Moving to Baltimore in Feb

Don't sleep on Pratt St. Alehouse. Very good food. Good to great English-style beer. Steve is doing top notch seasonal beers as well (some barrel aged to boot). I always enjoy this place as its the only true representation of what you can find in a great UK pub. Cheers! Welcome to town.

 

Flying Dog Brewery is hour west of Baltimore and has a great tap room after the tour. Need to book your tour reservation in advance though, check out their website.

Max's is a great craft bar in Baltimore. I've been there once and my Miller High Life ordering friend got some attitude from one of the bartenders so I lost some respect for them for snobbery. Went across the street to Bertha's mussels and had a much better experience. Allagash White on tap and an old British guy working the bar provided awesome conversation. Check out the men's room at Bertha's. Coolest restroom reading material ever IMO.

 

Lots of local stuff of reasonably high quality:

Brewer's Art Ozzy Ale was excellent and very dangerously sessionable.

Heavy Seas - Loose Cannon IPA and their Marzen (are they still make it? Haven't seen in a while) are solid beers from them.

Go to the Rehobeth Beach Del. (2.5 hrs drive) and have beers and a meal at Dogfishhead. They frequently have several unreleased beers on their brew pubs taps.


If you ever do decide to drive to Philly, NJ or NY driving up I-95 near the Deleware state line in Aberdeen / Havre De Grace area is State Line Liquors. I hear its one of the greatest beer stores in the whole state of MD and just off the interstate a few blocks.

 

Did you get Victory beers out in Chico? A vast majority of BA's appreciate their beers so definitely sample them.

I'm not a big fan of Troegs overall, out of Harrisburg/Hershey PA, but their Nuggett Nectar comes out in Feb which is their most well know BA Hall of Fame seasonal brew. Better on tap IMO. Bottles have had varying taste differences noticed last year. Not sure if they'll tighten up quality control for 2014 or not.

 

Philly gets Hill Farmstead? Where?

 

Very awesome. Not sure I'd make the 3 hr trek at risk though unless I knew for certain I could get Hill Farmstead, or some others that aren't available around here (like Russian River beers...had a Pliny in So Cal over the summer and would love to get again).

Are any of these Hill Farmsteads for sale in Philly or on tap only at the bars? I would get in a lot of trouble making a 3 hr roadtrip to post up at a bar. Would require a nearby hotel/cab ride for sure.

 

Great information. Thanks for sharing.

 

I'm down in Baltimore all the time, and a key place to visit is The Wine Source in Hampden. Firstly, Hampden is a hip, artsy part of town with plenty of antique shops and such; just nice to walk around there.

The Wine Source is great because they have tons of bottles and fill growlers, and, unlike other liquor stores in Baltimore, they are open on Sundays.

 

Guess I should have said "depending on menu choice" for the food. ;-) PS--Future beer fests will likely be held at the new brewery--with lots of free parking to boot.

 

Re: Brewer's Art -

I took the train down from NY to meet my wife and kids who spent the week with her parents, and my brother- and father-in-law picked me up from the station and we drove over to The Brewer's Art, which is 4 blocks from the station.

Firstly, this is a very classy institution we're talking about here, not a dive-y brewpub. I keep kosher, so I didn't eat any of the food, but everyone was dressed nicely and seemed to be enjoying themselves. The 3 of us ordered different house beers (Ozzy, Resurrection, and La Petroleuse) while we waited for our 2 six-packs of cans (Ozzy and Resurrection - $10 each 6er). In my opinion Ozzy was the winner, but they were all good, especially as served in The Brewer's Art branded goblets. Really just a good time all around.

Appparently, all of the Brewer's Art beer on tap in the Baltimore area is brewed on premises, while the canning and bottling are done by Sly Fox in PA. Either way, it's nice to support the locals, especially since they are making a high quality product and presenting it in a classy way.

 

They have a downstairs bar that is open during the evening as well. This isn't as 'high society' as upstairs. In fact the back tables in the downstairs area are so freaking cool. One of my favorite places to go with a small group of friends and waste away an evening laughing, telling stories, and drinking beers.

 

Agreed, and if you're in Hamden, you should stop by Union Craft Brewing.

 

All of Brewers Art Cans are canned at Sly Fox in Pottstown, PA. Sly Fox Beer also just made its way down in the DC/MD/VA area a few months back so make sure you check them out as well!

 

Oh man, don't get us started, this will become a grumblethread real fast. The gossip for two years has been that MD is Founders next new territory and then Bells will follow, but that hasn't panned out. So if you want Founders, Bells or Cigar City, you drive to DC or PA.