DC Craft Beer Festival ~ November 22

CC BY-NC-ND image by Rick Chung via Flickr

Well, hello, what's this? A Winter Harvest craft beer festival in DC on November 22? That definitely sounds Worth It.

Heavy Seas Chili & Cheese Fest, 2014

Yes, I'm well aware I've been all about the events recently, but they're worth the sharing. Especially this one.

I had the immense pleasure of attending the Heavy Seas Chili & Cheese Fest last year, and it was excellent fun. There were over 20 different chilis available for tasting from local restaurants, as well as a varied selection of odd cheeses and sweet confections. Of course, there was plenty of beer, including one-off cask ales. There was no negative to this event. Period.

It's happening again on November 8, 2014, so you should totally go.

Das Best OkoberFest is, uh, a-brewing

I've not yet made it to this event, but perhaps this year I will. And maybe you as well!

It's on Saturday, October 11, 2014, at M&T Bank Stadium. More info and tickets here.

Baltimore Beer Week 2011

CC BY-NC-SA image from cizauskas via Flickr

I shall not regale you with flowery prose, for there is no time - today marks the start of Baltimore Beer Week, which is running from October 6 - October 16, 2011. The list of over 300 events is here, so go, drink, and be merry!

If you need any further convincing, here is a preview from WJZ TV:

American Craft Beer Week 2011

American Craft Beer Week starts in two short days, featuring over 500 events across the United States, with 25 of those being in the Baltimore area. I'd say more, but really - just find an event near you, raise a pint, and join in the celebration of the glorious craft beer revolution! Huzzah!

only 3 short months until American Craft Beer Week

American Craft Beer Week for 2011 isn't until May, but that doesn't mean we can't drool in anticipation of the events ahead. This well produced (and a tad inspirational) video touches on the importance of craft brewing in philosophy, fun, and American life.



Bring it on, May. I'm thirsty.

a fortnight of food in Howard County

SWC Employees Enjoy a Happy Hour at Ram's Head Tavern, cc by-nc-sa image via blunck2 on Flickr

If I were Grand Thane of Howard County (which could benefit immensely from having a Grand Thane, mind you), I would christen the uncomfortably-monikered Howard County Restaurant Weeks to the more awesome and precise Howard County Restaurant Fortnight. I'd leave the food the same, though. Grand Thane Cmar needs to get his food and drink on, and during the next two weeks, it shall be done.

gustatory libation ahead for 2011

Hang Loose Cask (02), cc by-nc-sa image from cizauscas on Flickr

The Trigger Agency is once again bringing a host of touring brew and beverage events to the Baltimore area this year. Mark your calendars, baby:

• The Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival will be hitting the Timonium Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD on April 1 and 2.
  

• The Great Grapes! Wine, Art, and Food Festival will be taking place at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, MD on June 11 and 12.
  

• The Maryland Brewers' Oktoberfest will be happening at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD on October 8.
  

Heavy Seas Brewery has also listed it's excellent roster of events for the upcoming year, all being hosted at the brewery itself:

• The Heavy Seas Oyster and Beer Festival is on February 5.
  

• The Heavy Seas Real Ale and BBQ Fest will be on March 26.
  

• The Heavy Seas Beer and Bacon Fest is scheduled for September 17.
  

• The Heavy Seas Chili and Cheese Fest is on November 12.
  

Let the gustation and libation of 2011 commence!

navigating Baltimore Beer Week

To say that there's a lot going on during the 10 sweet days of Baltimore Beer Week that are about to start this Thursday is, as they say, an understatement. To that end, the folks behind the celebration have come up with a couple of excellent ways to help attendees navigate through the 335 (as of today) events.

The first is the smartphone-optimized website at http://mobile.bbweek.com. Not only has this condensed the event listings into an easy to query mobile database, but also promises to have real-time Twitter and photo integration.

Even more useful is the promised limited-edition passport. From the website:

This year, Baltimore Beer Week (BBW) is debuting a limited edition Beer Passport - a comprehensive guide to all beer-centric venues participating in BBW 2010. The Official Baltimore Beer Week Passport is designed as a keepsake; it will help you geographically locate BBW venues throughout the State of Maryland and provide vital contact information for these participating establishments. The interior pages can be used for note taking, autographs from your favorite beer celebrities, and more…

…so get your Beer Week Passport and use it to chronicle your journey while "Celebrating all Things Beer in the Land of Pleasant Living"!

There will be only 1500 BBW Passports produced this year. All attendees of the Baltimore Beer Week Opening Tap Celebration will receive a FREE Passport at the event. Additional Passports will be sold at select events throughout Baltimore Beer Week for a nominal price of $3.00 (Yes, Three Dollars!), wherever Baltimore Beer Week schwag is sold.

If you would like more information on how to obtain your own passport, please email your request here.

The Beer Passport is the Official Travel Voucher of Baltimore Beer Week 2010. Never leave home without it.

As of this writing, the Opening Tap Celebration is over 90% sold out, so if you are interested at all in attending this Thursday, be sure to get your tickets now.

Oktoberfest wanes

I have returned from Oz, and have tasted true Australian beer! No, you ninnie, not this foul tripe. Beverage notes from the trip will be bubbling up over the coming days.

Oktoberfest, cc by-nc-sa image from Joachim S. Mueller on Flickr

The only sad part of taking much of September off is missing out on many of the Oktoberfest activities in the area. Fortunately, we're still in the tail end of that sacred rite, and so there are plenty of celebrations to be had.

To this end, Charm City's local beverage and food purveyors have banded together to create Baltimore Beer Week, which runs from October 7th through the 17th. At present, there are a staggering 333 events (halfway to the beast! yay!) officially going on during those 10 days, with more being added daily. Go here for a full searchable list of the goings-on. Some of the featured events include:

The Opening Tap Celebration, at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on October 7 - The highlight of this event will be the celebrity tapping of the First Firkin provided by our Flagship Sponsor. This special firkin of Heavy Seas Loose Cannon will be the same recipe which won the 2010 Great British Beer Fest CAMRA award. Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes will swing the 'Star Spangled Banger' to tap this first cask of beer. Don't miss this unique opportunity to meet founders, brewers, pub owners and pioneers of the craft beer movement. Enjoy beer tastings from our sponsors, including hard to find beers and special releases, all served in a keepsake commemorative glass. Attendees will also receive a special Baltimore Beer Week Passport. Appetizers provided by Mother's of Federal Hill.

Maryland Oktoberfest, at the Timonium Fairgrounds on October 9 - Great Maryland brewed beer, a homebrew contest, Beer Belly contest, German food, live music... The biggest & best local beer fest of the year - MD Oktoberfest brought to you by the Brewer's Assoc of MD.

a beer luncheon on the history of Baltimore brew, at Bertha's on October 11 - Please join guest panelists Rob Kasper- long time Baltimore Sun columnist, Tom Cizauskas- Yours For Good Fermentables blogger (and former brewer at Oxford Brewing Company), Brad Klipner- award winning blogger at BeerInBaltimore.com and Sam Sessa – Baltimore Sun’s Midnight Sun columnist as they regal the malty past and hoppy future of brewing in "The Land of Pleasant Living". Luncheon Menu will be served family style. Meal includes 4 beer samplings (Bertha’s Best Bitter (on hand pump) and Victory Hop Devil IPA will be featured). Program is a three part series.

Blues and Brews Festival, at 8x10 on October 15 - The Blues and Brews Festival features a rare Baltimore Appearance of Guitar Blues Legend Bobby Parker, The horn-based Big Daddy Stallings and the Door Blowin' Blues sounds of Black Falls. Get your Tickets Early at the 8x10 Box Office, Ticketmaster or through the groups. Heavy Seas will be sponsoring this huge Beer Week Featured Event with special Heavy Seas Beers priced right all night long!

The 7th Annual Chesapeake Real Ale Festival, at the Pratt Street Ale House on October 16 - Get firked-up with over 40 firkins of the finest real ale, at the SPBW Chesapeake Real Ale Festival! Get a souvenir mug and unlimited sampling for only $35 per person when purchased in advance ($45 at door).

The Inaugural Baltimore Beer Festival, at 3100 Boston Street on October 17 - The very first Baltimore Beer Festival is taking place at the Waterfront Park in Canton on Boston Street. This setting promises to offer Baltimore and Regional beer lovers an opportunity to partake in an event like no other ever held in this area. With an anticipated participation of over 25 local, regional and international breweries, great live entertainment and some of the area’s best local restaurants, attendees will experience an event they will not soon forget. This anchor event to the exciting Baltimore Beer Week festivities will provide beer revelers the opportunity to enjoy unlimited sampling of more than 50 beers and at the same time helping local charities such as the Police Emerald Society and Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Baltimore. There will be a homebrewers tent, live music by Donegal Xpress, Caffiene, and Dirt. The Ravens game will be shown on a big screen during the festival.

I... may have picked the wrong time to go on vacation. Or not.

• Baltimore Beer Week's main website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page

Heavy Seas Oyster Fest - Rescheduled

Due to the impressive weekend snow, Clipper City has rescheduled the Heavy Seas Oyster Fest from today to next Saturday, February 13, from 12-4. They point out that this may result in ticket availability, so check out their informational post if you don't have tickets and want to attend. While this brings it into conflict with my obligations at Farpoint, and means I won't be able to make it, I highly recommend the event - Clipper City gatherings at their brewery are excellent, and not to be missed!

Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week

Apparently, 'tis the season for restaurant weeks, as the Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week starts today. From the site:

The most delicious week of the winter is back, as Baltimore’s restaurants offer special three-course menus for Restaurant Week. At select restaurants, enjoy a variety of three-course dinners, in just about any cuisine that strikes your fancy, for only $35.10! Or try three-course lunches at select restaurants for just $20.10.

It's running through February 7 (again, I ponder the mystery of how 14 days can be marketed as a week... sorry, poor fortnight, but someday the public will remember your terminologic awesomeness), and a full list of restaurants and other details can be found here, and are calendared below.

Howard County Restaurant Weeks

Starting this Monday, Howard County is having their awkwardly-named "winter restaurant weeks" (next time, people, go with "restaurant fortnight"). From their site:

January 18 to January 31, 2010
Menus range from $10.10 to $40.10

This winter, Howard County's top chef's are serving up savings and local dining experiences with an international twist. With 25+ participating restaurants, it will be easy to visit your favorite restaurants and try new ones too, all at great prices!

Indulge in the best French, Italian, Latin, Asian, Eclectic, Continental and English pub fare at fabulous prix fixe chef’s menus from $10.10 to $40.10.

The participating restaurant list is impressive, and can be found here. I'm particularly impressed that they've included a compilation of farms and other local food and beverage resources to support.

Dammit, just as I was getting back into the groove of eating at home more for the new year... I guess that can wait until February. ;)

more gustatory libation in 2010

As 2009 is about to end in less than 12 hours, it is only fitting to look ahead to some upcoming venues for acquiring tasty victuals and excellent libations in the coming year. In addition to the Heavy Seas Oyster Fest as previously noted, the following larger scale food and beveraging events have been announced by the Trigger Agency for 2010. Although many of the below events will be touring to several sites in Maryland, DC, Virginia, and North Carolina, I'm listing the stops local to Baltimore here. More details can be found at their respective sites (which have not been completely updated for the new year quite yet):

• The Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival will be hitting the Timonium Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD on April 9 and 10.
  

• The Great Grapes! Wine, Art, and Food Festival will be taking place at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, MD on June 12 and 13.
  

• The Maryland Brewers' Oktoberfest will be happening at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD on October 9.
  

• The Chesapeake Oyster and Beer Festival will go down at the Timonium 4-H Building in Timonium, MD on November 20.

I look forward to stopping by at least some of these in the coming year (fingers crossed). To better keep track of these upcoming festivals, I've started an events calendar at the bottom of this site. Please feel free to let me know of any Baltimore-local events worthy of being added.

Harpoon Brewery chat today

Todd Charbonneau, head brewer at Harpoon, is hosting an all-day live chat today from the brewery floor until 19:00 EST. The details:

Have you ever wondered what a day on the job is like for the Head Brewer of your favorite craft brewery? Then today, my Friend, is your lucky day! Harpoon's Boston Head Brewer Todd Charbonneau will be hosting a marathon live chat all day today, straight from the brewery floor. Todd will lead you through a day in the life of a Harpoon brewer as the brewing magic unfolds. And, as it so happens, we will be brewing our flagship beer, Harpoon IPA.

Got a question? No problem! Todd will be answering your questions all day. Your beer and brewing-related questions, that is.

So drop in on the live chat any time between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM today to be our special "shadow" brewer for the day!

I'll unfortunately miss out on this due to that whole "work" thing, but Harpoon is a brewery that is doing some cool things in terms of products and events, so I recommend checking it out.

Beer & Bacon Post Mortem

Beer and Bacon
Originally uploaded by DocOperon

The Heavy Seas Beer & Bacon Festival last weekend was quite the worthy experience, even if work obligations earlier in the day meant that Laura and I could only visit for a short (and late) lunch.

I was able to sample my favorite of Clipper City's offerings, Loose Cannon (an IPA I'd compare favorably to Stone Brewery's Ruination or Dogfish Head's 90 Minute), as well as their Pale Ale (a quite solid British style), Gold Ale (very solid American style), and Prosit (an "Imperial Lager" of the new Mutiny Fleet line). The list of various eateries offering bacon foodstuffs was impressive, although most of them didn't quite live up to the epic-level bacon tastiness I had envisioned. The clear best of these was the station serving up a rotating selection of different bacon, as pictured above.

All in all, a good time. Hopefully, the sold-out success of this event will spur Clipper City to host more like it in the future.

The Heavy Seas Beer & Bacon Festival

This coming Saturday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and to celebrate, Clipper City Brewery is holding an event, much like last year. This time around, they have billed it as The Heavy Seas Beer and Bacon Festival. Behold the glorious details from a recent email:

The Heavy Seas Beer & Bacon Festival
September 19th
Noon - 4pm
...at the Brewery

15+ Bacons, 10+ Beers, 10+ Restaurants, Live Music From Dirty Secret and More! Baltimore's Best Brewery and Over 10 of its Finest Restaurants have convened to salute nature's greatest food: Bacon!

Tickets are only $40 and include ALL-YOU-CARE-TO-TASTE beer and fabulous bacon.

Just a sampling of what you can expect…
Bottomless samples of Heavy Seas favorites and some special new brews made up for the occasion.
Special "Treasure" For Anyone Who Dresses as a Pirate - since it is National Talk Like A Pirate Day.
15+ Different Bacons From All Over The World.

RESTAURANTS AND FOOD STATIONS CONFIRMED WITH MANY MORE TO BE ADDED:

Abercrombie Restaurant and Lounge - Bacon Donuts
Alonzo’s – Bacon Explosion / Cocoa Crisps
Bacon Salt
Bad Decisions
Captain Thom’s – Cannon Fire Cornbread & Butt Blaster Baked Beans
Crazy Lil’s – Bacon Mac & Cheese
Ciao Bella
Vande Farms Meats
Squealin’ Sauce – Piggy Candy
Sweet Cascade’s – Bacon and Chocolate

...more coming soon!

Despite being trip booked with work and social activities this weekend, I will be making time to attend. Tickets are limited, and more information about the event and ticket availability can be found here. It's the best beer in Baltimore and tasty swineflesh... for all that is good and pirate-y, you must go.

From the Dregs of the Sea to the Dregs of Oktoberfest

And so it came to pass that the International Talk Like A Pirate Day event at the Clipper City Brewery was attended, and ended up being quite good.

• The front office area contained a small but well-stocked bar serving all of their main brews, including the just-in-season Winter Storm. The stated requirement to be served this latter brew was to wear "pirate garb," for which patrons were screened by the serving wench. Due to time constraints and a broken toe, I chose not to come in costume, and instead wore a Pirates of the Caribbean shirt. Sadly, this didn't pass muster. However, everyone did receive an eyepatch at the door, which did count... when worn properly and uttering an appropriate piratical phrase.

• The back warehouse was set up with taps, tables, not too ridiculously priced brisket and sausage-based food. Portable latrines were set up on the back loading platform, leading to it being affectionately referred to as... wait for it... the "poop deck." Pirate filk band The Salty Dogs, as well as founder Hugh Sisson, made the rounds and encouraged the joviality. The event was advertised as having an upper limit of 200 people, and it appears that roughly that number were in attendance, many of whom had a nigh-Rennfest level of detail to there costumery.

• My and Laura’s evening was most pleasantly spent with Tom, Carrie, and Greg. Plans were made on how to appropriate NASA technology to suck a stack of cases of Loose Cannon back to our respective homes, but sadly the time and engineering constraints were too much to overcome.

• Overall, I’d call this a success, especially given the Heavy Seas pint glass I walked away with. On the basis of this, I definitely will make time for future Clipper City on-site events.

I am currently in Munich, taking a week of vacation while Laura is at a JWST conference. Sadly (or perhaps not), we have missed Oktoberfest’s official ending by a week. I suspect there may still be some beer left in this country, however...

Talking Like a Pirate Tonight in the Clipper City

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day, and to celebrate, the local Clipper City Brewery is having an event this evening from 19:00 - 22:00 EST that will include food, beer tasting, and live music. Laura and I will be stopping by, both because it sounds like fun, and I'm quite the fan of their Heavy Seas line of beers.

If you are near the Baltimore area at all this evening, I encourage you to check it out. Details are here.

Harpoon Tasting at the Perfect Pour - 09.12.08

As previously mentioned, I was recently turned on the The Perfect Pour (by Melanie, to whom I owe great thanks!), a new local beer and wine establishment. It is my new Beer Mecca (TM cmdln). They have, hands down, the best selection of domestic and international microbrews that I have seen yet, at the very least in my area. Another pleasant discovery is that they host regular beer samplings.

Tonight I stopped by for the Harpoon beer tasting. I had the pleasure of chatting with Nick from Harpoon about their current and upcoming offerings, as well as tasting the following brews, none of which I have had previously:

• UFO (UnFiltered Offering) Hefeweizen - A solid example of hefeweizen style, and worthy future exploration.
  
• Octoberfest - I'm not a big fan of the Marzen/Octoberfest lager style, and this struck me as being par for the course, but quite drinkable.
  
• IPA - Very good, and compared favorably to similar brews like the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Then again, I am biased towards this style. :)
  

The conversation was as good as the beer, and I was interested to hear of Harpoon's upcoming Leviathan Series. The Triticus, a 14.3% wheat-wine ale aged in bourbon casks, sounds particularly intriguing, and will be the first release under that label.

I ended up walking away with a six-pack of the IPA and a Harpoon IPA pint glass, which made for a lovely cap on the event. I plan on attending other tastings there, a schedule of which can be found on The Perfect Pour's website.