Events This Week:

Debut of the 2009 Letter of Marque homebrew competition from Heavy Seas, Hop Rye Porter, at Mahaffey's in Canton 5 PM on Thursday the 1st.

We are partway through Cask Ale Appreciation Week in the UK.  Of course, Pratt Street Ale House is marking the occasion with a week of specials.

Judge's Bench in Ellicott City marks its third anniversary this Friday, with a firkin of Heavy Seas Big DIPA being tapped at 5 PM and $3 personal pizzas.

I think a couple other places are supposed to have firkins on Friday, including Alonso's and Muggsy's Mug House, as well as the usual weekly firkin at Metropolitan on Thursday. 

Max's Downsizes

More on the Scottish beer tastings, etc. later, but for now, just so you're not caught by surprise:

Max's Taphouse has finally begun their long-planned tap expansion project.  The bad news for now is that this takes out ALL the draft lines in the back bar, leaving only the 24 drafts along the bar plus the five cask handpumps.

Still good beer.  Just not as much of it on draft, for now.  Expect the "drought" for two weeks or so.

New Beer Shop in Salisbury

Press release in to my inbox.  The Eastern Shore in general has often been a good-beer wasteland; I remember blundering into Corrbin's, a gourmet shop with good beer, in downtown Salisbury years ago, but that has long been gone.....

On Saturday, March 27th at 11:30AM, over 70 people from the Salisbury area gathered to celebrate the Grand Opening & Ribbon cutting of the Specific Gravity Bottle Shop- the second component of the Specific Gravity Pizzeria & Bottle Shop. Located near Salisbury University at the corner of South Division and E. College Ave (105 E. College Ave. Salisbury, MD), the brand-new store offers a variety of libations including craft brews [including Evolution, brewed nearby], first rate liquors and specialty wines.

John and Tom Knorr, co-founders of Evolution, are partners in the store.  See here for another of their projects in town, "SoBo's Wine Beerstro."  

Fells Point Update

I'm about a week behind in posting, but here are some highly useful tips:

1) Final reminder:  Fraoch Heather Ale maker Bruce Williams (whose brewery also produces some terrific session ales) will be at Max's Taphouse tonight.

2) A building on South Broadway at Eastern Boulevard has collapsed, according to some news reports.  This is thoroughly screwing up traffic on Eastern Avenue and South Broadway.  If you are coming down for Bruce tonight, seek alternate routes.  (I often head east on Pratt and turn south on one-way-southbound Wolfe.)

UPDATE:  Emergency demolition underway, the former auto supply building at the southwest corner of Broadway and Eastern.

Can Someone Help My Friend?

A homebrewing friend of mine, disgruntled with his Dilbert-like job, has told me he has applied for a job with a microbrewery.


Do any professional brewers out there want to talk some sense into this bloke?

Reminder: Scottish Extreme Beer Brewer at Max's Taphouse Tonight

James Watt, half of the creative/management team of the admittedly eccentric, "hip," and off-beat Scottish brewery BrewDog, will be at Max's Taphouse tonight, along with several of his beers on tap, cask, and in bottles.

To answer the obvious question:  Watt has said that he will have at least limited samples of both his record-setting high-alcohol beers, Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink the Bismarck!, at 32% and 41% respectively.  I believe the bidding starts on eBay momentarily............

No, wait, seriously.  He SHOULD do a silent auction of small samples, to benefit an appropriate charity.  Earthquake relief in Haiti and Chile.

In other news, the Brickskeller in D.C. has scheduled two beer "dinners" (which are usually more tasting events with snacks) with Bruce Williams of Fraoch Heather Ale fame on April 6 and 7, just in case you can't make it to Max's Taphouse to see him there on March 30th or prefer a more formal event and presentation.  Tickets are $35 and are available at www.lovethebeer.com.

Elsewhere tonight, as reported by Baltimore Beer Guy:

Frisco Grille's latest pint night event is happening today (Wednesday) starting at 7 PM.
Delaware's excellent Evolution Brewing will be on hand with a cask conditioned Rise Up Stout as well as the brand spanking new Lot #6 Double IPA, the excellent Lot #3 IPA, the Exile ESB and something called Sprung.

A Baltimore Beer Drinker Abroad

Folks, a reminder of what disappeared from the collective mass media screens after November 2008, when bringing up the subject repeatedly apparently no longer suited the mainstream media's desires or whims......

Lieutenant Colonel Eric Murphy is an A-10 pilot from Baltimore.
Lt Col Murphy flies with the 104th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from the Maryland National Guard.  In his day job, “Captain” Eric Murphy is a commercial pilot [with United] who flies A320s but today he’s not flying British tourists traveling within the United States.  He’s going to Helmand Province to cover the British “Royal Welsh.”

White Marsh brewer Michael McDonald confirms that Lt. Col. Murphy is, indeed, the Red Brick Station patron that was the inspiration for Murph's Porter, the 6.1% seasonal that occasionally appears on the drafts there, and is part of the Maryland National Guard and test-pilot regular crew that frequents/frequented the brewpub and inspired/instigated the A-10 Warthog IPA, another seasonal/occasional.  {OOPS--see below....]

Judging from where he is now, he probably misses having a good beer.  Keep him, and his comrades, in your thoughts and prayers.

More superlative coverage from Michael Yon here, including three pages on just that one day's visit, including Murphy's return that evening. Michael Yon's blog homepage here.  Hat tip to Instapundit for the lead and link.

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Clipper City/Heavy Seas Events Tonight

Clipper City Heavy Seas beers will feature prominently in three events in Harbor East and Fells Point tonight:

The current featured beer:  Big DIPA, their Double IPA.  A firkin of it will be at Max's Taphouse tonight for their weekly Beer Social.  (Speaking of Max's, don't forget tomorrow is to feature an event from BrewDog of Scotland.....)

A block away, Kooper's Tavern on Thames St. will have a Heavy Seas Pint Night that includes $2.50 Classic Lager & Kooper's Ale, $1 off Loose Cannon and Big DIPA. 9pm-midnight. 

Meanwhile, over at Whole Foods Market on Fleet St.:
Cocktail Party and Silent Auction, Tuesday, March 23, 5-8 pm, Tickets: $10- Food, $15- Food, Wine & Beer;  Kids under 5 are free; All proceeds go to the Whole Planet Foundation. Silent auction items are varied. Menu for the Evening Featuring: Gourmet Hors d’oeuvres with Vegan and Vegetarian options, Sushi and Decadent Desserts, Kid friendly foods, Wine from Bin 604, and Beer from Clipper City Heavy Seas.

Finally, a last reminder (if they haven't sold out already) of their BBQ Party at the brewery this Saturday from 12 to 4; see here for ticket orders ($49; $35 for designated drivers).  Limited to 350 attendees.

Another firkin at Alonso's

A firkin of Stillwater Stateside Saison will be at Alonso's (on Cold Spring Lane in Roland Park) on Friday, March 26th, presumably being tapped at happy hour.........   so reports Steve Summers of Alonso's.

One Handsome Beer Glass

The quite attractive glass design, with etched logo, that Brian Strumke has chosen for his Stillwater Artisanal Ales.  Don't let the shape fool you; the glasses hold 12 ounces with a rich and luxurious head, 16 ounces with a thin head, or 18.5 ounces full to the rim.

Strumke said, "That's why I picked them.  I wanted room for lots of head! You can split a 750ml bottle in 2 glasses perfectly."

Brian is just back from Belgium, where he brewed "Vol. 1" of the series "Of Love and Regret" in a small brewery in Beerzel, Belgium. The style, according to Strumke, is "a Belgian Saison Ale brewed with an array of spring botanicals and grassy hops to celebrate the season."  He will be holding another tasting at The Wine Source, the noted liquor store on Elm Avenue in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore, from 5 to 7 PM on Friday, March 19th.