The Last Two Days of Baltimore Beer Week: Previews

Of course, now everybody is watching the weather after several days of glorious fall weather for the rest of Baltimore Beer Week.  It remains to be seen whether Tropical Storm Sandy (no relation) will impact the weekend's weather; we shall operate under the assumption that it won't, at least severely enough to require the battening down of hatches, emergency runs for milk/bread/eggs/toilet paper/batteries, etc. (besides, doesn't everybody still have a generator left over from the Y2K panic?).

SATURDAY THE 27TH:  40 events.  The "big one" for this week, serving as sort of the same symbolic "bookend" to the week as formerly served by the Real Ale Fest and/or the Brewers Assn. Oktoberfest, is the Annapolis Craft Beer & Music Festival at Navy/Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.  Meanwhile, back in town, Mark Supik & Co. will reprise their highly successful Tap Handle and Homebrew demonstration at their Highlandtown wood-turning plant, with door prizes donated by Raven Beer.  The day starts with several beer brunches (a couple reportedly sold out already; call first before committing); Max's Taphouse will offer a non-beer (and gluten-free) alternative with an evening mead tasting event with terrific meads from B. Nektar, and Wine Market Bistro in south Baltimore will have a beer-pairing dinner with beers from several breweries.  Hudson Street Stackhouse goes all-Belgian all weekend, while Mahaffey's nearby offers Belgian waffles to go with the Belgian beers they offer that evening.  Alewife offers its only beer dinner of the week, featuring Sierra Nevada and three local chefs.  Flying Dog sponsors a music event at the Maryland Science Center. Though not a beer event, Liam Flynn's will be hosting a weekend of Irish music concerts and dancing, featuring former Chieftains flute player Michael Turbridy--free on Saturday, small charge Sunday for the ceili (Irish dancing party).  (The Halloween Party at Union Craft Brewing has been canceled.)

SUNDAY THE 28th:  24 events.  The big events this day are the almost-sold-out Historical Pub Crawl of Brewers Hill taking in the National Brewery and Of Love & Regret (and more) in "north Canton" in the afternoon, and the midday free tours of the Wiessner/American Brewery on Gay Street.    Several places, including Mahaffey's, The Point, An Poitin Stil, and (oddly enough, Heavy Seas Brewery at the brewery!) will be offering brunch events, while others, such as Greene Turtle,  Kloby's, Alonso's and others, will bow to the Grand Poo-Bah of the NFL.  Metropolitan will close out with a Beer Can Derby (build race cars out of cans and race them on a gravity track), and Phillips Inner Harbor will host a crab feast with Evolution Craft Brewing. 

Then we all recover for another year.