Max's 10th Annual Belgian Beer Fest

I couldn't disagree more. I have been to Max's many times, and I know there's a frat-y contingent that tends top hang out there that wouldn't know a Faro Lambic if it landed on their face. That said, I think five years ago, only a small portion of the beer drinking public knew what a sour was. Nowadays, I think sours are consciously sought out even by drinkers who aren't as "in-the-know" as we are.

Nearly every major craft brewery is doing a sour/wild ale these days. Weyerbacher Reserva has been in production for eight years. Allagash Interlude is nine years old. The New Belgium, Goose Island, Jolly Pumpkin, Avery sours are becoming easier to get. La Folie and Lolita/Juliet/Madame Rose can all basically be bought year round now. Breweries like these don't increase supply of their sour/wild ales unless the demand is there to meet it. I think sours are very "it" right now.

I wonder if they make the sour event on a Monday because their stock of sour beers is limited and they need to ensure a little crowd control.

 

Hey Now, less than 72 hrs til 72 Hrs. Looks like I'll be digging out Fri morn. Will be there for opening bell on Fri. (having been to the first 9 I feel obligated to my inner Max to be there at opening for number 10). Will be back for full shifts on Sloppy Sunday and Sour Monday. My feeling is if the Cantillon aren't on Fri morn they may not go on til Sun. Also if you haven't tried the Het Nest Beers do yourself a favor and check 'em out. Bring a big roll of cash as the bottle list is out of control. The Oxbow Farmhouse Pale and Oxtoberfest were fantastic last year. Will be there at 10 am Sun, aye yae yae. Last year sour Monday was a blast, lots of sharing, alas I was at Pizza Boy yesterday and no sours on tap, so I won't be bringing Sour growlers from Al & Terry this year. Tried to upload a photo of the list from year one, what a difference, but I can't copy and paste it for some reason. See all you beer freaks this weekend.

 

Right now speculation is running wild, anywhere from 6 to 30 inches, what a joke. Apparently they're not sure how far inland the storm will come yet and that is the deciding factor for accumulation. Just read an update and they said they will have a better idea of storm track later this evening. Sorry for the double post, BA is being weird, now I can't seem to delete the duplicate.

 

Hey John, as you well know those sorts of things are tough to predict this far in advance - but as of right now it looks like downtown will see snowfall begin late Wednesday night and go straight through Thursday morning. Forecasts are still a bit up in the air but the high probability guess is 7-8" with the possibility of more coming down. Flights may be tough on Thursday... But for folks driving the good news is that the roads should hopefully be clear by Friday morning prior to the holiday weekend (and by holiday i mean 72 hours of belgian!)

 

The snow is expected to start Wed late and go throughout the day Thursday, however last I heard, 4-9 inches around the city. Could be more or less depending on where the rain/snow line hits.

Travel will probably be tough for people coming into town Thursday, but for anyone coming in Friday morning, I don't think it will be terrible. They've been pretty well prepared for the weather this year considering the number of times it's snowed.

Edit: Seems DRBiser snuck in the exact same info while I was typing

 

Will be in Bmore friday for a concert and was looking forward to stopping in Maxs but im not sure about it now due to the crazy lines..will i be able to walk in the door around2-3pm or will the line still be out the door?

the beer list looks amazing but i dont want to wait a hour to get in then another 30 mins to an hr for a beer

 

Hey DRBiser, digging your avatar, I just came back from Vermont with two bottles of the sour golden, haven't tried it yet tho.

I'm supposed to meet some friends at Max's that'r driving 3 hours from South New Jersey- hope they make it.

 

I got there are 3:30 last year and waited in "line" for all of 2 minutes.

 

Had to visit Bmore today and stopped by Max's, they were down to about 20 drafts already. The $3.50 bottles were killing though: Mikkeller Mosaic, LoverBeer Madamin, Brouwerij West Mor Mor, & Wild Beer M.O. These beers were all priced at $14-18 originally. Never disappointed at Max's.

 

I remember going a few years ago on a Sunday after a giant snow (20+ inches). That was awesome.
I've never been to Sour Monday before, but am hoping a lot of the Belgian drafts are still up.
How was it last year?

 

What time does it open Monday?

 

Open at 11 am Mon. I would say that what's not sour taps on Mon. will be Belgium or at least the vast majority.

 

What time will you be there Fri???

 

So, do we hope for snow or not?

 

Well it's coming either way! I feel bad for the people coming from out of town who truly want to be here for the event. The snow may keep away the people who would just be out looking for something to do, but it will also unfortunately cause some travel issues for the people who have planned to be here for some time.

Double-edged sword.

 

the website says Feb 17 (Monday) is the sour ale day. I guess that doesn't mean all sours are only being tapped on Monday? Trying to decide if I should take Monday off. I'd like to get some Cantillon on draft

 

In past years theres been plenty-o sours sprinked through the 72 hours fri/sat/sun. I"m expecting the Cantillion to be served Friday and Saturday.

Methinks the monday sour event is serving american centric offerings. The monday sour event is a nice change of pace after the 72 hours event -fruity/puckering/quality low abc% quaffs, small crowd was what I found at last years.

 

Just looking over the list again, 20 Struise drafts! Insane. Is it Friday yet? Already snowing for about an hour and a half here in S.Central PA, even still it snowed for 2 days straight before the one several years ago. No worries hon.