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Archive for June, 2009

Ruddy Duck

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on June 24, 2009

We celebrated Father’s Day (June 21, 2009) at the Ruddy Duck Brewery and Grill in Solomons, Maryland.

The brewery restaurant had just opened a week and a half ago and they only had two of their beers on tap. I had a pint of the Pale Ale first, and then a pint of the Golden Ale. Both beers were well made, but the Pale Ale was an easy pick for pint #3.

The waitress told us that an IPA would be ready soon and from looking at the beer list on the web site, they have an ambitious brewing agenda. I’m looking forward to stopping in again the next time I’m in Southern Maryland.

Our visit to this new brew pub was worth the 30 minute drive up from our campsite at Point Lookout State Park. Nice place, great menu, fun vibe, and good beers!

Posted in Brew Pub | Tagged: Brew Pub, Maryland, Ruddy Duck Brewery and Grill | Leave a Comment »

Happy Birthday, Maryland

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on June 23, 2009

We spent the weekend of June 19-21 camping at Point Lookout State Park in Southern Maryland. On Saturday (June 20), we visited Historic St. Mary’s City for Celebrate 375, a festival to commemorate the 375th anniversary of Maryland’s founding. The festival was fun and educational, and the best part was the beer.

1634 Ale was brewed by Brewer’s Alley to represent the beer of early colonial Maryland. This dark and tasty brew is based on research of historic recipes and raw materials that would have been available at the time. It is a rye-based ale that includes malted wheat, molasses and caraway, along with caramel and dark malts.

Brewers Alley was pouring 1634 Ale for $3 a pint, and Beth and I enjoyed several with lunch. I highly recommend this one-of-a-kind beer.

Posted in Beer News, Festivals | Tagged: Beer News, Brewer's Alley, Festivals, Maryland | 1 Comment »

Have You Tried Craft Beer from a Can?

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on June 17, 2009

I always look forward to Greg Kitsock’s beer column in the Food section of the Wednesday Washington Post. His most recent column was published on June 17 and is titled “Small Brewers Test Their Metal.”

Here’s a few nuggets about beer in cans:

Of the 446 microbreweries and 990 brew pubs in the U.S., only about 40 can their beer.
The Blue Mountain Brewery will soon be the first Virginia craft brewer to can its beer.
The notion that beer in cans imparts a metallic taste is a myth – the cans are actually lined so the beer never comes in contact with the aluminum.
The best D.C. area spot for drinking beer in cans is the Red Derby, which serves about 30 different beers in cans.

I’m familiar with several of the brewers Kitsock cites in his article:

Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues in Colorado is one of my favorite beers, whether from a can or a bottle. Hoppy and delicious.
Butternuts Beer & Ale of N.Y. has been my beer of choice for afternoons at the pool so far this summer. A 12-pack sampler (stout, hefeweizen, pale ale, IPA) sells for $13.99 at Magruder’s in D.C. As Kitsock notes, craft beer in cans gives you the same flavorful beer, but in a light and compact package – perfect for the pool or tailgating.
I’ve visited the 21st Amendment brew pub in San Francisco and loved it. Kitsock says they can two beers that are available in the NoVA market. I’d love to find these – if you’ve seen them let me know!
New Belgium Brewing Company’s Fat Tire (Colorado) is one of my favorite session beers and Kitsock reports that it is now available in cans, but I still don’t think you can find it east of the Mississippi.

Kitsock’s column is recommended reading – he covers a lot of ground, including the history of canning beer and the pros and cons of the vessel, with quotes from several brewers.

So, have you tried craft beer from a can?

Posted in Beer News | Tagged: 21st Amendment, Beer Bar, Beer News, Blue Mountain Brewery, Butternuts Beer & Ale, Kitsock, New Belgium Brewing Company, Oskar Blues Brewery, Washington Post | 3 Comments »

DuClaw

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on June 14, 2009

I needed to go to Bass Pro Shops for some recreational crabbing equipment, so we decided to spend a weekend afternoon (June 13) at Arundel Mills. First stop, Bass Pro Shops, followed by lunch at DuClaw, then to the movie theater for Up in 3D.

I always look for the DuClaw beer truck at local beer festivals, and the beer at this outlet mall-based brew pub did not disappoint, despite its location.

Beth and I shared a sampler tray, which came with ten beers in 4oz tasting glasses and cost $10. DuClaw 10 Beer Sampler

Here’s what we tried:

Kangaroo Love (light lager)
Bare Ass Blonde Ale
Misfit Red
Hellrazor (pale ale)
Alchemy (oatmeal stout)
13 Degrees (hefeweizen)
Venom (pale ale)
El Guapo (helles lager)
Naked Fish (chocolate raspberry stout)
Mayhem (weizenbock)

We both really enjoyed Naked Fish. The two pale ales were nice and hoppy. I settled on a pint of Venom and Beth got 13 degrees. Gotta love the creative names for the beers.

Up in 3D was a lot of fun – I love all of the Pixar films. But there are some downsides to drinking a lot of beer before going into a movie theater!

DuClaw Serves Root Beer Too

Posted in Brew Pub | Tagged: Brew Pub, DuClaw Brewing Company, Maryland, Sampler | 1 Comment »

Diggin’ the Dog!

Posted by BoaBeerBlog on June 13, 2009

Before planning a visit to Flying Dog Brewey in Frederick, Maryland, I e-mailed the tour contact, Stephanie:

“I’ll be in Frederick on Saturday (June 6) for my wife’s college reunion at Hood. We’ll have our 7 year old twins with us, but we’d like to stop by the brewery. Are kids allowed in the tasting room? I don’t expect to take them on the tour itself, but I’d still like to stop by during the tour time to sample the beer and buy some Flying Dog stuff.

Stephanie’s reply: “Of course your kids are welcome in the tap room and on the tour…just don’t let them do any sampling!”

Such is the vibe of this off-beat brewery, only 45 minutes from my Kensington home.

The Flying Dog Brewery is open to the public every Saturday for tours and tasting. They open the doors at 1:30 p.m. and tour tickets are given out on a first come-first served basis. The first tour starts around 2:00 p.m. and there are two more after that. The tours are free, and to sample the beers, you can purchase a pint glass for $5 that you get to keep. The pint glass comes with six bottle caps that you exchange for 6 oz samples. 36 oz of beer, plus a pint glass for $5!

Stephanie suggested getting there early as they have been getting big crowds lately. We arrived around 1:15 and were the first ones lined up at the door and the first ones in. This paid off big time, because there was a long line by the time they opened the doors and we were the first to get a sample!

I tried the follwing beers, and all were excellent:

Snake Dog India Pale Ale
In-Heat Wheat
Garde Dog (Biere de Garde; Spring seasonal)
Woody Creek White (Belgian Wit; Summer seasonal)
Double Dog Double Pale Ale (11.5% ABV; from the Canis Major Series)
Kerberos Tripel (8.5% ABV; from the Canis Major Series)
Gonzo Imperial Porter (7.8% ABV; from the Canis Major Series)

The tour was similar to other brewery tours we’ve done, but there were a few highlights:

The wall of rare old beer cans in the hallway from the tasting room to the brewing area (see gallery)
Learning about the history of the brewery, its founders, and the move from where they started in Denver to their home in Maryland (go on the tour for the details)
The story behind Flying Dog’s unique labels and their battle against beer label censorship (Good Beer, No Shit!)
Seeing where the magic happens – the brewing lab, fermentation tanks, bottling line, etc.

There is also a nice gift shop, where I picked up a Wild Goose Brewery pint glass for a buck (Flying Dog makes the Wild Goose beers).

On the way out, we looked around the lobby at all of the awards and medals won by Flying Dog beers (see gallery). The kids got a kick out of the sign behind the reception desk that read: “Don’t cry over spilled milk…it could have been beer.”

A few days after the tour, I wrote again to Stephanie, the self-described Flying Dog Baroness von Marketing, to thank her and let her know how much we all enjoyed the family-friendly visit.

Stephanie wrote: “I am glad you and your family had a good time and that you like our beers. We just got some “Kid Beer” (Frost Top Root Beer), so if you bring the kids back, they can have some “beer” as well! Thanks again for supporting our beers and keep diggin’ the Dog!”