Max's 10th Annual Belgian Beer Fest

Just a quick heads up. The festival this year will run from 2/14 to 2/17.

SPECIAL RELEASES EACH DAY, OVER 160 BELGIAN BEERS ON DRAFT, OVER 200 BELGIAN BEERS IN BOTTLES AND A FULL BELGIAN INSPIRED FOOD MENU. The 17th will be 2nd annual Sour/Wild ale day, with OVER 30 SOUR/WILD ALES ON DRAFT AND OVER 40 SOUR/WILD ALES IN BOTTLES. 95% WILL BE FROM THE UNITED STATES.


Just wish they would stop scheduling this over Valentine's Day every year... :-)

 

Oh boy. Ok, in the interest of dispelling any rumors or exaggerations...

As DeutschesBier mentioned, the line on Friday can be very long and intimidating, as can the crowd on Saturday. He's also right that after the first couple of hours on Friday, things seem to calm down a bit, after the initial crush. In any event, if you do want to get a seat right at opening bell, I think it's fair to say that you'll need to arrive at least a MINIMUM of an hour in advance. Even then, expect that there will likely be close to 100 people in front of you. In the past, there was some value in arriving right at opening bell, as certain extremely rare beers would often kick by 1:00 in the afternoon. However, the selection now is just so huge, and Casey gets in so much stuff, that I feel like this is less of a concern. So it makes sense to come later in the afternoon on Friday and avoid the initial crush (as it can often be rather cold and windy waiting outside the bar in February).

Saturday is traditionally the most heavily crowded day, though even on Saturday there are occasional lulls. Still, those lulls are relatively brief and unpredictable, and you can also expect the worst of the frat boy mentality that often pemeates Max's on weekend evenings and Fells Point festivals. I've all but given up going on Saturday, as I just don't feel like dealing with the crowds, prolonged waits in line during peak hours (the staff limit the number of people who can be in the bar at any one time, and so there are times when the wait to get inside can be fairly lengthy), and the level of drunkeness you'll often see on Saturday. However, I'm an older guy, and so what I find offensive, many others may find exciting and entertaining.

It used to be that Sunday was the best day to go, as many of the more popular beers would be gone and Max's would be virtually empty. That's no longer the case; the tap selection is pretty outstanding right through Sunday, with new beers tapped every day of the event. Still, if you want to avoid the mass of humanity you'll likely encounter most of Friday and Saturday, my advice is to go on Sunday.

One last addage... weather is often a factor when it comes to the size of the crowd for this event. I think the event coincided with the "snowmaggedon" storm several years back, and so Max's was virtually empty for much of the weekend. Most of the time it's not an issue, but it IS February in Baltimore, and so there's always a chance for inclement weather.

I'm hoping to attend Friday and Sunday, and am still mulling over Saturday. Still plenty of time to plan at this point...

 

Despite the snow and largely impassable roads in Fells Point during "snowmaggedon," I still went to the event that first Friday (after first calling Max's to make sure they were open). I asked Casey if he'd given any thought to cancelling or postponing the event (there were less than 20 people in the bar when I got there around 11:30 AM), and he indicated that that really wasn't an option. He noted that they plan the staffing and menu months in advance, and that it therefore really wasn't practical for them to make any last minute changes in the schedule. I suppose if the weather was so bad that employees couldn't get to the bar, or if the power was out for an interminable and unpredictable amount of time, they might have to cancel at least part of the event, but otherwise I believe the event is slated to go on, regardless of the weather.