revamped website, pretty cool. Man I need to get back over there soon (and check out Alonso's nearby).

-- DuClaw has released its Celtic Fury Irish Stout this week, in events for both yesterday and today. Look through DuClaw's release calendar I see some beers I haven't heard of set for release, looks to be an exciting year. I wonder what Valkyr and Pax Nemesis are?

-- Heavy Seas Real Ale & BBQ Fest, focusing heavily on cask beer, will be held Saturday April 2nd from noon to 4 PM. Tickets are $49. For the first time ever they'll offer their Loose Cannon in wood casks. Something called 'Little DIPA' and eight other real ales will be available.

Also, the Heavy Seas Letter of Marque release party (via Beer In Baltimore/Alexander Mitchell) will be 5-7 PM on Thursday April 1st outside of Mahaffey's as part of a block party. The LoM winner this year is a Hop Rye Porter. That is going to be a busy day going up against the next Flying Dog Bitch Session (with debut of special one-off secret beer and two firkins at Frisco Grille).

-- Ruddy Duck's first 'Irish Stout' is now on tap.

-- Now on tap at Gilly's: Flying Dog Garde Dog, Sierra Nevada Glissade, Dogfish Head Chicory Stout and Newcastle.

-- For those seeking out bottles of Stillwater's debut release, Stateside Saison, Honeygo Wines reports the arrival of two cases of the good stuff. It won't last long.

-- Oh my: Privateer Day 2010 is almost here, surely a signal we're nearing perfect Fells Point on a warm day weather. The pirate madness will be on Friday April 9th and Saturday April 10th.

-- One of my favorite warm, sunny day places in Baltimore is Blue Hill Tavern with its big windows and neat patio over at Brewer's Hill/Canton. They've just added a new happy hour from Monday-Friday (4-7 PM) and Sunday all day with $3 bottles and $4 drafts. They occasionally have something interesting from Magic Hat and a few other good beers.

-- Birch & Barley's Greg Engert has been named one of the Sommeliers of the Year by Food and Wine Magazine. Its nice to see beer sommeliers, as tacky as the title is, getting recognition alongside wine.

-- Whodat?

Frisco Grille 2.0

Several pics of Frisco Grille's tentative floor plan shown to customers by owner Adam Carton. There will be a longer, more spacious bar with an interesting presentation area bisecting it.

The dining area will be about the same size but set a little bit further from the bar. Overall more spacious and open with plenty of parking at the side and an easier to find location along Dobbin road.

One more cool feature: an in-house brewing facility adjacent to the entrance. That has potential, no?

Beer Notes

Happy Monday

-- Frisco Grille has its March events schedule up -- pint nights with Harpoon, Guinness/Smithwicks, Evolution and Stillwater Brewing. The next two Firkin Thursdays are also lined up with two exciting options: Stillwater Stateside Saison w/American hops on the 11th and Weyerbacher's Hops Infusion on the 18th.

Additionally, the background for the calendar this month is a Google Map showing the path of their eventual move down Dobbin Road. Just follow the red arrow.

-- Wayne Mahaffey, the eccentric owner of Mahaffey's in Canton, has released a video showing off his neat bar in an effort to win a Bahamas vacation from WBAL.



-- Victoria Gastro Pub is having a big St. Patrick's Day with music, door prizes, food and beer specials. They'll open at 9 AM (normally 11 AM open) and offer $2 guinness 12oz pours from the first keg at open. On the menu there will be their interpretations of Irish Breakfast, Smithwick's braised corned beef & cabbage and Guinness pie.

The cool beer hook is that most of their 24 taps will feature Irish or Irish themed beers -- Murphy's Stout, Murphy's Red, Guinness, Harp, Smithwick's, O'Hara's Stout, O'Hara's Irish Red are the ones we know but also mixed in are craft offerings like Oliver's Black Friar Stout, Harpoon Celtic Ale, North Coast Old #38 Irish Stout, Rogue Kell's Irish Lager, Victory Donnybrook Irish Stout, Wexford Irish Cream Ale and more.

--Other Victoria Gastro Pub notes:

This Monday they will have a firkin of Troeg's delicious Nugget Nectar on the bar starting at 5 PM.

The next two beer dinners will be on Tuesday March 9th (Unibroue) and Wednesday April 14th (Rogue)

On Wednesday April 21st Allagash's Rob Todd will on hand as part of the 'Meet the Maker' event from noon-3 PM.

I'll have to recheck with Alex on this one but there will be a Dogfish Head event at Victoria on or around April 26th that will feature 12-14 Dogfish Head offerings.

-- The next Beer Club event at Lures in Crownsville will feature Flying Dog on Tuesday March 9th at 6 PM.

-- Both Heavy Seas Beer and Clutch Sports Lounge have revamped their websites.

-- Check out Heavy Seas Beer's new YouTube channel. Up right now is their brewery tour, in four parts. It is pretty much word-for-word how my tour went a year ago. Owner Hugh Sisson obviously has done a few of those over the years to have it so well rehearsed. Its pretty darn cool that he is the host for most of those.

And enjoy this interview with Heavy Seas founder High Sisson that has interesting insight into the direction of the company over the years.

-- BeerInBaltimore.com (Brad), clearly looking past this snowy and cold winter, asks if its possible for a year-round good beer bar in Ocean City, Maryland. Something like this but you know, at the beach.

We don’t know about you, but the whole appeal of Ocean City is being able to go out and night and not worry about driving afterwards. Lots of public transportation options (bus, cab, etc.) and even more fun – walking back to the hotel!

-- Beer In Baltimore (Alexander) reports that the historic Stegmaier brand may be making its way to Maryland via Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In an unusual twist they're producing something other than your father's yellow, pilsner-like brew -- think IPA and pale ale.

-- Sad news out of Flying Dog: the Kerberos tripel is officially gone. Flying Dog is blowing up and has been for a while now and is having to juggle huge production demands. The price of growth right now has meant the end of Kerberos but also the permanence of Raging Bitch and a new crop of one-offs like the Coffee Stout and something else coming soon on the horizon.

And, by horizon, we mean very early April. Flying Dog's next 'Bitch Session' in Maryland will be at Columbia's Frisco Grille on Thursday April 1st (no joke!). Early plans call for several Flying Dog beers, possibly multiple firkins, and the debut of a special one-off beer.

You can also check out Flying Dog at Lures in Crownsville's next Beer Club event Tuesday night at 6 PM. They'll have limited edition Flying Dog Dog Schwartz and limited run vintage Horn Dog Barleywine to go with Double Dog and Raging Bitch Belgian IPA.

Meanwhile, Flying Dog is ramping up production of the heavily in-demand Raging Bitch.

-- Pratt Street Ale House is gearing up to make its Cherry Blossom Ale once its delivery of 630 pounds of pureed dark sweet cherries arrives. Yum!

-- Also joining the Cherry Blossom Festival beer festivities is DC's District Chophouse, which recently brewed its Cherry Wheat, with 294 pounds of cherries in 8 barrels, at over a pound per gallon.

-- Join the World Beer Club for free on Tuesdays at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis. Sample 100 beers from around the world and come away with your name on a plaque, an engraved pewter mug, t-shirt, and draft beer specials thereafter.

-- An index of some intriguing St. Patrick's Day events

-- Laurel Park is hosting its own St. Patrick's Day event, but on Saturday the 13th instead. It will feature 'traditional Irish fare and roast pig'. More info here.

-- Calendar stuff:

Heavy Seas Real Ale & BBQ Festival March 27th
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Fest in Timonium, April 9th-10th

-- The Baltimore Sun writes about popcorn going gourmet and mentions the truffle parmesan popcorn at Victoria Gastro Pub. That is my go-to late night snack there (available after 10 PM), absolutely addicting without overpowering the beer.

-- More on that proposed beer tax increase. Any establishment owners, reps, vendors, distributors etc. reading this care to comment on how it will affect business?

But groups who oppose the alcohol tax increase said a dime a drink is deceiving, that when measured by the gallon it's a large increase and a financial burden they don't feel they should have to bear.

"On beer the tax is currently is 9 cents a gallon," said Peter Frank, who owns Talbert's Ice and Beverage Service in Bethesda. "It will go up to $1.16 a gallon. That's an increase of 1,189 percent."

-- Check out local beer blog Carpe Cervisia, who I met during the Bishop's Indulgence release event at Pratt Street Ale House.

Stillwater Artisinal Ales Launches In Maryland

Slightly belated, well-reported news already but I wanted to add my thoughts. Its a shame to see Clay Pipe Brewing potentially moving on, but in that weird balancing act of nature as one creature departs an environment another often moves in.

Such is the case with Stillwater Artisinal Ales, masterfully brewed by owner Brian Strumke. I've spoken with Brian a handful of times now and he's a humble, hopeful person. Given that, its no surprise the strength of his relationships in the Maryland beer community and elsewhere. It seems everyone in town knows him, and is happy to say a good word about his new venture and his ales.

Having finally gotten a taste at Max's (pictures part I and part II), I see now why everyone raves. Right now most everything I've seen is in the Belgian style -- thank you Brian for putting forth a fantastic effort in the underutilized Saison market -- but its called Artisinal Ales for a reason. These are well crafted offerings that over time should certainly span a great range of style.

The first such commercially available ale, Stateside Saison, makes clear the mission. It nods to classic construction with 'the finest European malts' but strikes out for a bolder, unique taste with 'fresh aromatic hops from the United States and New Zealand'.

It looks beautiful and drinks sublime, with a certain zest, something sorta peach-y -- Stillwater's website suggests passionfruit -- and still very much in the farmhouse ale genre.

If most of what comes next from Stillwater is as well crafted and plain old tasty as what I've tried so far, we've got yet another excellent brewer in our midst.

For more background there's the Baltimore Sun writeup, Maryland's own Belgian Beer specialist Chuck Cook's writeup, Bella Online and BeerInBaltimore.com as well as Stillwater's blog and Twitter account.

Stillwater Artisinal Ales I

1) Stillwater Artisinal Ales brewer and owner Brian Strumke (aka Stillwater) at the Stillwater Artisinal Ales debut event at Max's during Belgian Beer Week. The firkin of his oh so delicious Stateside Saison in the background and a glass of it in the foreground

2) Brian pouring one of his other non-production offerings. He brought several wild ales to the event, I had a taste of one or two and they were spectacular. Brian is an extremely talented brewer.

3) Something funky, and good!

Stillwater Artisinal Ales II

1) The Stateside Saison, Stillwater's first commercial release, up close. Beautiful.

2) Some of Stillwater's other offerings

3) The man of the hour cracks open another of his wild offerings with everyone looking on

4) Picture time: Stillwater Artisinal Ales brewmaster Brian Strumke poses with the firkin of his fantastic first commercial release: Stateside Saison