Best Brewpubs in the Baltimore-Metropolitan Area

Last night, at dinner, Rachel harped upon a great idea: make a list of Maryland brewpubs we have visited, in order of those we really enjoyed to those that left a little to be desired. At the bottom, we included a link to a Google Map of the brewpubs.

A formality: brewpub - must brew and serve their own beer, along with casual fare.

<drum roll, please> Here is our list! At the same time, did we leave some one off? What are your preferences? We'd really like to see them, so leave a comment!

1. Dogfish Head Alehouse, Gaithersburg
   
2. The Brewer's Art, Baltimore
   
3. DuClaw Brewing Company, Arundel Mills
   
4. Red Brick Station, White Marsh (T-4)
   
5. Ellicott Mills Brewing Company, Ellicott City (T-4)
   
6. Capitol City Brewing Company
   
7. Barley & Hops, Frederick
   
8. Johanssons, Westminster
   
9. Brewer's Alley, Frederick
   

A few places that we have to revisit or go to for the first time:

• The Wharf Rat
  
• Growlers
  
• Franklin's
  
• Ram's Head Tavern
  
• Rocky Run
  
• Ryleigh's (if they are still open...)

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The race to 1000 hits is on!

Hey everybody,

As the title suggests, the race is on to 1000 hits. What does this mean to you, in cyberspace? Well, in the short-term it means you get to vote for the next style to be brewed! Go ahead and participate in the poll I have set up on the right ---->

Votes will be tallied at midnight, September 30th. Barring any extra-worldly event, the beer will be brewed on the first weekend of October. I tried to pick out some decent fall styles. Since I don't have a lager setup (but Christmas is just around the corner. Hint, hint, honey!), we'll have to stick with ales. I think ales complement the changing, colder weather just a little bit better than lagers, anyway.

Also, I will be keeping track of the visitor log. Lucky number 1000 might get something special. (You'll probably never turn down free beer, right?)

Nick

Washington Post - Beer Laid Bare: Labels That Tell All

Hey everyone, the old man cut this out of the Washington Post for me earlier this week. It was in their every other week beer column from Wednesday, August 29.

The author, Greg Kitsock, was saying that a proposal has been brought up by the Tax and Trade Bureau (div. of the Treasury) to require a serving facts label on all alcoholic beverage containers. You know the kind: number of servings, calories, fat content, etc.

He spoke to Paul Gatza, the director of the Brewers Association, about this and Gatza mentioned that many of our micro brewery and craft brewery friends might be caught in a pinch, as they will have to make room for these new labels on the back of the bottles, which could cost the industry "tens of millions of dollars". Gatza says that the trouble is not with showing the information, but how it actually shows on the packaging.

"The Tax and Trade Bureau has given the public until Oct. 29 to submit comments." Depending on what comes back to the government, they might amend the proposal. If it passes successfully, brewers will have a 3 year window to get their stuff on the back of the bottle.

Here is a link to the original article, registration required.

Reading List

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give a quick run-down of books that I am currently reading and will give some mini-reviews of:

• rereading John Palmer's How to Brew (the old testament) in conjunction with,
  
• Radical Brewing, Randy Mosher (the new testament) and Designing Great Beers, Ray Daniels (the lost gospels) ;)
  
• Eve Adamson's Beer: Domestic, Imported and Home Brewed
  
• Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide and
  
• The Brewmaster's Table, Garrett Oliver