Baltimore DC vacation questions

Ford · Jul 3, 2013

johnmichaelsen said: ↑

Just my two cents on Max's, but...

I used to stop by Max's pretty frequently when I lived in the area, and I never had a problem when asking for a taste of something. One of the things I've always really liked about Max's, is that you can buy a sample glass of anything (no matter how rare or how limited it is). A lot of times if they had something I knew nothing about, I'd ask if I could just get a small taste of something, before deciding if I wanted to commit to a full glass or a sample size glass. Again, I never had a problem with any bartender when making such a request. That being said....

In my experience, any place can have an off day or night, no matter how great the place. I'm assuming that for whatever reason, the bartender in question was having a particularly bad day, and so for some reason was in a bad mood. That doesn't excuse what happened to Mantooth... I'm simply suggesting that what he experienced isn't typical (at least not based on my experience). Given where Max's is located (almost immediately adjacent to the water taxi pick-up in Fells Point), they get a huge influx of tourists, many of which don't know the first thing about craft beer, etc. So the staff there get all kinds of off the wall questiions, and they're trained to respond in a polite and friendly manner. I've even seen customers go off on the staff sometimes, upon learning that they couldn't bring kids in, or that there wasn't any table service (Max's has large, prominent signs advising patrons of their service policy, but for some, it just doesn't seem to resonate with some people). Again, when this happens, I've never seen the staff react in anything but a polite, professional manner. I only point this out to emphasize just how rare the experience Mantooth had is. Again, that's no excuse for what happened... I'm simply noting that this isn't common.

As for the experience Mantooth had the previous evening, unfortunately, in my experience that IS pretty typical. If you visit Max's on a Friday or Saturday evening after 7:00 or 8:00, it will likely be a madhouse, with the noise level off the charts. Consequently, I always tell visiting friends to go (and leave) early.

Shrug. There are a lot of cool places to visit while in the Baltimore area, so no need to visit Max's if you don't want to (Ford). However, they do have a stellar, often incredible beer selection, one that no place else in the city can touch. That's not to put Alewife down (or Brewer's Art, or Hudston St. Stackhouse, or Mahaffey's, etc.), which is also an excellent spot (although I think it a bit expensive, and I'm not a big fan of the location). Still, it's pretty hard to imagine visiting Baltimore without stopping by Max's. Frankly, I think you should give a try and then form your own opinion. Cheers!

(You could also read over some of the reviews of Max's. As you'll see, a lot of visitors have had a very good time there.)
Click to expand...

Good points. Don't let one bad apple spoil the bunch... or yada yada...

Baltimore DC vacation questions

Ford Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2012 Texas

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