03 November 2010

Brewpub Slots at Arundel Mills?

Midnight Sun's Erik Maza reports on a proposal to combine the proposed slots parlor at Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Md. (already the site of a popular DuClaw Brewing Co. outlet) with a 300-seat music venue to be operated by the Ram's Head Group, the company operating the entertainment venues in Annapolis, Crownsville, and in downtown Baltimore's Market Place.  (Voters in Anne Arundel County approved zoning for the slots yesterday by a 56-44 margin.)

Does anybody remember when these folks actually had a brewpub in Annapolis?  And a pretty decent one at that?  And before that, a pretty good downstairs beer bar?  The Baltimore location had Fordham/Rams Head beers when it opened; I would be surprised to find anything of that ilk there today, except maybe their Copperhead Ale.

(Artist's rendering of new casino complex courtesy Baltimore Sun)

4 comments:

chwi said...

Exactly how much of the Ram's Head Interest does InBev have these days?

Unknown said...

Ram's Head Live in the Inner Harbor still has several Fordham offerings (Copperhead Ale, Tavern Ale, 1 or 2 others I am forgetting) as well as Dominion Oak Barrel Stout on tap. That used to be all they had, but they added Stella Artios, Bud, etc., a few years ago - I guess after A-B/InBev got involved.

JohnM. said...

@ chwi

Maybe Alex can answer, because otherwise your guess is as good as mine.

My understanding is that the original owner of Fordham is/was also the owner of Ram's Head, but I still thought the two were separate entities. AB "acquired" Fordham in 2007, and then after that they created the coastal brewing company, which then "acquired" Old Dominion. The AB press release (for what it's worth) refers to themselves as a "minority partner," both before and after the acquisition.

Given the relationship between Fordham and Rams Head, it would figure that any "purchase" by AB would likely affect them as well. However, I still have no idea to what extent AB's purchase of Fordham gave them any rights in the Ram's Head.

Supposedly, the biggest change following the purchase of Fordham and OD was to give them access to AB's distribution network. I think they may have also installed a different brewer team, but in theory they're still using the same recipes that were used before AB became involved. Again, I'm not sure how any of this would have impacted the Ram's Head.

Alex???

Alexander D. Mitchell IV said...

The actual management and ownership is quite convoluted and complex. Also throw in the fact that the same management company owns and runs The Birchmere, the legendary Alexandria acoustic music venue turned big-time concert hall, which after it relocated was to have a brewery (Native Brewing Co.) sharing the hall. For all intents and purposes the original owner is now a music venue owner, not a brewery owner.