two new Balto-DC beer destinations

While I haven't made time to hit all the excellent brewpubs in the Baltimore-DC corridor, that can't stop my glee (yes - unadulterated glee, I tell you) at discovering two new tap sites in the area:

The Biergarten Haus promises to be the District's first traditional beer garden. In addition to a solid lineup of German brews, the Haus promises expansive indoor and outdoor seating, as well as mounted ram's head... because one cannot drink German unless it is in the presence of a beheaded, glassy-eyed ruminant. The official grand opening was slated for May 14, but this appears to have been put on hold for a couple of weeks. Once it does, I sense a field trip to DC in my future.

Biergarten Haus, cc by-sa image by jsmjr on Flickr

A bit closer to me will be De Kleine Duivel, which is slated to open next month in the Hampden area of Baltimore. From their Facebook page:

"A Classic Belgian Brasserie" Featuring a large selection of Belgian beers, boutique wines & spirits, and a select menu of classic Flemish-French dishes, all served in an Art Nouveau inspired setting.

Reports are that they aim to have 10-12 brews on tap, and another 30 in bottles. All will be imported from Belgium, with not a "Belgian-style" American beer on the premises.

Ex-cellent... *rubs hands together maniacally*

[a tip o' the hat to the always-excellent Beer in Baltimore for reporting on these two establishments]

Robot Brewery Tour

I'll let Dogfish Head's site speak for itself on this one:

'Robot Brewery Tour,' a short film starring Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione and actor/musician Will Oldham premiered at the 2010 Off-Centered Film Fest at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas on Saturday, April 17th.

This film stars the musician and actor Will Oldham as a reporter and brewery founder Sam Calagione as a robot. It's a brewery tour film wrapped around a dystopian vision of a near future in which robots have taken over Dogfish Head and reduced our diverse and colorful American craft brewing landscape to a monochromatic world of a single commoditized generic beer. Scary stuff!

This story almost came to life here in the U.S. during the 1970s until small, independent craft breweries, like Dogfish Head and so many others, revitalized the domestic beer scene.

Will Oldham is a Kentucky-based singer, musician and actor who has performed under a few variations of the Palace name, including Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, Palace Music, and simply Palace. He is currently touring under the Bonnie Prince Billy moniker and has performed at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats at least twice in the past decade - most recently in April of 2010 when 'Robot Brewery Tour' was shot on location at Dogfish's Milton, Delaware brewery. Want to read more about Will? Check out this article from The New Yorker.

Brilliant satire? Scathing social commentary? Or just mildly amusing buffoonery? You be the judge:

Farpoint 2010 Libations

This year's Farpoint saw the same impressive libation list as last year. At our traditional Saturday night dinner, I took the chance to tray a few things I didn't get to last time around.

• Klingon Disruptor: Jim Beam, Patron Tequila, cinnamon schnapps - The table speculated that based on the drink's name, it might be a massive person in full Klingon garb with a keen interest in sudden proctology. For my sake, this turned out not to be the case. This ended up being a good mix of flavors, but slightly disappointing - the cinnamon schapps clearly dominated the flavor profile, with the tequila being notable beneath, and any bourbon contribution being lost in the shuffle. It's not something I'd immediately come back to.

• Vulcan Mind Meld: 1 part ouzo, 1 part rum (151 proof) - This is a brilliant mix, and obviously not for the unwary. While it packs the alcoholic punch you'd expect, the flavors are very strong and enjoyable. The anise predominates, and oddly competing citrus and rum notes fighting it out in the background. Highly recommended.

I meant to end with the Talos IV Coffee (3 parts Grand Marnier, 1 part coffee), although a "mixing incident" resulted in about 20 parts coffee instead of one. The vaguely orange-tasting caffeine held promise, however. I'll get you next time, Talos IV...

Beer Hunter: The Movie - trailer

Writer Michael Jackson was perhaps the single most important figure in the history of craft brewing. Beer Hunter, a documentary about his life and work, is set to be released later this year. From the official site:

Beer Hunter: The Movie features never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson hunting some of the great beers of Europe and the United States. Woven into the footage from interviews with leading brewers and beer enthusiasts, is the remarkable story of Michael's life, from his days as a television journalist, to his remarkable achievements and contributions to the world of craft beer and whisky, and through his secret struggle with Parkinson's Disease.

Set to release in September of 2010 in conjunction with the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, proceeds from the film will benefit the National Parkinson's Foundation.

More information about Michael and this charitable film can be found here, and the latest trailer is below:

Beer Hunter Movie Trailer from John Richards on Vimeo.

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. ;)

Dogfish Head 2010 Beer Releases

Dogfish Head has put up their scheduled beer releases for 2010:

Year Round Beers

• 90 Minute IPA
• 60 Minute IPA
• Raison D'Etre
• Indian Brown Ale
• Palo Santo Marron
• Midas Touch Golden Elixir

Seasonal Beers

• Spring:Aprihop (available in March & April)
• Summer:Festina Peche (available in June & July)
• Autumn:Punkin' Ale (available in September & October)
• Winter:Chicory Stout (available in November & December)

Occasional Rarities (limited quantites, while supplies last)

• 120 Minute IPA (released in May, August & December)
• Burton Baton (released in March, July & November)
• Red & White (released in February)
• Black & Blue (released in March)
• Squall IPA (released in March & September)
• Immort Ale (released in April)
• My Antonia (released in April & November)
• Sah'tea (released in June)
• Theobroma (released in July)
• Chateau Jiahu (released in August)
• Pangaea (released in September)
• Olde School Barleywine (released in October)
• World Wide Stout (released in November)
• Fort (released in December)

The above is also available as a full color pdf calendar. It's clear that their recent brewery expansion is paying off in terms of capacity, as they have an impressive roster of their "occasional rarities" that they intend to keep producing. While I'm mildly disappointed that the Raison D'Extra continues to be on production hiatus, the fact that the excellent Palo Santon Marron has a place on their year-round list more than makes up for that.

The one new offering this year is the My Antonia, which is a continually-hopped Imperial Pilsner with an ABV of 7.5%. A bit of history from their site:

Sam brewed My Antonia at Birra del Borgo (hope you can read Italian) outside Rome, Italy with owner/brewer Leonardo DiVencenzo in October of 2008.

My Antonia (named after the Willa Cather read), is a continually-hopped imperial pilsner. This beer was brewed and distributed by Birra del Borgo. A small quantity was sent over to the United States.

In June of 2009, Leonardo came over to Delaware and brewed our Namaste beer with us at our Rehoboth Beach brewpub. What goes around, comes around.

And... for 2010, we plan to brew and package My Anotonia for the U.S. market! The beer will be released in both April and November.

Dogfish has released several iterations of the Imperial Pilsner style over the last few years, including the (unfortunately named) Golden Shower, Golden Revolution, and Golden Era. Having sampled both the Shower and the Era in the past, I know they can nail this style well. At least there's just "a few" other quality beers to tide me over until April...

Dogfish Head Sah'tea, and a specifically raised glass

I cracked this open tonight in order to raise a glass, in spirit, with Tee.

*raises glass*

Vitals:

• Name: Dogfish Head Sah'Tea
  

• Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
  

• Style: Specialty Beer (Sahti) (Category 23, BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines)

• Alcohol: 9%

• Serving: 25.4-ounce bottle, chilled, served in a freezer-stored Harpoon IPA pint glass
  

Scoring (in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy):

• Appearance: 5 - A deep, hazy golden body, with a sudsy white head that fades to a thin lace.

• Nose: 8 - Quite complex, with fruity juniper components, a mix of spices (predominantly chai related, & ginger seemed particularly apparent), and a honey-sugary sweetness.
  

• Taste: 8 - Very similar to the scent profile. Honey and sugar notes predominate upfront, with a mixed spicy and juniper-fruity kick through the middle to the finish, which has a hint of clove. The alcohol is well-concealed.
  

• Mouthfeel: 7 - Moderate body with low to medium level of carbonation that works very well. Sweetly cloying, leading to a slight sticky aftertaste.
  

• Holistic: 8 - Very smooth and drinkable for its ABV, and an incredibly interesting mix of flavors. The aftertaste and strong flavor profile do limit how much I'd be interested in enjoying in one sitting.
  

Overall: 36 - Tee recently mentioned that this was his new favorite Dogfish Head beer, and while it doesn't eclipse my ridiculous fandom of the as-yet-unreviewed 120 Minute IPA, it comes close. I've never had a brew in the Sahti style before, and Dogfish's take on it is certainly makes it unique. I'll be definitely seeking this out as a beer for special occasions, working best with a fruit-based dessert pairing or alone. For more on the Sahti style and Dogfish's take on it, I refer you to the following:

toasting the new year with other nog creations

Happy New Year!

*raises glass*

With some nog remaining from my Irish Christmas Piracy, I decided to try the beer/eggnog combination with something suitably seasonal on the brew end. I chose Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale for this, and went with the following proportions:

• 1 part egg nog
• 3 parts beer

Although it generated a lovely layering effect with a careful pour, mixing was necessary to get the full blended taste. Unsurprisingly, it was rather good, striking me primarily as a pumpkin-spiced milkshake with mild alcohol notes. That said, the true flavor nuances of the Ale were ruined by the egg nog, making this a wasteful thing to do with a wonderfully crafted brew, and not worth repeating in the future. Using a less flavorful (and cheaper) beer, like a Guinness Stout, would likely give a similarly tasty drink and possible improve the beer involved.

Having a tiny bit of nog left, I then tried it mixed with Dogfish Head Chocolate Vodka as follows:

• 1 part egg nog
• 3 parts chocolate vodka

This make for a tasty drink, although the lack of smokey notes from a bourbon or the spice character of a rum did not elevate it to a "must try again" holiday status. In other words, when it comes to nog-based holiday drink...

The Irish Christmas Pirate wins. As well it should.